Eight Teams To Watch in '08

As 2007 bids adieu, the New Year brings a two-month marathon of intra-conference play in the college basketball season leading up to the Tournament in March. As teams enter their conference schedules, they can longer hide behind their gaudy records and cupcake schedules to carry them through. Exhibit A: Clemson. Last season, the Tigers were the last team in the nation to lose a game, starting 16-0 and looking assured of an NCAA bid. Then, tragically, Clemson fell of a cliff during the meat of its schedule in January and February, and found itself in the Not Invited Tournament.

With that in mind, here’s eight teams that have a lot to prove as they prepare for conference play in 2008. Some of these teams may have nice records, but there is considerable work left to be done between now and March. Others on this list had high hopes for a successful season, but have stumbled out of the gate poorly. They must turn it on now, or face substantial disappointment.

Miami Hurricanes (12-1)
Make no mistake about it, this is a much-improved team from the squad that finished last in the ACC last season. But, even though this team is nationally ranked and has already matched their win total from a year ago, its hard to assess just how good this team is. Their best win is against VCU, a decent win, but nothing to ride home about. Putting together a non-conference slate of teams like Florida Southern, Marist, and Alabama State isn’t the way to prepare yourself for a very deep conference that has several teams that will competing for at-large bids. Luckily the Hurricanes only have to play UNC once, but they will play Boston College, Florida State, and Clemson twice each in what will certainly determine which of those four goes dancing.

Mississippi Rebels (12-0)
The surprise of the SEC West has compiled an undefeated start with only one really good win, a neutral court victory over undefeated Clemson. The Rebels do have a favorable schedule to look forward to with Vanderbilt coming to their house in their only meeting. However, the Rebels will find out just how good they really are when they travel to Knoxville to battle Tennessee next week. Ole Miss has played only one true road game of its first 12, and it came against a team that’s 7-6. The SEC West doesn’t appear to be as strong as originally thought, so the Rebels should do enough in their conference schedule to ensure a Tournament bid.

Pittsburgh Panthers (11-1)
This may be a bit surprising, considering Pittsburgh was a top five team coming off a tremendous win against Duke just last week. But, in the last two games, the Panthers have lost two of their key contributors for the season. First against Duke, it was senior Mike Cook who suffered a devastating knee injury that ended his career four months early. Then, it was Levance Fields who went down, in Pittsburgh’s stunning blowout loss to Dayton. Fields had been the Panthers go-to guy in the clutch, hitting the game winning shot against the Blue Devils. Without those two, Pittsburgh will need Sam Young (left) and DeJuan Blair to step their games up. Jamie Dixon’s team is still talented enough to get a NCAA bid, but the Big East will offer no favors to a undermanned club. Just ask the next team on our list.

Louisville Cardinals (9-4)
Rick Pitino’s club was poised to be a Final Four contender this year, with all their players returning from a squad that ended last season as one of the nation’s hottest teams. Like Pittsburgh, though, the Cardinals have had the injury bug hit them hard, and they haven’t responded. Juan Palacios started the season on the shelf, and missed the first nine games of the season. He is trying to work himself back into the rotation, but is struggling. Another big man, David Padgett, has battled injury problems his entire collegiate career. He got injured in Louisville’s second game of the season, and missed 10 games, but returned for the team’s conference opener, a loss to Cincinnati. Sitting at 0-1 in conference already and lacking the swagger of a contender, Louisville is in trouble.

Houston Cougars (11-1)
For most, Conference USA only mattered because of the Memphis Tigers, but Houston is doing their best to try and change that. Only a last second loss to VCU in their second game of the season has prevented the Cougars from starting undefeated. Houston beat up on Kentucky rather easily, (who hasn’t) and has another home game coming with Arizona to prove their worth once more. But, Houston’s real game to watch is their January 30th tilt with Memphis. The Cougars will enter that contest with absolutely nothing to lose, and the Tigers better be ready. Houston has shown to be a tough game for anyone at home, and you can bet they will be riled up for John Calipari’s team.

Southern Illinois Salukis (6-6)
The Salukis have been one of the nation’s best mid-majors for some time now, and are always expected to be in the NCAA Tournament no problem. This year has been a completely different story. Southern Illinois lost only seven games in making the Sweet 16 last year, but they have six games through a third of the season. They have put together a difficult nonconference schedule, but failing to stay competitive against USC and Indiana were red flags early in the season. Losses to Saint Louis and Western Michigan were devastating as well. Mid-majors don’t have a long leash on their bandwagons, and the Salukis are losing support. It will be intriguing to see how one of the toughest teams in the nation responds to this bout of adversity.

Kentucky Wildcats (6-6)
Fans in Lexington don’t respond to losing well, which has made Billy Gillespie’s first season in Kentucky a living hell. The Wildcats were expected to go through a bit of a transition this season, but this has turned into a disaster. It started with Garnder Webb, but it hasn’t stopped there. Losses to UAB and San Diego at home were just as frustrating for Kentucky, and its looking certain that the Wildcats will miss the Tournament all together for the first time since the team’s postseason ban ended in 1992. Avoiding that horrible fate will require Kentucky to turn their season around in a hurry, beginning with Saturday’s game against Louisville.

Maryland Terrapins (8-6)
Gary Williams (right) has done a great job during his years at Maryland, helping revive a dormant program, but he has stumbled this year with a talented club. The Terrapins were looking forward to building off last year’s second round appearance with a host of returners coming back. Williams has prepared his team with a testy nonconference schedule that included UCLA and Missouri, but Maryland has failed to break through for a marquee win yet. After missing opportunities to notch a big-time win, Maryland stumbled through a rough three-game losing streak that ended with consecutive losses to Ohio and American at home. The young Terrapins have the chance to ease themselves into their conference schedule, and will need to take advantage of it if they want to improve off of last year.