Men's March Madness 2026: Ranking the remaining eight teams
The regional finals look a little chalky -- with 9-seed Iowa in the mix. Let's rank the teams once more.
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Ranking the remaining eight teams
- Thread starter Halldan
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I was leaning towards where you are, until I realized Duke has 2 losses. Go look at their schedule and who they beat which is pretty insane as far as an OOC goes. With everyone now back, I think they are in the same discussion as Michigan and Zona. In fact Duke beat Michigan on a neutral floor in late February.
I credit Arizona but the dicksucking getting annoying. I'm no expert outside SH ball, but acting like they are like Hurley's recent Uconn teams. Credit where its due, great talent, and I guess depth, but I see Duke, Michigan and even Illinois and they are also very deep and for me have better ex factors players and have the abilities to counter and attack this team. For me they purely win by talent which is of course a big part, but you can't tell me Hurley one or arguably the best tactician in coaching will get somehow "steam rolled" by this team.
Tonight, I feel Purdue clearly lost the game then Zona winning. Zona outalented Purdue like they are supposed to do, but Purdue for at least until 10 minutes left was right there. Problem is they clearly don't have enough offense outside Smith and size to last their front court, but for a big part of the game they were outclassing Zona. And if they kept the game close, I really feel Zona would break. The thing with Zona is I just don't have this fear of Berries, Bradley, or Krivas though they are great, and have liked Krivas and Berries. I really feel in close situations this team would get flustered and look like St Johns against Duke on Saturday.
I really believe Duke has been much better than people give them credit for. I actually think they are much deeper and play better team ball than recent seasons which always relied on talent. Boozer hasn't even been the best this tournament but guys like Evans, Cayden, and now Foster can help keep the team constantly competitive.
And Michigan for me have better players like Yale, Mara, Johnson, and even Cadeu who I believe can one up their matchups in a potential Arizona matchup.
The fact Krivas struggled against a smaller Cluff. Imagine against Mara and for me the Peat kid will not be looking like prime Giannis with Michigan's front court.
To be fair I can't be surpised if they prove me wrong, I do think they play hard, can play unselfish, move the ball well, and Llyod seems to know when to adjust better than before, but I just think they are much more beatable than people are saying right now. I really think Duke and Michigan are better and can beat them, and I would bet Illinois and Uconn can exploit them.
Tonight, I feel Purdue clearly lost the game then Zona winning. Zona outalented Purdue like they are supposed to do, but Purdue for at least until 10 minutes left was right there. Problem is they clearly don't have enough offense outside Smith and size to last their front court, but for a big part of the game they were outclassing Zona. And if they kept the game close, I really feel Zona would break. The thing with Zona is I just don't have this fear of Berries, Bradley, or Krivas though they are great, and have liked Krivas and Berries. I really feel in close situations this team would get flustered and look like St Johns against Duke on Saturday.
I really believe Duke has been much better than people give them credit for. I actually think they are much deeper and play better team ball than recent seasons which always relied on talent. Boozer hasn't even been the best this tournament but guys like Evans, Cayden, and now Foster can help keep the team constantly competitive.
And Michigan for me have better players like Yale, Mara, Johnson, and even Cadeu who I believe can one up their matchups in a potential Arizona matchup.
The fact Krivas struggled against a smaller Cluff. Imagine against Mara and for me the Peat kid will not be looking like prime Giannis with Michigan's front court.
To be fair I can't be surpised if they prove me wrong, I do think they play hard, can play unselfish, move the ball well, and Llyod seems to know when to adjust better than before, but I just think they are much more beatable than people are saying right now. I really think Duke and Michigan are better and can beat them, and I would bet Illinois and Uconn can exploit them.