College Basketball: A Major Need for Each Top Team Entering the NCAA Tournament
Now that the regular season is drawing to a close, it's time for conference tournaments to take over the national stage. After those, college basketball fans are treated to a riveting Selection Sunday and then the nation's greatest sporting event: March Madness.
We're beginning to learn which teams can be considered elite, but there hasn't been a single team that has firmly established itself as the nation's best.
Each team has a need, so read on for the biggest one for each of the nation's top 25 squads according to the AP Poll.
25. Utah State Aggies
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Led by Tai Wesley, the Aggies have cruised to a 27-3 record and are a lock to make the tournament.
One area that they really need to improve in is their ability to steal the ball from their opponents. While the Aggies play excellent defense, especially in terms of field goal percentage allowed and rebounds gathered, they don't force very many turnovers.
Swiping the ball away from opponents is a crucial element of defense and Utah State's current rate of stealing the ball on just seven percent of opponent's possessions just won't cut it against elite competition. That number, by the way, places them at No. 324 out of the 345 D1 schools.
24. Texas A&M Aggies
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16-1 at one point during the season after a 91-89 overtime victory at home against Missouri, Texas A&M has slumped a bit in the alter portions of the season and now stands 22-7.
For a team that doesn't shoot many three-pointers, it's slightly troubling that the Aggies are having their shots blocked 11.6 percent of the time. Only 30 teams in the entire country fare worse in that category.
Fortunately for Khris Middleton and his teammates, Texas A&M has proved to be quite adept at grabbing rebounds on the offensive end of the court, so that helps make up for this weakness. But if they're going to be competitive in March, the shot selection is going to have to improve a bit.
23. Xavier Musketeers
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Led by the incredible Tu Holloway, the Musketeers of Xavier appear to be a lock for the Big Dance thanks to their 22-6 record and bevy of good wins. Notice though that I didn't say great, just good.
The real problem for this team has been a lack of defensive identity. The Musketeers have a very strong offense capable of scoring with almost anyone in the country, but the defense needs to improve quickly. Xavier's adjusted defensive efficiency is 95.8, placing them 65th among all college basketball squads.
While that's not exactly shabby, improvement in that area is necessary if Xavier is going to contend. Gonzaga has been the opponent that has scored the fewest points against Xavier while coming out on top: 65.
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22. Missouri Tigers
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For Missouri, the proud owner of a 22-8 record, to vault up into the realm of elite teams, Marcus Denmon and his cohorts are going to need to improve dramatically in two areas.
The first is getting to the free throw line. Missouri simply hasn't gotten to the charity stripe often enough, especially since they're fairly efficient at sinking the one-point shots when given the opportunity.
However, the second problem is more troubling. The Tigers are allowing opponents to crash the boards and bring down offensive rebounds on 35.7 percent of their opportunities. Only 44 teams in basketball allow opponents to do so at a higher rate. Boxing out is something that should be heavily emphasized during practices for the remainder of the season.
21. Vanderbilt Commodores
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The Vanderbilt Commodores went on the road 10 times and managed to win only have of those five games. Thanks to the remarkable home court advantage provided by Memorial Gym though, this squad has still managed to fight its way to a 21-8 record with a number of impressive wins.
Learning how to win on the road is a must for John Jenkins, Jeffery Taylor, Festus Ezeli and the rest of the Commodores.
While that may be the biggest need right now, a secondary concern is the fact that the team turns the ball over on 19.8 percent of its possessions and seems to be quite prone to allowing both steals and blocks, doing so on 10.3 and 10.5 percent of possessions respectively.
20. Kentucky Wildcats
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Despite owning just a 21-8 record, I still believe that Kentucky is one of the truly elite teams in college basketball, at least during the regular season.
Terrence Jones and Brandon Knight have been absolutely sensational this year, but therein lies the problem. Both are freshmen, as is Doron Lamb. Experience and maturity beyond their years is the biggest need for these Wildcats, but isn't that always the case for John Calipari's teams?
In fact, the average experience on this team, which gets 79.4 percent of the minutes from its starters, is just 1.15 years, the 314th fewest in the nation. Among contenders, only North Carolina and Connecticut are younger teams.
19. Villanova Wildcats
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For this 21-9 Villanova team, getting the collective head screwed on straight is the biggest need.
From watching their games and looking over all the stats, I can't find any glaring weaknesses on paper, yet the Wildcats have managed to lose eight of their last 13 games. That's just not acceptable for a supposedly elite team.
