This may seem a bit obvious, most of these teams are damn good. But it’s simply things I’ve noticed from watching games. Whether it’s matchup problems, intangibles, or experience, these are teams I don’t want my team to be facing come tournament time.

Marquette: I found myself more into Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh than the NFC Championship, it was that good. Marquette reminds me a lot of Villanova from a season ago. They don’t have many big guys but they have tons of guards that can play. Last year, Villanova got to the Elite 8 before losing to a bigger, stronger Florida team. But Elite 8 means you’re a damn good team and I think that’s where they can end up this year. Domanic James (right) is a beast. If you haven’t watched him, make sure you get the chance. Marquette has won four straight games, three of those coming over ranked teams. They’re a little more under the radar than most top 15 teams but I think I’ll have them going deep into March. They’ve also found their replacement for Steve Novak, last year’s big gumpy white guy that can shoot three pointers. Dan Fitzgerald hit 4 treys in Sunday’s win.

Air Force Falcons: Pretty damn unlikely for this team to be ranked 16th in the nation. They’ve had a few scares in Mountain West Conference play but these are teams the Falcons play every year so they know their style. When you prepare for this team in March, it’s going to be a lot harder. Their Princeton offense can be awfully tough to stop. Sure, they won’t be the most athletic team in the field. Hell, they’re not even the most athletic in the conference. But they’re disciplined, seeing as how they’re in the damn Air Force. They’re also experienced. Four seniors and one junior comprise their starting lineup. There’s a reason they almost knocked off Illinois in last year’s tournament. They’re simply tough to beat because they don’t beat themselves. I like that experience when the tournament rolls around.

Washington St. Cougars: When I praised the Pac-10 earlier this month, I mainly talked about UCLA, Arizona, and Oregon. I mentioned the Cougars but they were little more than a footnote in the article. But they keep winning. Washington State is 5-2 in the Pac-10 and 16-3 overall. They’ve beat Arizona, USC, and then-ranked Gonzaga while losing to UCLA by just two points. They’ve proven that they can win the ugly game. They don’t score much but they play excellent defense. They’ve allowed over 70 points just once all season and that was against the high-octane Arizona attack. I’d look out for them.