Once official NCAA brackets hit websites and newspapers around the country everyone tries to predict who will be the national champion for men’s college basketball, but here are the only eight teams who have a legitimate chance at surviving March Madness. The catch? The brackets come out in 33 days, yet this will still be right come April 7.

8) Connecticut Huskies
You may be thinking this is a stretch, but now that the Huskies are full-strength and healthy, they play some of the most aggressive and hot-shooting basketball in the country. It was between the Huskies and Louisville, and still might change, but I don’t see a better Big East team that can make a deep run into the tournament.

7) Duke Blue Devils
Yea, yea, yea. Duke beat University of North Carolina, and yes it was nine miles away “at” UNC, but the Blue Devils are missing the down-low presence that a great NCAA run needs. That being said, the Blue Devils are still a great team and can out-shoot anyone. They have a shot at a Final Four appearance but still not as good of a shot as UNC… yea Dukies, bring on the comments.

6) Washington State Cougars
The Cougars are among the best in the Pacific-10 Conference, and would have what it takes to win the conference if it wasn’t for UCLA. Derrick Low will be the face of the Cougars in the tournament and how he does will reflect on how deep Wazzu can run.

5) University of Memphis Tigers
John Calipari has the best mid-major team in the country, but their so-far undefeated season might be the one thing that results in an early exit in the tourney. They should be an Elite Eight team but a weak schedule might doom them. If they can take down the University of Tennessee Volunteers later this month they will no doubt be the top seed going into the tourney.

4) University of Kansas Jayhawks
A big loss to the Kentucky Wildcats shouldn’t hurt the Jayhawks on their pursuit to a No. 1 seed. They can run the court with anyone in the country, and the one-two punch of Chalmers and Rush at the guard position is the reason the Jays are so fast. Kansas has one of the best chances at a national championship if they can get to the Final Four.

3) University of North Carolina Tar Heels
You may think it’s crazy to have UNC this high, or low, if you read top to bottom, but even after the loss to Duke the Heels still have a great shooting team and, is definitely a team that can make a hot run in the tourney.

2) University of California-Los Angeles Bruins
Freshman phenom Kevin Love is averaging just over 17 points a game and despite their two losses – Texas by two and University of Southern California by nine – the Bruins are the deepest even when Love is struggling. With the bench the Bruins have, there is no doubt that they are a Final Four team.

1) University of Tennessee Volunteers
After a big win over defending champs Florida, the Vols have the fastest, hottest and happiest players in the NCAA. With the pace that Bruce Pearl sets on the court there is no one in the country that can match up to the Vols and their scoring runs, even the best ACC or Pac-10 team. This team isn’t the best in the country right now, but with their will and skill they will no doubt be in the Final Four working towards their first national championship.

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