To be fair, there isn't really a bad loss among those games thanks to a brutal Big East schedule, but that doesn't matter too much for our purposes. March Madness is about stringing wins together and Villanova doesn't appear to be able to do so right now.
18. Arizona Wildcats
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While Arizona may not be a one-man team, this team really does depend on the success of Derrick Williams.
The nation's leader in offensive rating, at least among the players who are used on 28 percent of possessions or more, is projected to be a top draft pick and never seems to miss.
It's pretty telling that in the Wildcats' two latest games, both of which they lost, Williams scored a combined 23 points. That's barely more than his per game average of 19.1.
Like it or not, the biggest need is to ensure that WIlliams has a big game every time he steps on the court.
17. Georgetown Hoyas
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The Georgetown Hoyas, owners of a 21-8 record, need Chris Wright to come back from a hand injury.
Wright, a senior guard, was averaging 13.1 points, 5.4 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game. His services are a necessity if this team from the nation's capitol is going to make any noise during the Big Dance.
Austin Freeman and the rest of the squad may be good, but they aren't good enough to make up for Wright's absence, as they've proved by losing both the game he was injured during and the game right afterwards.
16. Connecticut Huskies
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The Connecticut Huskies need for Kemba Walker to suddenly become a more efficient shooter.
He might score a lot and garner a lot of attention at a national level because of his high volume of points, but Walker needs to take a whole bunch of shots to do so. He needs to become slightly more efficient, taking better shots and knowing when to pass.
Actually, what am I saying? It's worked for Walker so far so there's no reason his scoring strategy needs to change. But if it doesn't, the Huskies need for him to play out of his mind for the entire month.
15. St. John's Red Storm
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This season's giant killers, the Red Storm of St. John's do most things well. You have to do almost everything well to take down West Virginia, Georgetown, Duke, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Marquette, Villanova and Pittsburgh in the same season.
However, that doesn't mean that this team is devoid of needs. One area where they could definitely improve is their ability to guard the three-point line.
Although their opponents haven't taken many shots from downtown, when they have they tend to watch them drop through the nets as the referees watch with upraised arms. In fact, this has happened 36.2 percent of the time, the 260th lowest average in the nation.
They're susceptible to the long ball and that needs to change if they're going to make a big run for the title.
14. Florida Gators
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When he went out with a thigh injury, Chandler Parsons, the senior pictured to the left, really proved his value to the team. When he came back against the Georgia Bulldogs, he carried the team at times and really showed his worth to all watching.
Parsons should very well be considered for SEC Player of the Year.
The Gators need for the versatile matchup nightmare to remain healthy and productive throughout the final month of the season.
13. North Carolina Tar Heels
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Harrison Barnes and Kendall Marshall need to keep playing like they have been lately.
It's as simple as that.
Over the last 10 games, Barnes has scored 25, 26, 17, 9, 20, 17, 10, 16, 21 and 18 points. For a player that is still averaging "just" 13.8 points per game on the season, this should speak volumes about how much Barnes has improved.
Marshall on the other hand saw a recent increase in minutes and has rewarded the Tar Heels. Over the last nine games, the point guard has averaged 7.4 points and 6.1 assists per game.
If the freshmen keep it up, North Carolina could be a team to watch out for.
12. Syracuse Orange
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The Syracuse Orange need to learn how to make free throws. They're called free for a reason, but Syracuse has only made 65.7 percent of their shots from the charity stripe, the 257th highest percentage in Division 1 basketball.
Just take a look at how the five starters have done:
Brandon Triche is 67-for-81: 82.7 percent.
Kris Joseph is 113-for-159: 71.1 percent.
Scoop Jardine is 69-for-105: 65.7 percent.
C.J. Fair is 28-for-48: 58.3 percent.
Rick Jackson is 61-for-120: 50.8 percent.
11. Louisville Cardinals
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At 23-7, the Louisville Cardinals have established themselves as one of the elite teams in the nation. But they still need to learn how to win on the road. After all, the tournament won't be played in the KFC Yum! Center.
Five of the Cardinals' seven losses have come on the road and one more is likely coming in their final game of the regular season against the West Virginia Mountaineers.
The starting lineup is fairly experienced and Rick Pitino is a great coach so this may not end up being a big problem when it's all said and done.
10. Wisconsin Badgers
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Wisconsin has the nation's most efficient offense and one of the better defenses, but there is still room for improvement.
The Badgers are the best free-throw shooting team in the country, making 82.6 percent of their free shots. Yet they don't find their way to the line too often. That needs to change.
