I wasn't saying Uconn wasn't worthy of thier ranking. They may be. But, I don't remember too many top ten teams that kept the likes of Yale and Nevada within ten in the second half. Heck, I'm not sure Texas is a top ten team, but, I would assume that they would kill both of those teams. I will admit that I am somewhat surprised by Uconn's ranking, I know they have Okafor and Gordon, but I'm not sure they're the best team in the country. Also, GTech actually beat them tonight, so you can take your "give me a break" comment and blow it out of your ass. I've never been rude to you on this forum, so, I'm surprised you were rude to me. As for Paulino, I doubt you've seen him play. I know you're a UT fan who probably frowns upon the blatant homerism of your fellow Horns, but my saying "I was surprised uconn had some trouble with nevada and yale had nothing to do with me propping up the Horns. I know it's early, but some teams (the good ones) still manage to dominate their opponents early in the season.
I don't think so. For one, Duke has to prove to me they have a low post presence because last year they were a donut team. They also are a very young team, loaded with sophomores like their rival UNC. You have to have some low post players if you want to be a final four team. Duke had none last year. They also lost their top scorer Dahntay Jones to the NBA. I have them in my final four, btw. Uconn is my 2nd best team in the country. Texas is well equipped to give them fits and beat them if they meet. They have as much depth and Ivey is a defender capable of locking up Gordon. Then UT has Buckman, Thomas, etc to bang on Okafor. And to be honest, I'm not impressed with what I've seen with UConn so far. I'm sure they will get better, but they better have a sense of urgency come tourney time because right now they look sluggish. I didn't think UT would respond so well to losing TJ, but I have watched them play the first two games and they have a great chemistry going. Plus, Kenny Taylor from Baylor, a willowridge teammate of T.J., adds another shooter to this team who can score 15-20 in a heartbeat. And don't discount P.J. Tucker, a freshman who has posted two double doubles his first two games as a Longhorn. Texas has experience, a great coach, rebounding, scorers, and a chip on their shoulder to win it all and prove their program is bigger than T.J. That is a recipe for success. Plus, the final four is in San Antone, where tons of Texas fans will rock the house if they get back. If they get there, it will be really hard with that crowd support to stop them from winning it all. Yes the season is early, and I want to see how UT does vs Arizona, Wake, etc to really get the best gauge possible, but from what I've seen the first two games, they are severely underrated. They should win the big 12 as Kansas doesn't have quite as much experience, depth and not nearly enough shooting. Oklahoma has 6 freshman and two sophomores on its 12 man roster this year, and Missouri is overhyped yet again because Snyder was an assistant under coach K at Duke. I just don't see a team with as much depth, size, coaching, defensive ability and shooting especially as UT. Plus the final four is in San Antonio and the team has a chip on its shoulders to prove that T.J. wasn't the only reason they were good. UT's question mark is who can be their go to man in crunch time, but the truth is, anyone on the floor for them can. Mouton, Ivey, Boddicker, Thomas, Buckman, Taylor, Harris, etc. And if you try to stop one by doubling them, another player will beat you. That is where UConn has the edge on UT with Okafor and Gordon. However, the point of this post was to prove that for one, UT is a lot better than the 11th best team in America, and that I really do think Barnes has a complete basketball team that deserves to stand right by UConn as the favorites to win it all. Every other team in the country has more questions than either of those two teams, and the fact some people think a team like Arizona, that lost Gardner and Walton, will be better than a senior laden Texas squad, shows the perception of Texas basketball in a lot of people's eyes. And it's dead wrong in my opinion. Finally, I will admit as a Texas fan, I have an allegiance to my team, but my belief that this team is really underrated and is right up there with UConn as the national title favorites stems from my knowledge of basketball, not my love of the team. I'm not crazy enough to not think UT won't take a step back in 2004-2005 as they have 4 great freshman but lose 4 senior starters. However, it shows where the program has come and where its going, and thats a great thing. They will still be a good team, but unless those freshman are amazing they will be hardpressed to get past the sweet 16. This post was made because I am disgusted with the media's lack of respect in the polls for Texas, and I have a great knowledge of sports that I love to talk with people about and write about. It's why come next december I will graduate from UT with a degree in broadcast journalism and will try to be a sports tv reporter, sports writer/columnist or a sports talk show host once I graduate. I know sometimes its hard to admit your favorite team isn't the best out there, but my belief Texas is right there with UConn isn't me being a homer, its my evaluation of all the factors that make a very good basketball team.
