The College Basketball season enters the final 4 weeks of basketball before we head into the always exciting conference championships and March Madness. We have some numerous events take place already on the college hoops stage with upsets, last second buzzer beaters, to instant classics, and much more. The rest of the season promises to be just as exciting and we will take a look what to possibly expect when the NCAA Tournament rolls around with a prediction of number 1 seeds, along with teams to watch out for, and who could possibly win it all.

The 2009 season has seen many different number 1 teams fall, and a few other teams completely fall apart. However, there are a few that have been rather stellar throughout the year and have a great chance at locking up a number 1 seed in March. The most probable team to lock up a number 1 is the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma stands right now at a 23-1 record for the season along with 13 straight wins since their lone loss to Arkansas in late December. Oklahoma has narrowly escaped quite a few games this season but has managed to get the wins none the less. However, Oklahoma will really get tested in their final 5 games of the season with road trips to Missouri and Texas while also hosting Kansas. Oklahoma benefits from teams like Duke, Wake Forest, Louisville, all having at least 4 losses which are also the teams ranked 4-7 nationally. Even if the Sooners lose 1 or possibly 2 of the last 5 they still have a good chance to receive a number 1 seed because they only have 1 loss at this point in the year. While many have criticized the Sooners schedule, Blake Griffin (22ppg, 13rpg) has proven to be one of the best players in the nation and will likely give Oklahoma a chance to win any game they play in for the rest of the season no matter who they play. Given the Sooners do not completely fall apart they should be a safe bet to holding down the number 1 spot in March.

Another number one seed will likely come out of the best conference in basketball throughout 2009 which is the Big East. The Connecticut Huskies has held the number 1 ranking in America over the last two weeks and they will have a great shot to finish the year strong. Pittsburgh is another strong team that will have a chance as well. The Panthers were the top ranked team in America for a good while during the early part of the year, but suffered two losses rather close together to top 15 teams Louisville and Villanova. However, both of these two teams are first and second in the conference and will battle two more times this year including a showdown tonight at Gampel Pavilion. It is safe to say if one of those teams could win both games they could likely win the Big East will continuing to be one of the top ranked teams in the country. Pittsburgh and Connecticut have only 5 games left to play and you would have to give the Huskies the advantage with their outstanding defense and excellent rebounding. If these two teams split, Connecticut will still have the edge with one less loss at this point in the season and many would have to consider them the biggest favorite to capture a number one seed. However, it is too early to count out Pittsburgh heading into tonight’s big game.

The North Carolina Tarheels came out of the gates this season as strong as any team in recent history. North Carolina won 13 straight games in dominating fashion and had some fans believing in an undefeated campaign. However, the Tarheels would lose 2 out of the next 3 to unranked Boston College and also Wake Forest. Since those slips, North Carolina has returned to early season form with 9 straight wins including double digit victories over Clemson and Duke. The Tarheels have a rather light schedule ahead of them with the season finale at home against Duke once again. North Carolina can lose 1 game and still become a number one seed, but considering how well they have been playing they may not lose any. Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, and Wayne Ellington make up an all-star type college hoops lineup and there is no doubt they possess the most talent in America.

The final number one seed could be up for grabs. Pittsburgh will have the best opportunity even with their two match-ups with Connecticut that could go either way. The Panthers only have two losses and if they could avoid dropping both to the Huskies they have the best shot at locking up the final number one seed. However, teams like Memphis and Louisville still have legitimate chances. Louisville suffered their 5th loss of the season and will take a slide towards the bottom of the top 10. However if they could get some help from Connecticut taking down Pittsburgh once or twice, the Cardinals will also get Pittsburgh and they have already beat them once this year. Memphis on the other hand is a team that lacks the strength of schedule or RPI as the top teams, but they have racked up 16 straight wins with the optimistic outlook of an easy schedule. The Tigers could very well have the best chance with the other team’s difficult schedules to rally and earn the final number one position in the NCAA Tournament.

Now we move on to one of the more difficult task in predicting a team that many would not expect to turn the NCAA Tournament into their Cinderella story in 2009. Davidson was one similar scenario last year when they seemingly came out of nowhere to make the Elite 8 before losing to Kansas who went on to win the National Championship. There are some teams that would love to impact the tournament this season and make similar noise. One team that could likely breakout in 2009 Tournament time is the Marquette Golden Eagles. Marquette has played against the best teams in America all season as has hung right with the best of them and is currently only one game behind Connecticut in the Big East. The Golden Eagles are a fast pace team that could give the usual power teams a lot of problems with players like Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews. Another team that could make an impact in the tournament is an unlikely wonder out of the SEC and the only unranked team we have mentioned in the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Gamecocks have really played well behind new coach Darrin Horn. After two straight seasons of 15 or more losses, the Gamecocks now stand at 18-5 and in the lead of the SEC East division. South Carolina was definitely not considered to even make the Tournament this year much less make an impact in the spectacle. However, South Carolina is a scrappy bunch lead by Devan Downey who is one of the better guards in America. South Carolina has won with some exciting close games this year in the SEC and if they can hang in some ball games they will be tough to beat late in games. All of these teams appear to have the ability to surprise some teams, but we never know what will truly shake out. One thing is for certain and that is the uncertain in March.