This year is interesting but mostly more of the same. UNC will clearly be the best team again (yes I realize they lost to BC in the semis) followed more closely this season by BC . Cuse will round out the top 3 and then there is a bit of a gap in which you can insert multiple teams in no particular order such as NW, Duke, Princeton, MD, UVA, Loyolla, ND . The ACC will be the dominant conference again The interesting thing is I think UNC takes a small step back to the pack ,more so on the defensive side while I think BC may be a little better than they were last year overall. I think Stanford could take a step forward but they need to play some better out of conference games . I think SBU takes a big step backwards even with the best coach in the NCAA.
Don’t think Syracuse is a lock to be top 3 or in the Final Four. Loyola a notch below the other teams mentioned. Agree Northwestern, Princeton, Virginia, Maryland Duke, ND will fight it out to get in the Final Four along with Syracuse. Tournament Seeding will be critical, don’t want to have to play BC or UNC before The Final Four. Any other contenders or teams that can surprise? Michigan? Denver? USC? Rutgers?
