College Basketball Preview

With college basketball set to begin tomorrow, this is our final preview for the season. Over the last couple months, we’ve revealed the best players in each of the power conferences plus a list of players from all of the other schools. On Saturday we gave you our preseason Top 25 Rankings. Today, we’ll predict the standings of the six power conferences, plus tell you who some of the other best teams are. We’ll predict the Final Four and end with our All-American picks. Enjoy!

ACC Projection

1. North Carolina State Wolfpack

2. Duke Blue Devils

3. North Carolina Tarheels

4. Florida State Seminoles

5. Miami Hurricanes

6. Maryland Terrapins

7. Virginia Cavaliers

8. Clemson Tigers

9. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

10. Boston College Eagles

11. Virginia Tech Hokies

12. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Analysis: The top three teams will all be right there at the end of the season for the conference title, but NC State has the best combination on paper of returners and newcomers. In fact, either Brown or Leslie could win POY and Purvis should be the best freshman. Florida State and Miami will both be in the mix for tourney selections, and Maryland should be good also. The bottom six teams aren’t up to snuff, and will be NIT participants at best.

Big 12 Projection

1. Kansas Jayhawks

2. Baylor Bears

3. Kansas State Wildcats

4. West Virginia Mountaineers

5. Oklahoma State Cowboys

6. Texas Longhorns

7. Iowa State Cyclones

8. Oklahoma Sooners

9. Texas Tech Red Raiders

10. TCU Horned Frogs

Analysis: Kansas is in line for yet another conference title. After a great season last year, Baylor should be a threat as well, led by Pierre Jackson who could win the conference POY award. Bruce Weber’s new team will be good, as well Bob Huggin’s squad with all their incoming transfers. Oklahoma State brings in Marcus Smart, our pick for newcomer of the year in this conference. Texas is still young but don’t overlook them. Iowa State will also remain tough due to transfers once again. Oklahoma is even a dangerous squad in this suddenly deep conference. The last two teams though can be overlooked.

Big East Projection

1. Louisville Cardinals

2. Syracuse Orangemen

3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

4. Cincinnati Bearcats

5. Marquette Golden Eagles

6. Pittsburgh Panthers

7. South Florida Bulls

8. Georgetown Hoyas

9. Providence Friars

10. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

11. Connecticut Huskies

12. St. John’s Red Storm

13. Villanova Wildcats

14. Depaul Blue Demons

15. Seton Hall Pirates

Analysis: Louisville is a national title contender and should take home the Big East title also. Peyton Siva could win the POY award as well as make the All-American team. Syracuse and Notre Dame will be tough challengers though as they both have great talents. Cincinnati, Marquette, and Pittsburgh could all finish as high as second in the conference if things go well, but they could fall quickly if they don’t. South Florida and Georgetown should be in the mix for tourney births also, but after that things fall off. Steven Adams of Pittsburgh should be the best incoming player in the conference.

Big Ten Projection

1. Indiana Hoosiers

2. Ohio State University

3. Michigan Wolverines

4. Michigan State Spartans

5. Minnesota Golden Gophers

6. Wisconsin Badgers

7. Iowa Hawkeyes

8. Purdue Boilermakers

9. Northwestern Wildcats

10. Illinois Fighting Illini

11. Penn State Nittany Lions

12. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Analysis: Indiana is on top but the next three teams are interchangeable and could all finish second. Wisconsin and Minnesota are both lurking but we’re waiting to see how they handle injuries (Gasser - Wisconsin) and returning stars (Mbakwe – Minnesota). Iowa, Purdue, Northwestern, and even Illinois have the talent to make the Big Dance in March, while Penn State and Nebraska will bring up the rear once again. Cody Zeller is our pick for POY, but Trey Burke and DeShaun Thomas will be right there as well. Gary Harris will become the best newcomer, followed closely by Sam Dekker and Yogi Ferrell.

