Duke Will Be the Team To Beat in the NCAA This Year

"Midnight Madness" is over and it's the time of year for another great season of NCAA basketball to get on the way. One of the things that will make this season exciting is the extreme competitiveness that is going to exist between some of the top programs in the country.

Arizona was picked recently as the preseason number one in the coaches' poll. The Wildcats received 19 first-place votes, and 756 points from the nationwide panel of 31 coaches. Duke picked up the other 12 first-place votes and was just three points behind Arizona in the poll. This is the second time in four years that Arizona has been voted as the preseason number one. The Wildcats returned all five starters in the 1997-98 season from their national championship team of the year before, but lost in the NCAA Tournament West region final to Utah.

Duke had another impressive season last year, as they finished with an overall record of 29-5 and 15-1 (tied for first) in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Blue Devils lost in an upset to Florida in the NCAA East semifinal.

Another team that will certainly be in contention for a title this year is Michigan State, who were led by Mateen Cleaves and Morris Peterson to a national championship last season. Head Coach Tom Izzo is perhaps the best defensive coach in the nation, and will look to install his defense-first system with the top newcomers he has this year, without Cleaves and Peterson. The Spartans top returners are Charlie Bell and Jason Richardson. Bell will be much more of an offensive contributor than last season.

Stanford University, the Pac-10 co-champion with Arizona last season, will also be a team to be reckoned with in the 2000-01 season. The Cardinals lost their star forward Mark Madsen, but have an impressive front line with Jason Collins and Curtis Borchardt.

North Carolina was a Final Four team last season, and returns four starters this season. This team definitely underachieved last year, finishing with an overall record of 22-14, but managed to salvage the season with their Final Four run.

Maryland, Kansas, Tennessee, Illinois, and Seton Hall are all teams that should have successful seasons and are ranked highly in the coaches' poll.

A few teams that I think will surprise this season are Florida and Wisconsin. The Gators, who lost to Michigan State in the championship game, were expected to return all five of their starters from last year, but forwards Mike Miller and Donnell Harvey applied for early entry into the NBA draft. Wisconsin returns four starters from their Final Four team, and shocked a lot of teams by making it so far in the tournament because of their 22-14 overall record.

When March Madness comes around, though, I think Arizona and Duke are going to be the teams to be reckoned with. Arizona returns Loren Woods, a 7'1" center who averaged 15.6 points, 3.9 blocks, and 7.5 rebounds a game last season, but missed the final month because of a back injury. Everyone thought he was going to apply for the NBA Draft, but his return does more than booster an already potent Wildcat team.

However, I believe Duke is the best team in the nation right now. Their coach, Mike Krzyzewski, who has a career record of 498-160, and a 50-14 NCAA Tournament record at Duke, is without a doubt the smartest coach in the game. Duke lost their star from last season, Chris Carrawell, but have a solid and deep group of returners and newcomers. Carlos Boozer, who averaged 13 points and a team-leading 6.3 rebounds last year, will be looked upon to put up even more impressive numbers this year, and he's only a sophomore. The Blue Devils also return point guard Jason Williams and strong forward Michael Dunleavy, who are also young, but received immense playing time and experience in the 1999-00 season.

Duke's team is excellent in every aspect of the game. They can play defense, shoot the three, rebound, run the court and are as deep as any other team in the nation. Their schedule will be the biggest test of all, as they play just about every team that was picked in the coaches' preseason top ten at some point during the year. The Blue Devils play North Carolina three times, Illinois, Stanford and also every team in the ACC twice, with the exception of North Carolina. This Duke team is going to have to grow up fast, and put tons of pressure on the ball to force other teams to make mistakes.

Look for Duke to use their depth to their advantage, as at almost all points during the year their five players on the floor will be better than the other team's five. This could be the first time in nine years that the Blue Devils finish the Road to the Final Four victoriously.