Baylor, Alabama and 5 Teams That Are Overrated Early in the Season

The college basketball season is young and because of that, quite a few teams do not deserve the ranking listed next to their school.

Squads are still finding their identity, working through cupcake non-conference schedules and solidifying their game plans.

With only five weeks of polls released, there will be a lot of movement in the Top 25 before the end of the season.

Many teams have benefited from easy games against unworthy opponents. Winning margins of 30 or 40 are fairly commonplace, as are undefeated records.

However, as the season winds on, many of these teams currently enjoying cushy rankings now will have their shortcomings exposed.

Here is a list of five teams that are overrated early this season.

*All rankings listed are from the AP Poll.

Baylor Bears

The Baylor Bears are a good team. They have returning stars such as Perry Jones III and Quincy Acy to pair with impact freshmen like Quincy Miller.

However, Baylor’s lofty ranking—sixth in the country—is a stretch.

The Bears’ first game away from home came seven games into the season. Their schedule thus far has been very underwhelming. 

Baylor is a good team and could make a run in March, but a Top 10 ranking this early in the season is giving the Bears too much credit.

LaceDarius Dunn will be missed more than the team has realized so far. Baylor's guards need to get more involved before the Bears can truly be a complete team. Playing opponents in any of the major conferences would help, too.

Pittsburgh Panthers

The Pittsburgh Panthers are 7-1 and currently enjoying a No. 15 ranking.

Aside from a loss to a pretty good Long Beach State team, Pitt has won all of their games. However, their margin of victory has not been stellar.

Most of the reason for this is the Panthers’ porous defense. The team is allowing close to 70 points a game and their opponents are shooting over 46 percent from the floor.

Keep in mind, Pitt’s schedule has not been the most difficult. Giving up over 65 points to Robert Morris, Rider, LaSalle and Duquesne does not bode well for the team when they enter Big East play. 

The Panthers are predictably excelling on the offensive end of the court, but until their defense can assert itself, Pittsburgh will not be long for the Top 25.

Alabama Crimson Tide

The Alabama Crimson Tide's 2010-11 season ended with a loss in the NIT Championship. Now, after just a few weeks of basketball, Alabama is the No. 16 team in the country.

Yes, they are 7-1. Yes, they are returning three starters. And yes, JaMychal Green is one of the best big men in the SEC.

However, Alabama also relies heavily on four freshmen and two sophomores. Despite their leadership, the Crimson Tide are a young team.

A rating as high as 16th for Alabama is a little too generous. The team will be competitive, but in the grind of SEC games, its youth should become obvious. Green and Tony Mitchell can only carry the team so far.

The Crimson Tide’s recent loss to the Georgetown Hoyas exposed the dangers of relying on just two players to win a game. Green and Mitchell combined for 33 of Alabama’s 55 points, with no other player scoring in double figures.

If the Tide fail to get other players involved, their opposition will quickly figure out how to defend their two stars and Alabama’s stock will fall fast.

Duke Blue Devils

The Duke Blue Devils are a team everyone loves to hate. And this year, they have a reason to. Duke is vastly overrated at No. 7 in the country. 

The Blue Devils have good wins over the Michigan Wolverines and Kansas Jayhawks. But the team also has a should-be-loss to Belmont on their record as well as quite a few games that could have gone either way. 

In getting dismantled by the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, Duke showed its true colors. 

The team will greatly miss Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith and even Kyrie Irving. Duke’s rebounding and assists numbers are miserable.

Their guards do not have the court vision to find open teammates, preferring to create shots for themselves. On the interior, Mason Plumlee is holding his own, but getting very little help on the glass.

Duke is an incomplete team and Ohio State finally exposed them as such. The Blue Devils will not remain in the Top 10 for long.

Louisville Cardinals

It is not the Louisville Cardinals’ fault that their team has been plagued by injuries.

It does mean that they do not deserve to be ranked fifth in the country.

Louisville is undefeated and that is an impressive feat. However, it is misleading.

Louisville is without six key players including rebounding leader Rakeem Buckles, Elisha Justice and Mike Marra. Star Peyton Siva has also missed two games due to an injury.

The Cardinals narrowly avoided losing to Ohio at home and just barely beat a vastly overrated Vanderbilt Commodores team playing without their best player.

Louisville’s defense, as usual, is great, but their offense needs work. The team could surprise some people late in the season, but until it is at full strength, Louisville should not be ranked in the Top Five.