Zack Herink

#3 Oklahoma (20-4)

Oklahoma has been the most consistent team in the country this year. They have only lost four games this year and two of those losses have been to Kansas and one to another ranked team in Iowa State. They have the best player in college basketball in Buddy Hield. This is a team that is built to win now, and win they have.

#5 N. Carolina (21-4)

UNC has the best talent team in the country, however, they lack a team chemistry that would make them a 25-0 team. In the tournament they could turn it around but for now the only player playing with a heart at all is Marcus Paige. Paige is incredible, he puts a historic team on his back like he has done it 100 times before. If UNC can play as a team better, they will cruise to the national championship.

#2 Kansas (21-4)

Besides their Kryptonite to West Virginia, who they seem to lose to at least once a year, Kansas is the team the shares the ball the best. They get the ball down low, their guards get a good amount of assists, and their shooting percentage is great. Also, their three point percentage is fantastic, which gives the Jayhawks more of an opportunity to score in the low post. Kansas may not have the best players but they have the best team chemistry.

#6 Maryland (22-4)

The Terrapins have one of the best teams in their schools history. They are extremely fast and they don’t take very long to score when they want to. It also helps that Maryland has the best freshman in Diamond Stone and one of the better sophomores in Melo Trimble. Maryland can win only on their speed but their ability to get the ball down to Stone makes them a National Championship contender.

Daniel’s Picks

#2 Kansas Jayhawks

The number one choice is tricky because there isn’t one set team that is better than everyone else. Kansas started off the season very strong, but started falling off. Now they’re making a comeback and are looking to finish the season off the season back on top. They’ve won eight out of their last ten, and three of their four losses were against ranked opponents. Players like Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden Jr. are going to take the Jayhawks to the top.

#3 Oklahoma Sooners

The Sooners have one of the most talented teams in college basketball. Buddy Hield is one of the best, if not the best, player is college basketball right now. Unfortunately two of their four losses were against Kansas, but the Jayhawks are ranked number one on my list so at least they lost to the best. The problem with Oklahoma is that even though they have a lot of individual talent, they aren’t working as a team. If they put more team effort into each game, they could easily pass Kansas and take the number one spot.

#5 North Carolina Tar Heels

The Tar Heels are currently first in the ACC, and have a couple big games coming up to improve their ranking. Four out of their remaining six games are against ranked teams, so they have a strong possibility to creep up one or maybe two spots. They’ve got Brice Johnson playing down low and snagging every rebound in sight. They’ve had a couple tough losses this season including back to back losses against Louisville and then Notre Dame, but North Carolina is looking to finish the season strong.

#1 Villanova Wildcats

While I do think Villanova is a great team, I don’t think they deserve to be ranked number one on all the major rankings. Their wins were all against decent teams, and all three of their losses were against ranked teams. They’re tied for the best record in college basketball, so that probably explains why they keep turning up as the number one team everywhere else. I do think they deserve to be in the top four, but only because they have one of the best records.