It seems that basketball teams on the East Coast have been paralleling the weather, namely cooling down. Way down.
In the NBA, no true contender has shown itself capable of being the Beast of the East and challenging a Western conference team in the finals, and the same has been true in the college game.
The Big East and ACC, annually two of the elite conferences, have shown major chinks in their armor as the calendar flips towards February and tournament resumes are cemented.
The traditional powerhouses will likely need to buck the weather trends and warm up quickly – or else I hope they have HD, because they’ll be watching from home come March.
UConn, just three years removed from a national title, sits at 2-5 in the Big East after an 11-0 start, and is in danger of missing out on a tournament bid.
Syracuse is in a similar position. Just four years ago, Carmelo Anthony led the Orange to a title, but Jim Boeheim hasn’t tasted similar success since. Syracuse’s up-and-down play and back-to-back losses to Louisville and St. John’s bode poorly for the future.
Preseason favorite Georgetown has failed to live up to expectations, and its’ recent four-game winning streak has come against teams that are just a combined 9-21 in conference. Pitt and Marquette appear to be separating themselves from their Big East brethren, but they too have flaws, and neither has the look of a dominant team.
The ACC appears to be in even worse shape than the Big East. Duke has had erratic play at the point, and its young bigs haven’t played to their potential. Boston College actually currently leads the league, but just lost center Sean Williams, who was kicked off the team. Maryland and Georgia Tech have disappointed thus far, and Clemson has gone 1-4 since a 17-0 start.
Only one team in the East has played well enough to truly establish itself among the nation’s elite: North Carolina.
The Tar Heels have been ranked in the top five for most of the season, and deservedly so. Although extremely young, they are equally talented and play a fast, appealing style of basketball.
At 19-2 (5-1 in the ACC), the Tar Heels are setting themselves up for a potential No. 1 seed and a likely league title. Few other teams can match Roy Williams’ feared secondary break led by quicksilver guard Tywon Lawson, or Brandan Wright and Tyler Hansbrough down low.
UNC also ranks in the top five nationally in both offensive and defensive efficiencies (according to kenpom.com), meaning the Heels not only come after you on offense, but they play some in-your-face defense as well.
And they come after teams in waves for 40 minutes with their overflow of talented players just waiting for a turn, such as Wayne Ellington, Danny Green, Marcus Ginyard and Reyshawn Terry, not to mention California natives Alex Stepheson and Deon Thompson. That list doesn’t even include last season’s starting guards Wes Miller and Bobby Frasor.
North Carolina’s 28-point rout over Arizona last week cemented the Tar Heels as the best in the ACC. That much is obvious.
At this juncture, it appears UNC has joined Wisconsin, Florida, UCLA and possibly Ohio State and Oregon as the nation’s elite teams.
But with the rest of teams in the East going through a cold spell, the Tar Heels really don’t have much competition.