NCAA Basketball Update- Contenders

Now that all the confetti has rained down on Raymond James, it's time to shift gears to what could be one the most exciting college basketball seasons in years. There is so much talent around the country that I feel the need to breakdown the contenders, second-tier, up-starts, pretenders in the race for the national championship. Start with contenders:

Contenders to the Crown

UConn- The Huskies are starting to assert their dominance again, which is saying something in the mighty Big East. Tonight's victory at Louisville was huge for them. Haseem Thabeet, Jeff Adrien, A.J Price combine to make them one of the most dominant inside/outside combos in the nation. They also have good experience. If they can stay consistent and not get beat up in league play they may be hard to stop.

Okla- They have perhaps the best player in the nation in Blake Griffin, a talented backcourt, and a great supporting cast. They are also in a weaker conference than the Big East and ACC counterparts, which could be a good and a bad thing. I question their depth but otherwise they are as good as any team in the nation.

UNC- Probably the deepest, most atheltic and most experienced team in the nation. All the loses did was focus them. This team is dangerous. They have something that other teams don't, if they can put it together in the postseason, they can win it all.

Pitt- The roughest, toughest team in the Big East with the best rebounder in Dejuan Blair. They have nearly as much experienced as UNC. They are going to get bumped around in the Big East, but they are also going to be battled tested.

Marquette- They one of the best backcourts and the nation and like Pitt, their tough. They know how to win on the road and they will be battled tested by the Big East.