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Sports

Final Four shopping

Silent Assassin

Ronnie Turner 

At this point in the men's college basketball season, it's become a buyer's and seller's market. With the regular season winding down and teams gearing up for their respective conference tournaments, the field is starting to become clearer, so are the primary participants in the race to the Final Four.

I won't waste your time by mentioning this year's flops such as Louisville, Kentucky and Syracuse. Their season is a moot point; right now they have a better chance of winning the NIT than getting into the NCAA Tournament, let alone running the table. So, let's do some shopping among the top five teams.

No. 1 Connecticut (21-1, 8-1 Big East): There's no way I can turn this bargain down; I'm buying a double. How can you not like a team that has Rudy Gay (15.9 ppg), Rashad Anderson (13.7 ppg), Josh Boone (10.4 ppg) and Marcus Williams (9.5 apg), and that plays in the nation's best conference? Heck, their conference is full of potential NCAA Tournament teams, and they've handled them well so far.

No. 2 Duke (22-1, 10-0 ACC): I wish I could just buy JJ Redick and Shelden Williams separately, but their supporting cast isn't bad, so I'll take them, too. The college version of Shaq and Kobe, these two keep the ball rolling at Duke, especially Redick, who has the ability to take over games just by himself.

No. 3 Memphis (21-2, 7-0 C-USA):

Am I reading this correctly: Memphis, 84; Rice, 79? If you're a top-ranked team and you barely beat Rice, you ought be shot. That's it. Let me go ahead and sell while they're still ranked this high.

No. 4 Villanova (18-2, 8-1 Big East): This team could have been so much better if senior forward Curtis Sumpter weren't injured, but I'll buy them anyway. I know the Wildcats will somehow get me a nice return on my investment. They've got two important matches coming up with Connecticut, and I'd be hard pressed if they didn't win at least one of them. 

No. 5 Gonzaga (19-3, 9-0 WCC):

If you can name one team other than Gonzaga that plays in the West Coast Conference, I'll buy this team. Something tells me you can't. That same something tells me I should sell, which I will.

No. 6 Texas (20-3, 8-1 Big 12): The Longhorns may have had their rears handed to them in games against Duke and Tennessee earlier in the season, but don't forget that this is a team that has stood toe-to-toe with Memphis and Villanova and beaten them. With PJ Tucker, LaMarcus Aldridge and Brad Buckman manning the frontcourt along with Daniel Gibson running the show, I see no reason why this team shouldn't run through the rest of the Big 12 and all the way into the Final Four. In other words, I just bought 'em.
 

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