College Hoops - ACC, Big East, Big Ten
My first post of the year regarding one of my favorite sports, college basketball. Similar to college football, I am going to do a conference breakdown. If you notice, I correctly predicted all conference champs in football except the ACC champ (did anyone have Wake Forest?).
ACC - College hoops really seems to be down this year, and the ACC is certainly in that grouping. I see UNC taking the title this year. The talent down on Tobacco Road is simply amazing this year, and the Heels should cash that into a #1 seed come Tourney time. Hansbrough and Wright lead one of the best front line combos in the country, while Ellington and Lawson provide the Frosh lightning aspect in the backcourt. These two guards compliment each other great with Lawson in the mild of Felton, and Elllington similar to a Stackhouse. Combine that with depth, the best scoring ability in the country, and solid coaching, the Heels are a threat to win the National Title this year. I see a big drop off after that with teams like Duke, Maryland, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Florida State and Boston College challenging for NCAA bids. I think Duke is currently overrated with shoddy scoring and PG play. Things are certainly down this year in Durham. Maryland has been an interesting team this year with some impressive wins (Michigan State, Illinois), and their two losses werent that bad (Notre Dame, BC). Clemson has been the surprise team in the country to this point as they are the lone undefeated left in 1A after a one point win vs Ga Tech last night. Gotta think they are a lock to be dancing at this point. Va Tech had an impressive win at Duke last night, but they still have a lot of work to do to make the dance. Florida St beat Florida earlier in the year, so they have the talent to get it done, but lets see how things go as the conference season goes on. And BC certainly has the talent to make the dance, but with some terrible losses already (Duquesne comes to mind), I am not sure about their mental state. Right now I see 5 bids for the ACC (UNC, Duke, Maryland, Clemson and one of the other three I list), with UNC being the only Final Four threat.
Big East - Another conference that is down this year compared to last, however, that isnt saying much with all the talent they had last year. I see many teams that could win the title this year, and they have to start in Pittsburgh. The Panthers have a wealth of talent back, with solid coaching. Pitt has actually changed their OOC style this year and played some teams which will make them better in the end. They are always a very physical team, and that is consistent once again. Below Pitt, I see Marquette, Georgetown, Villanova, Syracuse, Connecticut, Notre Dame, West Virginia and Providence all having a chance to make the Field of 64. A brief breakdown of these teams shows various strengths and weaknesses. Marquette has one of the better guards in the country, and have beat Duke this year. However, they are inconsistent, and their front line is a weakness. Georgetown is a team that clearly has not peaked this season yet which is a good thing for the Hoyas in my opinion. I think people are writing them off too quickly, and with that front line, they will have the chance to be dominant come March, especially with the right matchups. Villanova looked good until two BE losses this week that werent pretty. They certainly have the talent to be one of the Top 64, but can they get the coaching that puts them over the top? Syracuse is clearly on the outside looking in at this point, and frankly the Orange have been disappointing since winning the Title with Carmelo. I see them on the outside looking in come March. UConn only has 1 JR, and 1 SR on their squad, and they are both walk-ons! Better get the Huskies this year. The talent is there, especially along the front line and I think the Huskies will be playing much better than right now come late Feb and Mar. ND has been a surprise thus far, and the start should vault them into the dance. WV falls in the same boat as ND, a great start. It will be interesting to watch these two teams, and Providence and the season goes on. In the end, I see 7 bids (Pitt, Marq, Gtown, UConn, WVU, ND, Nova) getting in, with Pitt and GTown showing Final Four potential.
Big 10 - Again, not the usual suspects we have come to expect to see near the top the last 5 years or so. The Spartans and Illini not quite leading the way any longer the the midwest as new teams are rising. Big Ten is led by Ohio St this year, just like football. Even with nearly zero experience, that talent in Columbus is HUGE, as witnessed when they traveled to the Dean Dome in early December. And with Oden in the middle, anything is possible. Right behind OSU is Wisconsin, with another solid team under Bo Ryan. With wins over Pitt and Marquette, seeding should be favorable come March. The other teams that should be fighting for a bid are Illinois, Michigan, Michigan St, and Indiana. Clearly, the depth is there in the Big Ten, and the conference schedule is going to be brutal as usual. The Illini have lost an awful lot of talent in the last few years, but the pipeline is still solid in Champaign, and the cupboard is far from bare. Michigan has been a disappointment the last few years under Amaker, and that appears to be the case once again this year as witnessed by the 40pt loss at UCLA. Michigan St under Tom Izzo is always a threat. At 13-3, with two losses by 2 pts, the Spartans should be dancing come March, but this is not a FF caliber team. Indiana under first year coach Kelvin Sampson will continue to improve as the season and years go on. Once he gets his own players in there, the Hoosiers are going to be lethal. Their losses are very close too this year, and they have played a brutal schedule to this point. I like 5 bids for the Big 10, with Michigan being the only team I mention above not getting a bid. I believe both Wisconsin and OSU have FF potential.