Then on defense, Wisconsin needs to do a much better job of defending the three-point line. Allowing their opponents to make 36.7 percent of their shots from that range is really not acceptable for a team as good as this one.
9. San Diego State Aztecs
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The San Diego State Aztecs need to not be intimidated by playing teams with more recognizable names. Other than that, it's difficult to find fault with this squad, led by future lottery pick Kawhi Leonard.
San Diego State has yet to play a team from a "major" conference, something that will most likely change when the postseason tournament rolls around.
Also, the Aztecs need to avoid BYU during March since the Cougars have handed them their only two losses of the season.
8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
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It takes some real nitpicking to find fault with this Notre Dame team, which prominently features Ben Hansbrough, a young man with a very recognizable last name.
But after looking through everything with a fine-tooth comb, it becomes pretty clear that the Fighting Irish need to do a better job of forcing turnovers. They've only been able to force opponents into turnovers on 16.3 percent of possessions. There are just 13 teams in the country that are worse at that.
Improving their ability to steal the ball and force bad passes will lead to even more points for Notre Dame and less for their opponents.
7. Texas Longhorns
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Texas has developed a reputation for falling apart at the end of each and every season, but this year, the late-season collapse has started even earlier.
The Longhorns have now lost three of their last four games after reeling off 11 straight wins and ascending to No. 1 in the rankings. The fact that all three of the losses, against Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas State, were blown games against lower-tier teams looks even worse.
Texas needs to shrug off those losses and regain their mojo.
6. Purdue Boilermakers
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In my opinion, the Purdue Boilermakers should be strongly considered for a No. 1 seed as they're one of the most complete teams in the nation despite a lack of Robbie Hummel in their lives.
My one gripe with this team, and trust me, you've heard this before, is their relative inability to win on the road.
The Boilermakers are 25-5 so far this season. One loss came early in the season on a neutral court to the Richmond Spiders. The other four all came on the road.
Purdue is one of the more experienced contenders so I don't anticipate this being a problem, but learning to win away from home is their biggest need right now.
5. Pittsburgh Panthers
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Increasing Ashton Gibbs' involvement in the offense is something that needs to be done. With an offensive rating of 124.4, Gibbs is one of the nation's elite scorers, yet he is only directly involved in 21.5 percent of Pittsburgh's possessions.
Besides that, the Panthers need to improve their foul shooting. As a team, they only shoot 66 percent from the line, the 270th highest average in the nation.
There's not a lot to find fault with when it comes to this Pittsburgh squad. They truly are one of the country's elite teams.
4. Duke Blue Devils
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While it would be nice for Kyrie Irving to return, that is becoming increasingly unlikely as the season progresses. So let's forget about him.
The biggest need for Duke is to have the Plumlee brothers step up their respective games. The unsung hero of last season's title-winning squad was Brian Zoubek and none the Blue Devils find themselves missing a dominating presence in the low post.
That weakness has been exploited during each of the three losses that Duke has suffered and could very well end their dreams of back-to-back championships. But it won't if the Plumlees play better.
3. BYU Cougars
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Just this week, Brandon Davies was dismissed from the BYU Cougars' team for violating the school's honor code.
Davies was the starting center and was contributing 11.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while establishing himself as Jimmer Fredette's favorite running mate.
Obviously, replacing him and his production is the biggest need for this team.
They clearly missed him in their first contest after the decision, losing 82-64 to the New Mexico Lobos despite 33 points from Fredette.
2. Kansas Jayhawks
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The Morris brothers are the true keys to this team.
Markieff is averaging 13.6 points, 1.5 assists and 8.4 rebounds per game while Marcus is posting 17.3 points, 1.4 assists and 6.9 rebonds per game.
The two juniors need to continue establishing themselves as scorers, effective rebounders and great defenders throughout the final month of the season if Kansas is going to make good on another stellar regular season.
The Jayhawks also need to learn how to shoot free throws better to avoid losing close games against good teams.
1. Ohio State Buckeyes
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In a season where there has been no true dominant team for the course of the year, the Ohio State Buckeyes have established themselves as the No. 1 team in the nation. They have to be considered the favorites for the national title at this point, especially if they can finish their regular season off with a home win against Wisconsin to improve their record to 29-2.
The biggest need for this team is going to be making sure that the experienced players on the squad can counter Jared Sullinger, DeShaun Thomas and Aaron Kraft's youth. Dallas Lauderdale, Jon Diebler and David Lighty are all seniors while William Buford is a junior.
It's important that the experience trumps the inexperience, despite the fact that the best player is a freshman.
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