Best NCAA Tournament Bets |duke basketball report

Five teams were separated on the field.

Selection Sunday is right around the corner, and by Monday morning, 68 teams will be dreaming.

Best NCAA Betting

Five teams split the field

Half of them are gone in a hurry, and next Monday we're in the Sweet 16.

Seeing the upsets is always an adrenaline rush.Still, while we tend to see one or two really bright teams, this tournament quickly descends into brass tacks and real contenders emerge.

We may see some of these teams get upset early, but our guess is that the champion will be one of these five schools:

They are currently a top five team in the AP Poll, but that's not the reason.The top four teams are playing great.We chose UConn because we deeply respect Danny Hurley's talent.

Duke has been playing very, very well. If Lady Sales can score in double figures, Duke will be hard to beat. This defense will keep them consistent in almost every game. Offense is key and seems to be picking up.

Arizona convinced us when they won in Houston.Koa Turf and Dwayne Aristode were unavailable and Brendan Burris had a terrible game.They beat Kansas and Iowa State in their last two games.They are ready.

Michigan's numbers are off the charts.Guard LJ Cason is done for the rest of the season, which is a concern, but Trey McKinney should be ready to step up.Remember, Dusty May said he was too mature for a freshman.

Florida lost by one point to Duke and faced early criticism in the backcourt.Not so much lately: Their only loss since Jan. 6 was at Auburn.They beat senseless Arkansas 111-77 on Saturday and held freshman Darius Acuff to 6-19 for 17 points.Florida is a much, much better team today than Cameron.

As for UConn, Hurley tore the defense of St.John before the game.UConn then chased the Johnnies, who missed their final 24 field goals and scored just 40 points.They played Seton Hall on Saturday and won 71-67.

They are the worst team of the five. But you underestimate UConn and you are in danger.

Incidentally, ESPN currently lists the top seeds as Duke (East), Michigan (Midwest), UConn (South) and Arizona (West).

By the way, Florida is the No. 2 seed in the South and Purdue is the No. 2 seed in the East. Iowa is second in the Midwest and finally Illinois is second in the West.

We'll get into this more as time gets closer, but we think the top four schools in our hour, along with UConn, really stand out.