By now you've had time to digest the latest update to Jeff Borzello's college basketball Way-Too-Early Top 25. But as Jeff himself points out, it actually isn't "way too early" anymore. We are just 23 days away from the scheduled start of the season.
With that in mind, I decided that it's high time to once again identify the "fatal flaws" that are being exhibited by, um, the strongest teams in the nation. What can I say? I see the glass as half-empty.
Here's Jeff's top 25, with the biggest concern I see standing in the way of each team's title hopes.
1. Baylor Bears
Flaw: Shooting the ball
Baylor is an excellent choice at No. 1. The Bears in all likelihood would have earned a No. 1 seed if the 2020 NCAA tournament had happened, and Scott Drew brings back far more experience than other likely top seeds from last March, such as Gonzaga, Kansas and Dayton. Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell, MaCio Teague and Mark Vital have proven that they know how to get the job done, particularly on defense.
They just don't shoot the ball all that well. BU converted 46.3% of its 2s and 33.5% of its 3s in Big 12 play last season. Granted, the Bears scored a decent number of points by keeping turnovers to a minimum and crashing the offensive glass. But can a team win it all with such so-so shooting? The past five national champions, for example, have on average hit 54.6% of their 2s and 38.7% of their 3s in conference play (though those teams did play with a more forgiving 3-point line).
