March Madness is still over a month away, but it is never too early to look at what teams are true contenders to cut the nets down. Teams such as Auburn, Duke, and Alabama are viewed as the top threats to take home the title, but there are others who have a real chance to make some noise and mess up some brackets.
Texas Tech put their name on the map after a massive win on the road against Houston despite J.T. Toppin and head coach Grant McCasland being ejected in the first four minutes, but that win isn’t why they are on this list. They have been one of the best teams in the country on both ends of the floor since the start of the season.
They are 17-4 on the season and 8-2 in conference play. All four of their losses have been by five points or less, and in conference play, they lost to an elite offensive team in UCF by 4 points in the first game and one of the country’s best teams, Iowa St, by one in OT. They have beaten Arizona and Houston, the two top teams in the Big 12, halfway through conference play, and they are starting to look like a top-five team in the country.
Texas Tech is an elite team on both ends of the floor, so they are dangerous come March. They allow just 65.4 points per game this season, the 29th-best in the country, and they are the 25th highest-scoring offense in the country with an average of 81.4 points per game. They are the 21st-best three-point shooting team in the country at 38.2% as well.
Tech has some of the best shooters in college basketball, such as Chance McMillan, who is a 45.5% shooter from deep; Kerwin Walton, who shoots 42%; and Christian Anderson, who shoots 39.5%. Walton is mainly a shooting specialist who averages just 5 points per game, but McMillan and Anderson are relied upon to create shots. McMillan averages 15.4 points per game, tied for the most on the team, and Anderson averages 9.4 points off the bench.
On top of having elite shooters, Texas Tech has one of the country’s best post scorers in J.T. Toppin. He averages 15.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block per game, but his impact on the game is much more significant than his stats indicate. Due to injuries, Toppin has played in 17 of 21 games, and due to injuries, illness, and a questionable ejection, he has played under 20 minutes in 4 of those 17 games. When fully healthy, he has put up seven double-doubles this season, 4 of which featured 20-point outputs. He scored 18 points in 9 of the 13 games he played over 20 minutes this season.
Toppin is an elite rebounder and a fantastic post scorer as he has tremendous touch around the basket, strength to finish through contract, and is a good passer despite averaging just 1 assist a game. Teams tend to double Toppin when he is down low, and it results in him kicking the ball out, and more often than not, it results in an open look off of his pass or the swing pass.
He also has shown he can step out beyond the arc and knock down a three if left open. He is the engine for the Red Raiders offense, and when he clicks offensively, it becomes much more challenging to stop. Along with Toppin and elite shooting, Darrion Williams is a great secondary scorer and playmaker for Tech. He averages 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists.
He is a well-rounded player who contributes in all areas for Tech and provides whatever is needed. Texas Tech also has one of the better playmakers in the country, Elijah Hawkins, as he averages 6 assists per game. He isn’t an extremely efficient scorer, as he is just 5’11, but he takes care of the ball and creates shots for others with his ability to get in the paint with his speed.
Texas Tech’s roster fits exceptionally well, and they are starting to click on all cylinders. They seem poised to make a run at the title in March.
Texas A&M isn’t the same level of offensive team as Texas Tech, but they are elite on defense and the best offensive rebounding team in the country. A&M is currently 4th place in the SEC with a record of 6-3 in conference play and an overall record of 17-5.
They lost on the road against Texas and Kentucky and at home against Alabama, but against both Kentucky and Bama, Wade Taylor did not play. In those games, Zhuric Phelps stepped up as he had at least 20 points and 7 rebounds in each game, but A&M didn’t have enough firepower without Taylor. He is their best player as he averages 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists a game, and he can catch fire at any notice and take over a game.
A&M ranks as the country’s 117th-best offense with an average of 75.4 points per game and a 3-point shooting percentage of just 3.15%, 286th in the country, but they average 13.6 offensive rebounds per game, the most in the country, and 25 free-throws per game, the 11th most in the country. They out-hustle teams and constantly pressure the rim by attacking the hoop.
They play with that same relentless energy on defense as they allow just 66.2 points per game, the 36th best in the country. They force teams to play their ball style, and not many teams are suited to play A&M’s style of muck-it-up basketball. When March rolls around, elite guard play and elite defense are arguably the two most essential elements that teams need to succeed, and Texas A&M has both.
Between the tenacity they play with on offense and defense and the scoring upside of Wade Taylor and Zhuric Phelps, the Aggies will be challenging in March. Just last year, Taylor scored 25 points and 21 points in A&M’s 2 games in the tournament. In the SEC tournament, he scored over 20 points in all three games and 30 or more in 2 of those games.
He is a big-game player and can sway a game’s outcome if he gets hot. In a win-or-go-home setting, this is not the style of play that teams want to match up with due to their defense and physicality.
Another team that is in the midst of a hot streak and possesses everything a team needs in March to make a run is Arizona. They are tied for first place in the Big 12 as they are 9-1 in conference play with the only loss coming against Texas Tech, they are great on both ends of the floor, and they have a player in Caleb Love who can single-handedly take over a game.
He can also shoot the Wildcats out of a game, and it has happened before. He is a significant wildcard when the tournament rolls around, as he is highly talented but very inconsistent and streaky. If he gets hot in March, Arizona will be a tough out; if he goes cold, they may not make it out of the first weekend.
Maryland is another team that can present problems in the tournament, as they have a dominant big-man duo with Julian Reesee and standout freshman Derik Queen. They likely aren’t threats to win the entire tournament like the Tech and A&M, but they can make a deep run and ruin brackets. They are great on both ends of the court and create a matchup problem for opposing defense with their bigs.
A lot can change until the tournament rolls around, but Texas Tech and Texas A&M are playing excellent basketball and possess the features that teams need to make a deep run. No one knows where they will wind up in brackets, but whoever is on their side of the bracket will wish they weren’t. It should not be surprising if these teams make their way to the final four and knock off some higher seeds. Not to mention, Texas Tech has a history of being a strong tournament team in recent memory.
Tech was unranked just two weeks ago, and A&M has been viewed as a second-tier team all year long when it comes to title talks, and they both should be viewed as legit contenders to cut down the nets.
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