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College Basketball Thoughts

Aaron Craft
Youth may not rule this season as it has this past few. Kentucky struggled against a sneaky Maryland team and lost to Duke. They're not close to the team they were last season but could still fit into the Final Four. UCLA also had a tough game against a weaker team and then lost to a veteran team, like Kentucky.

Pitt and Georgetown are both Top 25 teams in my opinion. The Hoyas and Panthers always tend to exceed expectations and this year could be much the same. Georgetown has a dynamic player in Markel Starks and one of the most dangerous players in the Big East in Otto Porter. Pitt has Tray Woodall at point guard and a bunch of solid options including Lamar Patterson, Steven Adams, Talib Zannia and Dante Taylor.

Butler will still be a contender even with a move to the Atlantic 10 as they proved with a strong performance in the Maui Invitational, as they beat Marquette and a fantastic UNC team. Rotnei Clarke proved he can be a deadly weapon maybe the backcourt scoring threat that Brad Stevens lacked last season. Down low they have a bunch of possible contributors that could make them a deep tournament possibility.

The Big Ten will have multiple teams in the Final Four this season. Even with Cody Zeller struggling the Hoosiers rode several different threats to a win over Georgetown and are the best team out there right now. Ohio State looks really good this season with All-American possibilities Aaron Craft and Deshaun Thomas, who looks just as good as Sullinger. Michigan has tons of scoring options with Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway and Jordan Morgan. Michigan State and Minnesota look to be also in the mix.

By the time Maryland joins the Big Ten in 2014 they will be one of the best programs in the nation again. Mark Turgereon is a great coach and has a young strong team and a good base around him. He'll probably have his second consecutive top 25 recruiting class and he has great sophomores that in a few years will probably form a Final Four club with Alex Len, Nick Faust, Dez Wells and Jake Layman.

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