At this time of year, we always have a few surprise teams that have thrown themselves into the tournament picture despite low regard from fans and writers in their own conferences. Without belaboring the intro, here are a few squads that have surprised us with their consistent ability to win tough games.
Virginia: 11-4 (3-0) This was supposed to be a very rough year for the Cavaliers, as they adjusted to new coach Tony Bennett and his ball-control scheme. There were some early stumbles, as the 'Hoos succumbed to mediocre competition such as South Florida and Penn State, and some downright awful competition in Stanford and Auburn. Since the loss at the SEC doormat Tigers, UVA has been on a tear, winning six straight and topping the ACC with a win at N.C. State and over ranked Georgia Tech at home. Sylven Landesberg is the returning ACC Newcomer, lest anyone forget, and Bennett's defensive set makes it very difficult to score on Virginia. With UNC struggling, the Cavs may very well stay on top.
Wichita State: 16-3 (5-2) Northern Iowa leads the Missouri Valley with a perfect 6-0 record, but the Shockers have been strong all year, surging ahead of more highly-regarded opponents Creighton and Illinois State in the standings, and taking down power-conference foes Iowa and Texas Tech in the early going. WSU head coach Gregg Marshall made his reputation in the Big South, turning Winthrop into a regular presence in the NCAA tourney. He's once again getting a lot out of players you've never heard of. Yet.
Colorado State: 11-6 (2-1) The Rams haven't been to the Big Dance since 2003, and the past two seasons were abysmal, with single-digit wins becoming the norm. In '07-'08, they had a brutal 0-16 conference mark. This season, however, CSU is getting 13.5 ppg out of Dorian Green (from my hometown of Lawrence, KS!), and are consistently topping the Mountain West in shooting percentages and efficiency. Going up against Brigham Young on Saturday, someone had to get a loss, and it was CSU, but this is still looking like a banner season in Fort Collins.
Pittsburgh: 15-2 (5-0) No DeJuan Blair, no Sam Young, no Levance Fields. No problem. Jamie Dixon has transcended lineup changes and turned the Panthers into a tough program. Playing without academic casualty Gilbert Brown for the first semester, Pitt lost to Indiana and Texas. With Brown returning for conference play, the Panthers have won three tough roadies as part of their amazingly unblemished Big East record. A blistering comeback over Louisville to maintain the streak showed these guys are for real.
Northern Colorado: 16-4 (5-2) The record might not impress a casual fan, but those of us who know what "Transitional DI" entails are amazed and impressed. The Bears hail from the meatpacking town of Greeley, on the plains between the Rockies and the sheer flatitude of Nebraska. In 2005, the team won two games. Last year, it was 14 overall. This year, the've already eclipsed that mark and stand second in the Big Sky behind 5-1 Weber State. Can they win the league? Does a Bear shit in the woods?
Western Carolina: 14-3 (4-1) This is the team that beat Louisville at Louisville. And yet, they're still second in the SoCon, largely because College of Charleston is 6-0 and has beat North Carolina. There's a power vacuum in the Southern since Stephen Curry left Davidson, and both CofC and Western are gunning for the precious auto-bid.
William & Mary: 14-3 (6-1) The CAA has traditionally belonged to VCU and George Mason, and W&M are famous for having never made the NCAAs. The school is ancient by American standards, and their powerful academic reputation and small size makes them a tough sell for elite recruits. The Tribe lost their first two games this season, at Big East power UConn and at resurgent Harvard, then went on a ten-game winning streak that included roadies at Wake Forest and Maryland. If W&M can at least make it to the CAA finals, they have serious bona fides for an at-large.
Marshall: 15-2 (4-0) The Thundering Herd have a spectacular player in Hassan Whiteside, who tallied a big-man triple-double of 14 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 blocks at conference foe Central Florida on Friday. Forward Tyler Wilkerson and guard Shaquille Johnson score plenty as well, and Damier Pitts dishes the rock very well while also averaging over ten points himself. With Memphis no lock to run the table in C-USA, look out for Marshall (and Tulsa, who are hanging right with the Herd).
Coastal Carolina: 17-3 (7-1) The Chanticleers haven't been to the Big Dance since 1993, and they know they won't go again if they can't win the Big South tourney, but they're making serious inroads toward hosting the title game. Yes, they lost to league favorites Radford a week ago, but they've won their other seven conference games, which puts them 1 1/2 games up on the Highlanders. Look for them when I start Auto-Bid Watch in February.
Louisiana Tech: 17-2 (5-0) Not since the days of Karl Malone have the Bulldogs been this scary. Their only losses came on the road, at New Mexico of the Mountain West, and at Arizona. Tech has been in the news recently for sending their football coach to Tennessee (he was, if my count is correct, the Vols' eighth choice), but someone needs to start paying attention to these guys. Don't sleep on the WAC.
There are several teams with good records (CofC, for instance) that I didn't include because they were expected to be good this year. However, if you feel I genuinely left out a team that battled low expectations to rise to the top at the midway point, let me know at stormingthefloor at gmail dot com.