One-Dimensional College Basketball Teams That Will Struggle in March

There are few things in all of sports more difficult than winning a national championship in college basketball.

After all, teams have to perform under one-and-done pressure for six (or sometimes seven) games in a row at a high level. The only way to realistically do that is by covering any flaws and playing to a team’s strengths, but some squads may be too one-dimensional to take home the national title.

Here is a look at a few college basketball teams that may struggle in March because they are too one-dimensional on the floor. All statistics are as of Monday afternoon (before the evening’s games), and all Ken Pomeroy information and rankings can be found here courtesy of KenPom.com.

San Diego State

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

Where the Aztecs Thrive: San Diego State is ranked No. 2 in the nation in Pomeroy’s pace-adjusted defensive efficiency ratings.

Where the Aztecs Need Work: San Diego State is ranked an alarming 233rd in Pomeroy’s offensive ratings.

Overall Outlook: If the axiom “defense wins championships” holds true, the Aztecs could win the Mountain West Conference over the likes of Wyoming and Colorado State. San Diego State features length and athleticism all over the floor, which is why it has been so effective on the defensive side this year.

However, the Aztecs are 311th in the nation in points per game and 300th in assists per game, and they only scored 36 points in a loss to Washington. That kind of offense isn’t going to advance deep in the NCAA tournament.

Harvard

Ryan M. Kelly/Associated Press

Where the Crimson Thrive: Harvard is ranked No. 7 in Pomeroy’s defensive ratings.

Where the Crimson Need Work: Harvard is ranked No. 247 in Pomeroy’s corresponding offensive ratings.

Overall Outlook: The only way the Crimson are making the NCAA tournament is with an Ivy League championship, and the only way that will happen is with better offense. Never was that more apparent than in a 76-27 loss at Virginia, which is both a testament to the Cavaliers’ shutdown defense and Harvard’s struggling offense.

Nebraska

Andy Manis/Associated Press

Where the Cornhuskers Thrive: Nebraska is No. 10 in Pomeroy’s defensive rankings.

Where the Cornhuskers Need Work: Nebraska is No. 273 in Pomeroy’s corresponding offensive rankings.

Overall Outlook: Nebraska made the NCAA tournament last season and hoped to build on that this season, but things are not going according to plan. The Cornhuskers are 241st in points per game, 316th in assists per game and 193rd in field-goal percentage. The result is a disappointing 10-7 record that includes inexplicable losses to Hawaii and Incarnate Word.

The offense must improve if Nebraska wants any hope of making it back to the Big Dance.

Notre Dame

Joe Raymond/Associated Press

Where the Fighting Irish Thrive: Notre Dame is ranked first in the nation in Pomeroy’s offensive ratings.

Where the Fighting Irish Need Work: Notre Dame is ranked No. 162 in Pomeroy’s corresponding defensive ratings.

Overall Outlook: Notre Dame is challenging for an ACC crown in a conference that includes Virginia, Duke and North Carolina largely because of that offense. However, defense is a concern, especially with critical contests against the Blue Devils and Louisville on the horizon.

Star guard Jerian Grant discussed the difference between the defense and offense, via Lamond Pope of The Elkhart Truth: “We needed to keep playing defense because our offense is always going to come. We were getting looks, we knew eventually it was going to come. Being able to focus on defense is huge for us.”

The NCAA tournament is one-and-done, and all it would take is one cold shooting night from the Fighting Irish offense to be eliminated since the defense isn’t going to hold up its end of the bargain.

Davidson

Skip Rowland/Associated Press

Where the Wildcats Thrive: Davidson is ranked No. 6 in Pomeroy’s pace-adjusted offensive ratings.

Where the Wildcats Need Work: Davidson is ranked No. 216 in the corresponding defensive ratings.

Overall Outlook: Stephen Curry may be long gone, but the Wildcats are still stuffing the stat sheet with plenty of points. In fact, they are eighth in the country in points per game and ninth in assists per game. The problem is the defense isn’t nearly good enough to match the offense, which is why Davidson lost to Richmond in its last game by giving up 89 points.

Iona

Sarah Bentham/Associated Press

Where the Gaels Thrive: Iona is ranked No. 11 in Pomeroy’s offensive ratings.

Where the Gaels Need Work: Iona is ranked No. 302 in the corresponding defensive ratings.

Overall Outlook: Iona looks like the strongest team in the MAAC largely because of its dominant offense (fifth in the nation in points per game). That offense comes from its blinding pace (seventh in adjusted tempo), which leads to plenty of extra possessions and easy scoring opportunities.

However, the Gaels struggle to stop teams, which is why they already have six losses even with that impressive offense.

Quinnipiac

Where the Bobcats Thrive: There is not a team in the country that averages more rebounds per game than Quinnipiac.

Where the Bobcats Need Work: The problem is Quinnipiac doesn’t do much else in an effective manner.

Overall Outlook: Ousmane Drame is a monster on the boards (10.5 rebounds per game), but the Bobcats feature three different players who average more than six rebounds a night. As a result, no team in the country controls the boards like the Bobcats.

CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein noted in a recent tweet that Drame “could play in any league in USA.”

The problem is, Quinnipiac is 196th in Pomeroy’s offensive rankings and 194th in Pomeroy’s defensive rankings, and it doesn’t do much else except for clean the glass. The result is a 3-5 record in the MAAC and a bleak outlook for March when the conference tournament rolls around.

UC Davis

Young Kwak/Associated Press

Where the Aggies Thrive: UC Davis is No. 1 in the country in three-point field-goal percentage (44.1 percent).

Where the Aggies Need Work: UC Davis is No. 227 in Pomeroy’s defensive rankings.

Overall Outlook: UC Davis has built an effective offense behind an incredible seven different players who shoot better than 41 percent from three-point range. The Aggies arrive at the gym ready to launch threes, and they don’t stop until the final buzzer sounds.

Unfortunately for UC Davis fans, the defense is far behind.

Yes, the Aggies are 14-3 overall and sitting atop the Big West Conference, but it is difficult to see them pulling off an upset in the NCAA tournament with such a porous defense.