I will be back later with the Big 12, Pac 10, and SEC.
ACC - College hoops really seems to be down this year, and the ACC is certainly in that grouping. I see UNC taking the title this year. The talent down on Tobacco Road is simply amazing this year, and the Heels should cash that into a #1 seed come Tourney time. Hansbrough and Wright lead one of the best front line combos in the country, while Ellington and Lawson provide the Frosh lightning aspect in the backcourt. These two guards compliment each other great with Lawson in the mild of Felton, and Elllington similar to a Stackhouse. Combine that with depth, the best scoring ability in the country, and solid coaching, the Heels are a threat to win the National Title this year. I see a big drop off after that with teams like Duke, Maryland, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Florida State and Boston College challenging for NCAA bids. I think Duke is currently overrated with shoddy scoring and PG play. Things are certainly down this year in Durham. Maryland has been an interesting team this year with some impressive wins (Michigan State, Illinois), and their two losses werent that bad (Notre Dame, BC). Clemson has been the surprise team in the country to this point as they are the lone undefeated left in 1A after a one point win vs Ga Tech last night. Gotta think they are a lock to be dancing at this point. Va Tech had an impressive win at Duke last night, but they still have a lot of work to do to make the dance. Florida St beat Florida earlier in the year, so they have the talent to get it done, but lets see how things go as the conference season goes on. And BC certainly has the talent to make the dance, but with some terrible losses already (Duquesne comes to mind), I am not sure about their mental state. Right now I see 5 bids for the ACC (UNC, Duke, Maryland, Clemson and one of the other three I list), with UNC being the only Final Four threat.
Big East - Another conference that is down this year compared to last, however, that isnt saying much with all the talent they had last year. I see many teams that could win the title this year, and they have to start in Pittsburgh. The Panthers have a wealth of talent back, with solid coaching. Pitt has actually changed their OOC style this year and played some teams which will make them better in the end. They are always a very physical team, and that is consistent once again. Below Pitt, I see Marquette, Georgetown, Villanova, Syracuse, Connecticut, Notre Dame, West Virginia and Providence all having a chance to make the Field of 64. A brief breakdown of these teams shows various strengths and weaknesses. Marquette has one of the better guards in the country, and have beat Duke this year. However, they are inconsistent, and their front line is a weakness. Georgetown is a team that clearly has not peaked this season yet which is a good thing for the Hoyas in my opinion. I think people are writing them off too quickly, and with that front line, they will have the chance to be dominant come March, especially with the right matchups. Villanova looked good until two BE losses this week that werent pretty. They certainly have the talent to be one of the Top 64, but can they get the coaching that puts them over the top? Syracuse is clearly on the outside looking in at this point, and frankly the Orange have been disappointing since winning the Title with Carmelo. I see them on the outside looking in come March. UConn only has 1 JR, and 1 SR on their squad, and they are both walk-ons! Better get the Huskies this year. The talent is there, especially along the front line and I think the Huskies will be playing much better than right now come late Feb and Mar. ND has been a surprise thus far, and the start should vault them into the dance. WV falls in the same boat as ND, a great start. It will be interesting to watch these two teams, and Providence and the season goes on. In the end, I see 7 bids (Pitt, Marq, Gtown, UConn, WVU, ND, Nova) getting in, with Pitt and GTown showing Final Four potential.
Big 10 - Again, not the usual suspects we have come to expect to see near the top the last 5 years or so. The Spartans and Illini not quite leading the way any longer the the midwest as new teams are rising. Big Ten is led by Ohio St this year, just like football. Even with nearly zero experience, that talent in Columbus is HUGE, as witnessed when they traveled to the Dean Dome in early December. And with Oden in the middle, anything is possible. Right behind OSU is Wisconsin, with another solid team under Bo Ryan. With wins over Pitt and Marquette, seeding should be favorable come March. The other teams that should be fighting for a bid are Illinois, Michigan, Michigan St, and Indiana. Clearly, the depth is there in the Big Ten, and the conference schedule is going to be brutal as usual. The Illini have lost an awful lot of talent in the last few years, but the pipeline is still solid in Champaign, and the cupboard is far from bare. Michigan has been a disappointment the last few years under Amaker, and that appears to be the case once again this year as witnessed by the 40pt loss at UCLA. Michigan St under Tom Izzo is always a threat. At 13-3, with two losses by 2 pts, the Spartans should be dancing come March, but this is not a FF caliber team. Indiana under first year coach Kelvin Sampson will continue to improve as the season and years go on. Once he gets his own players in there, the Hoosiers are going to be lethal. Their losses are very close too this year, and they have played a brutal schedule to this point. I like 5 bids for the Big 10, with Michigan being the only team I mention above not getting a bid. I believe both Wisconsin and OSU have FF potential.
I will be back later with the Big 12, Pac 10, and SEC.
posted by Pounder at 5:53 AM
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