In this week’s edition of McDonald’s Nuggets, Dan McDonald names five under-the-radar teams that could make a Final Four run and highlights a strong early commitment for Purdue.
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RECRUITING UPDATES: Baye Fall | Isaiah Miranda | Aric Demings
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2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Rivals150
2024 Rankings: Top 40
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STARTING FIVE: Final Four sleepers
Every year it seems like a team nobody expects to make the Final Four comes out of nowhere to do just that. After a little over a month of college basketball I have some teams in mind that could surprise some people with a deep run come March. My criteria here for a “sleeper” is a team that isn’t currently ranked in the top 10.
Let’s start with 13th-ranked Auburn. Jabari Smith keeps getting better every game and Bruce Pearl’s team is really talented and deep. When Allen Flanigan returns and rounds into form, the Tigers have firepower to beat anyone. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if they finish in the top 5 and win the SEC regular season title.
Right behind them, Houston looks like it could be poised for another run to the final weekend of the season. The Cougars just went into a really hostile Coleman Coliseum and nearly knocked off Alabama, another team with Final Four-level talent. They defend, they rebound and Marcus Sasser is good enough to carry them and hit all the big shots needed to cut down the nets.
Texas added a ton of new pieces to its roster after Chris Beard took the job back in March to give the Longhorns one of the most talented teams in the country. If anyone can figure out how to get this group to play its best basketball when it matters most it’s Beard. This is a bet on him and the Longhorns' talent.
I’m not ready to rule out Kentucky making a return to the Final Four this year. Like Texas, the Wildcats added a ton of new pieces to their roster, and John Calipari will need some time to settle on the right rotation. There are playmakers, shot-makers and dominant frontcourt players on this roster.
And lastly, I’ll take a flyer on Xavier to make a deep run. Travis Steele has yet to make the NCAA Tournament as a head coach, but he’s been around the Musketeers program when it made a few runs in March. He has a deep and talented roster that doesn’t really have a hole to it. Xavier is currently 10-1 despite facing a tough schedule and fighting through injury and illnesses.
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2023 COMMIT OF THE WEEK: Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn to Purdue
Matt Painter and his staff are getting their work done early in the 2023 class, as the Boilermakers added their second commitment on Thursday from Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn. The four-star prospect is a really talented scorer and playmaker that should see time at both guard spots at Purdue. The Indiana native is now attending Real Salt Lake and is currently averaging around 19 points per game against a national schedule. The Boilermakers had to fend off in-state rival Indiana to land a commitment from Gibbs-Lawhorn.
