In Search Of The "It" Team

After all of the time and effort you put into filling out your bracket, your success or failure will basically come down to your how well one team performs, your "It" team. I have to give Dan Shanoff the credit for coining the term, and the premise is actually pretty accurate. What is an "It" team? The "It" team is the team in your bracket , outside of the top line, that you pick to make a big run to the Elite 8, Final Four or National Championship. Basically, the success or failure of this team will determine how well you do on your bracket. Every year, one or two teams tend to be the trendy pick for the "It" team of the bracket (think Gonzaga and West Virginia in last year's tournament) So who is going to be the most popular "It" team this year? Here are some of the candidates...



The Candidates


Georgetown

For Gtown

• You could make the argument that Georgetown has been the best team in college basketball since February 1st
• Junior trio of Roy Hibbert, Jeff Green and Jonathan Wallace are the most talented and experienced trio outside of Florida
• Disciplined Princeton-style offense difficult to prepare for on short notice
  

Against Gtown

• Might be too good at this point to be considered an "it" team

Texas A&M

For A&M

• Defensive-minded team with one of the top coaches in all of college basketball
  
• Acie Law is the type of clutch star player a team needs to win a National Championship
• Have other scoring options outside of Law in Kavaliauskas and Jones.
  

Against A&M

• The bandwagon has been full since January

Southern Illinois

For SIU

• Best Mid-Major with experienced starters from previous tournament runs. Will be rewarded with a 3-4 seed
• SIU is one of the overall quickest and best defensive teams in all of the country
• Jamal Tatum, who seems like he has been at SIU for 9 years, is a terrific player

Against SIU

• Have not fared well in March recently (First round exits in 04 and 06)
  
• Not sure if they will have enough offense to win four straight
  

Winthrop


For Winthrop

• The popular pick to be this year's George Mason
• Four losses this season were close calls to Wisconsin, Texas A&M, North Carolina and Maryland
• Return all five starters from a team that almost upset 2-seed Tennessee last March

Against Winthrop

• Pick is too trendy. It seems like everyone and their brother likes Winthrop to make a run, never a good sign (ask Gonzaga in 2002)
  
• The season has been defined by tough losses to quality teams, but not by actual victories
  

Maryland

For Maryland

• The Terps seem to be heating up at exactly the right time
  
• All five Terp starters average in double figures, good luck shutting them all down at once
• DJ Strawberry is finally living up to all of the hype and looks poised for a big postseason

Against Maryland

• Bad loss to Miami in ACC tournament might bring all of that momentum to a halt.
• Shaky on the boards and not very big inside.

Other possible candiates: Washington State, Virginia Tech, Memphis, Oregon


Who is going to be my "It" team?.........Texas A&M (Can't hop off the wagon at this point)


Give me your "It" teams in the comments......


Also, if your are a sports blogger, sign up for the JCMJ Sports Bloggers Bracket Challenge before it's too late. The password is password.