6. Virginia Cavaliers – Flying under the radar as usual.
It just seems to be the Virginia way and it works for them. When watching the Cavs play, the casual fan won’t be entertained, but winning is all that matters at the end of the day.
After falling short against Miami, Tony Bennett’s team responded with a huge win over North Carolina.
Opponents this week: @ Clemson and vs. Louisville.
7. Oklahoma Sooners – In a rivalry week of sorts for Oklahoma, they went 1-1.
The Sooners demolished in-stae foe Oklahoma State to the tune of 71-49, but they fell short against their arch-rival Texas 76-63.
There’s still a chance Oklahoma could land a one seed, but it’ll probably mean they’ll have to win out.
Opponents this week. vs. Baylor and @ TCU.
8. Oregon Ducks – Oregon?
Yes, Oregon.
As it is for almost every team on the west coast, there’s an east coast bias they must deal with, which has been the case for Oregon.
This team plays fun up-tempo basketball and they play as a true team.
With the Pac-12 title in sight, the Ducks must finish strong during their LA trip.
Opponents this week: @ UCLA and @ USC.
9. West Virginia Mountaineers – Perception is one hell of a thing because for whatever reason, people are acting like West Virginia just isn’t in second place in the best conference in America.
Following wins over Iowa State and Oklahoma State last week, Bob Huggins’ team is in great position to land a two seed.
Opponents this week: vs. Texas Tech and @ Baylor.
10. North Carolina Tar Heels – Barring something drastic, it appears the Tar Heels are squarely off the one line.
If you look at their wins, there isn’t too many impressive ones to choose from and when they had an opportunity to get one against Virginia over the weekend, Roy’s boys just weren’t able to breakthrough.
Opponents this week: vs. Syracuse and @ Duke.
Teams on the outside looking in: (11) Indiana Hoosiers, (12) Purdue Boilermakers, (13) Utah Utes, (14) Louisville Cardinals, (15) Texas A&M Aggies, (16) Maryland Terrapins, (17) Texas Longhorns, (18) Wisconsin Badgers, (19) Seton Hall, (20) Iowa State Cyclones.