One of the hottest college basketball teams in the country currently resides in the Bluegrass state. In past years, one would think of teams from either Lexington or Louisville. Now, what would you say if that the team being spoken about was from Bowling Green, Ky?
That's right. The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (28-3) are the best team in the NCAA Tournament that nobody, including all of us college basketball junkies, has heard anything about. So who are these guys?
Western Kentucky received an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament by winning the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. It is riding an 18-game winning streak, quietly ranked No. 18 by the Associated Press. It also thoroughly beat Kentucky (20-9) in Rupp Arena earlier this season.
The Hilltoppers are led by 7'1\ senior center Chris Marcus, a unanimous preseason All-America selection who averages 16.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. Marcus has escaped most media coverage this year because of a midseason ankle injury, which sidelined him for two months.
Although Marcus is the main attraction, Western Kentucky is not a one-man show. The Hilltoppers have five other players averaging nine or more points per game.
They run a classic inside-outside offense that relies on 6'1"" senior guard Derek Robinson and 6'1"" freshman guard Patrick Sparks from the perimeter to complement Marcus in the paint. Both guards shoot around 45 percent from three-point range.
Western Kentucky's up-tempo style should not be taken for granted in NCAA Tournament play. Its high-powered offense has reached the 90-point plateau in 10 games this season, including four 100-point outputs.
With a top-20 ranking and a record of 28-3, the Hilltoppers might be the best sleeper or Cinderella team in this year's tournament.
But is Western Kentucky good enough to pencil into the sweet 16 of your tournament pool? Should it defeat a formidable Stanford Cardinal (19-9) team in the first round, a likely match with top-seeded Kansas (29-3) awaits it in the second round.
Unless you think Kansas is a Final Four lock, strongly consider rolling the dice on Western Kentucky. If you think the logic is bogus, consider this:
Since Kansas' last Final Four appearance in 1993, it has received a No. 1 seed in 1995, 1997 and 1998. In each year it have failed to advance past the Sweet 16. Kansas is notorious for great regular seasons with early-round exits.
