A team’s desired state at this time of year is “still getting better”, though that team isn’t as scary as “the team no one wants to play”.
The teams that are “still getting better” were known contenders in November, whose preferred trajectory is incremental improvement through April.
The teams “no one wants to play” can be young — unsure about relying on underclassmen in January, but when those youngsters demonstrate development spurts in February while the veterans improve with the rising tide, that’s a potential Cinderella.
A more prosaic “team no one wants to face” is the known contender hampered by injury, then getting the injured player(s) back like cavalry in an old movie. Kansas State hopes for that, and so does Colorado.
There’s also the team whose won-lost record is misleading for losing many close games, then overcome that hurdle at tournament time. Oregon State
was a prime example in the Pac-12 two years ago. In this year’s Big 16 tournament, that team is Texas Tech.
Since Jan. 25, the Raiders lost to Oklahoma St. by 3, Colorado by 4, Cincinnati by 3, UCF by 1. Their last regular season game was a 4-point overtime win vs. Colorado, and a 1st-round tournament win over higher-seed Kansas, also by 4.
If any of the 5-8 seeds is an upset victim, it’s us, I am afraid.