Getting the best match-ups by selecting the proper teams is crucial to online tournament success. Keeping pace with last weeks article, we will continue by looking at some of the best teams and players so you can game plan for playing these teams in tournaments with your friends across the couch or online.

Using the default rosters the following teams are considered the best of the best in the game (overall rating in parentheses): Kansas (88); North Carolina (88); Tennessee (87); UCLA (87); Memphis (86); and Georgetown (86).

Tyler Hansbrough (UNC, 88); Chris Lofton (UT, 92); Darren Collison (UCLA, 91) and Roy Hibbert (Georgetown, 89) are just a few of the higher rated players in the game. Again, this is using the basic default rosters.

So, in determining how to game plan for each of these teams and/or players how do you proceed? Let’s look at the strengths of each of the aforementioned players and teams.

Kansas: They are extremely athletic and have three starters that are rated 80 or over in the game. Unless you have a great defensive team with some athletes to match them, you can try playing a zone such as a 2-3 to help cut off driving lanes and clog the paint. Be careful though. If your opponent hits a few three-pointers then you may be forced to come out of the zone and play man. This plays right into the hands of the Kansas players.

UNC: Matching up with Hansbrough is tough enough. Add in the fact that teams coached by Roy Williams do a great job of running the primary break and the secondary break and it's a whole new can of worms to deal with. Bottom line is the concern should be getting back on defense. Going for manual steals in the backcourt against UNC could be detrimental to your team's health. Picking Ty Lawson’s pocket is difficult enough and if he makes good passes ahead and the UNC players run the floor then you’ll be giving up lay-ups. Focus on getting back on defense and possibly double down on Hansbrough...and pray. Be careful you don’t double and leave Wayne Ellington open though, because it may mean three points for the Tar Heels.

Tennessee: The Vols have some shooters and one in particular is the best in the game (Lofton). This known fact usually means that playing a zone defense is out of the question. If you want to try your hand at a zone against them then try a Box-and-1 defense. Four of your players will be in a zone and the "1" player will typically be your best defender (although sometimes the "1" doesn't translate well in videogames). Anyway, try to put this player on Chris Lofton and minimize the damage he can do. A weakness to playing this, or any zone, is rebounding. Tennessee crashes the boards hard and only having two players on the block for rebounding could lead to offensive rebounds and putbacks for the Vols.

Memphis: Another athletic team, matching up against them is quite a task. They use a lot of dribble penetration but are streaky shooters. Playing a zone against them can help neutralize any dribble drives. If you saw Tennessee beat Memphis earlier this year then you would have seen the Vols come out and play some aggressive zone against the Tigers. Take your chances in the zone.

Georgetown: The Princeton offense is based on cuts, cuts and more cuts. Playing a zone can help against the cuts. The Hoyas don’t have a lot of shooters and surrounding Roy Hibbert with big bodies can only help. If you decide to play man, be prepared for backdoor cuts that lead to lay-ups. Ultimately, the computer defender will get beat by a computer offensive player on the backdoor.

A simple but sometimes overlooked tip to beat most of these teams: look for a mismatch. Depending on the team you’re using, there should be one spot where you have an advantage. Run an offense geared toward taking advantage of the mismatch (the new play calling system is in CH2K8 for a reason after all). When facing a big man like Hansbrough or Hibbert attack them. If you go at them and get them into foul trouble then you get them off the floor. This strategy may also lead to a block party, but it's a risk you should be willing to take. If you get those elite bigs into foul trouble, your bigs have a chance to do work on offense. It also can't hurt that a strong offensive weapon would be riding the pine due to foul trouble.

Best of luck to all of you as the “Madness” begins. Who knows, maybe you’ll get to try your coaching expertise out against me!