Duke Blue Devils and Most Overrated Teams in College Basketball

With November coming to a close, we've been able to get a taste of what this college basketball season will look like.

However, it is still early, and there are a few teams that are ranked much higher than they should be. The media loves teams like Duke and Syracuse, so they are ranked in the top five. But in reality, there are plenty of teams that are playing better.

Let's take a look at the most overrated college basketball teams in the country.

Memphis Tigers

The Memphis Tigers have great athleticism and can shoot the ball well, but Josh Pastner's crew isn't as good as many of us thought they would be.

Although they have several players who can score, their offense is far from a well-oiled machine, as they only average 13 assists per game. They lack imposing size inside, and this has led to them being 301st in the country in rebounding.

They've already lost to Michigan and unranked Georgetown, and barely beat unranked Tennessee in the Maui Classic. That's clearly not the handiwork of a Top-10 caliber squad.

Connecticut Huskies

Jim Calhoun's Connecticut Huskies club is loaded with talent, even with the departure of Kemba Walker. But they haven't played well together yet and aren't a Top-10 team.

UConn has elite talent such as freshman sensation Andre Drummond sophomore star Jeremy Lamb and point guard Shabazz Napier, but they haven't gelled offensively.

An unimpressive win against UNC Asheville, a loss to Central Florida and an overtime win against Florida State raise red flags. A Big East title is definitely possible, but this team has a long way to go before it can think about making a Final Four run.

Duke Blue Devils

Austin Rivers and the Duke Blue Devils are good, but they're not an elite team. They were handed their first loss Tuesday, as they were exposed by Ohio State inside and out.

Rivers is an impressive young talent, but he needs a little more time to grow and become a truly elite floor general in the ACC. He often takes a high volume of shots in order to get his point totals up, and that results in a lack of quality possessions.

The perimeter defense leaves something to be desired, and they lack the offensive chemistry that Coach K's best teams had. They average only 11 assists per game and are 271st in the country in rebounding.

Athleticism isn't their strong suit, but that's not uncommon for Duke. The Blue Devils will contend for the ACC title, but they're not a Top-Five program.

Syracuse Orange

Jim Boeheim has a deep, talented roster, but the Syracuse Orange aren't the third best team in the country.

Syracuse has the size and athleticism to win a national championship, but their offensive consistency needs work. Throughout several stretches against Virginia Tech and Stanford, the offense stalled and lacked fluidity. They should feel fortunate to have won the Stanford game.

Don't get me wrong, the Orange are a strong team and my pick to win the Big East, but they don't have what it takes to hang with North Carolina, Kentucky and the blue-blood programs of the NCAA.

Their ranking will go southward eventually, because they play Louisville and Connecticut twice and also face Florida and Pittsburgh.

Vanderbilt Commodores

The Vanderbilt Commodores were billed as a Top-10 team by Sports Illustrated. Kevin Stallings' club wants to have a breakthrough year and make waves in the SEC. Unfortunately, they aren't as good as their ranking, and they are a notch below the best teams in the south.

They haven't had a quality win yet this season. The Xavier game was their best chance so far, but they collapsed at the end and were blown out in overtime by the Musketeers.

Vanderbilt needs to rebound the ball better and curb the turnover problem if they want to contend for the SEC title.

Honorable Mention

Here's a few more teams that are a bit overrated:

Florida State Seminoles

Pittsburgh Panthers

Marquette Golden Eagles

Michigan Wolverines