NCAA Tournament Favorites: Who Do They Want to Avoid Come Tourney Time?

Most people will agree that there is strong parity in college basketball this season. Fifteen teams have four losses or less and another fourteen clubs have five losses.

Aside from all those teams dominating their opponents there are a few teams that appear to have the inside track to getting to Indianapolis for the Final Four.

But even the teams that are further along than the rest could run into some match up problems in the Big Dance. So that begs the question: Who do these teams want to avoid?

Kansas Jayhawks

It's safe to assume that Kansas appears to be the ... safest bet to make it to Indianapolis, returning every major contributor from last year's Sweet Sixteen team.

The 'Hawks feature arguably the best guard/big man combination in all of college basketball—Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich—as well as a great core group of players who know their role on the team.

But in their only loss on the season—at Tennessee—Kansas committed 16 turnovers, and only turned the 'Vols over 8 times. Teams that can value the basketball would be the kind of ball club that could give Kansas fits.

The first team that jumps off the page is Purdue. Purdue only turns the ball over 11.1 times per game and rank twenty-second in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Purdue also features a big man in JaJuan Johnson who could give All-American Cole Aldrich fits in the post. In the loss in Knoxville Aldrich managed only seven points against a weak Tennessee front-line.

Under-The-Radar TTO (Team to avoid)

One team that is flying under the radar that could give Kansas a tough game early would be Cornell.

Kansas and Cornell have already met this season, with the Jayhawks winning in Lawrence by five points. In that game Cornell had a late lead before a couple calls by the officials went in Kansas' favor deep in the game.

Cornell possesses one of the deepest, most intelligent teams in the country and has a number of sharp-shooters from behind the arc that can light up teams in a hurry.

Kentucky Wildcats

To beat Kentucky one needs to do three things: 1) Not allow offensive rebounds 2) consistently make threes 3) Limit turnovers.

The team that is able to do this more consistently than all the others is Michigan State. State features a front-enough, and aggressive enough, to contain Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins as well as a point guard who matches the quickness that Kentucky has at the '1' and '2' spots.

Kalin Lucas is able to score from all areas on the court as well as being able to lead a team through his passing and defensive play.

Under-The-Radar TTO

Although they have been ranked for the majority of the season, BYU would be a surprisingly difficult match up for the 'Cats if they were to square off.

The Cougars are one of only four teams to have a winning percentage of at least .800, boast a defensive rebounding percentage (percent of available defensive rebounds that they grab) of .700, and turn the ball over less than 12 times per contest. Only one other team—Nothern Iowa—combines all these statistics as well as making at least 200 three-pointers on the season.

BYU is a savvy team that has scorers all over the court.

Jimmer Fredette is the leading scorer (20.9 ppg) for the Cougars as well as the player who steps his game up the most against tough competition.

Against Arizona Fredette dropped 49, in a seven-day span he scored 33 against San Diego State and 36 against Utah.

Villanova Wildcats

Villanova features an array of back court players with the ability to put the ball in the bucket.

Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher combine for 32 points per game, along with Corey Stokes and Maalik Wayns averaging over 7 points per contest.

One team that would pose a major threat to 'Nova would be another school of wildcats, the Kentucky Wildcats.

These Cats have a scary amount of talent in the low block, the biggest weakness for Villanova, and are one of the only teams in the nation deep enough in the back court to last a full 40 minutes with Jay Wright's team.

I have a feeling Scottie Reynolds would have a tough time matching up with someone as athletically-gifted as John Wall and no one in the post could handle DeMarcus Cousins OR Patrick Patterson.

Under-The-Radar TTO

There have been two constant themes in the three Villanova losses this season: 1) They give up far too many threes—at a high percentage 2) They allow teams to tally up assists on them.

These two themes indicate that, when Villanova struggles, they are facing teams that are quick moving the ball and are effective when they have an open look. One team that plays this way constantly is Baylor.

Under Scott Drew, Baylor has been known for putting three guards on the court and jacking up a ton of three-pointers.

This season the Bears have two guards capable of putting the team on their back and willing them to a big-time victory. Both LaceDarius Dunn and Tweety Carter have attempted over 140 three-pointers this season and both are hitting at a 38% clip or better.

Baylor has a great shot-blocker in Michigan-transfer Ekpe Udoh, who is coming off a 9 block outing, who has the ability to prevent shifty guards—like the ones 'Nova —from getting into the lane.

Syracuse Orange

The final team I'm going to highlight is the Syracuse Orange, arguably the most impressive team thus far.

Syracuse has disturbing length and athleticism while bolstering the most complicated defense to prepare for—Jim Boeheim's 2-3 zone.

Because of Syracuse's consistency offensively and mysterious style of defense there is only one team in the country that I believe could dominate a game with them for 40 minutes and that is Kansas.

The Jayhawks do a couple things very well. First, they shoot the ball from behind the arc better than any team in the top 20, and secondly they force an above-average amount of fouls.

Syracuse has allowed 19 three-point buckets in their two losses this season, proving that the easiest way to beat a zone is simply to shoot your way out. The Orange are in the top 10 nationally in not committing fouls as well—only committing slightly over 14 fouls per game.

Kansas shoots nearly 40% as a team from behind the arc and can get buckets from a variety of players on the wings. The Jayhawks also have a one-man zone-breaker in Marcus Morris, a player who is becoming known for his free-throw line jumper.

Kansas, being the veteran team that they are, would most likely play strategically against the Syracuse zone and would eventually have great success against it.

Under-The-Radar TTO

Like Kansas, Cornell shoots a terrific percentage from behind the arc, ranking fifth in the country at 41% on the season.

Cornell has already played Syracuse this season and was able to bury 13 threes against the Orange. If it were not for immense foul trouble, the Big Red would have been right in the ball game.

If Syracuse were to draw Cornell as a potential second-round matchup in March you can bet Coach Boeheim would be mighty worried about Cornell's approach for the rematch.