Pac-12 Projection

1. UCLA Bruins

2. Arizona Wildcats

3. California Golden Bears

4. USC Trojans

5. Colorado Buffalos

6. Stanford Cardinal

7. Washington Huskies

8. Washington State Cougars

9. Oregon State Beavers

10. Arizona State Sun Devils

11. Oregon Ducks

12. Utah Utes

Analysis: It’s a two horse race at the top with UCLA and Arizona. Both are mixing in enough talented newcomers that they will be contenders nationally as well. UCLA’s Shabazz Muhammad is not only the best freshman, but he could be the conference best overall player. The next four teams in the projected standings are bubble teams for March, and Washington is another dangerous squad. While the bottom teams aren’t as bad as they were last year, they still don’t have the talent that many of the other conferences have.

SEC Projection

1. Kentucky Wildcats

2. Missouri Tigers

3. Florida Gators

4. Tennessee Volunteers

5. Arkansas Razorbacks

6. Ole Miss Rebels

7. Alabama Crimson Tide

8. Texas A&M Aggies

9. Georgia Bulldogs

10. South Carolina Gamecocks

11. Auburn Tigers

12. LSU Tigers

13. Vanderbilt Commodores

14. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Analysis: Kentucky and Missouri lead this conference and will be neck and neck the whole year. Kentucky will likely have one of their many new players win newcomer of the year, while Missouri’s Phil Pressey will compete with Florida’s Kenny Boynton for POY. Florida and Tennessee are the next best teams and they will challenge the top teams and play for seeding in March. Arkansas also has a legit shot at the postseason, but that is likely where the NCAA invites end. The last bundle of teams are nearly interchangeable.

Top 10 “Mid-High” Teams

(Teams outside the power conferences but are big schools themselves)

1. UNLV Running Rebels

2. Creighton Bluejays

3. San Diego State Aztecs

4. Memphis Tigers

5. Gonzaga Bulldogs

6. VCU Rams

7. Butler Bulldogs

8. St. Louis Billikens

9. Colorado State Rams

10. Temple Owls

Analysis: UNLV is as talented as nearly every top school in the nation. Tremendous scorers in Doug McDermott and Jamaal Franklin carry Creighton and San Diego State. Memphis is loaded once again but can they live up to expectations? Gonzaga, VCU, and Butler have all had the postseason success, and all three can have it again this year. St. Louis had one of their best seasons last year, but losing Coach Majerus is big. Colorado State and Temple round out the top ten, narrowly edging St. Mary’s, BYU, New Mexico, and St. Joseph’s.

Top 10 “Mid-Major” Teams

(Small Schools that are only big based on their on-court success)

1. Murray State Racers

2. Davidson Wildcats

3. Ohio Bobcats

4. Drexel Dragons

5. North Texas Mean Green

6. Valparaiso Crusaders

7. Lehigh Mountain Hawks

8. Savannah State Tigers

9. South Dakota State Jackrabbits

10. Belmont Bruins

Analysis: There were plenty of talented teams left off this list (LBSU, Mercer, Utah State, LIU Brooklyn, Delaware, Harvard, Denver....). But these ten teams will all be in the postseason mix and can make some noise once they get in. Murray State can because of their star Isaiah Canaan. Davidson is loaded top to bottom, and Ohio returns most of their team that made it to the Sweet 16 last year. Drexel was snubbed in last year’s tourney, but that won’t be the case this year. North Texas is led by future pro Tony Mitchell, while Valpo returns everyone from last year’s talented squad. Lehigh has CJ McCollum who helped them beat Duke in last year’s tourney. Savannah State returns their top 14 players and South Dakota State returns their most important one: Nate Wolters. Then there is Belmont, who has made the tourney five times in the last seven years. Expect upsets yet again in March.

Final Four Predictions

Greg: Indiana, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio State

Andrew: Indiana, Louisville, NC State, UCLA

Championship Preview

Greg and Andrew: Indiana over Louisville

All-American First Team

Cody Zeller, Indiana

Doug McDermott, Creighton

Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA

Peyton Siva, Louisville

Trey Burke, Michigan

All-American Second Team

James Michael McAdoo, North Carolina

Mike Moser, UNLV

CJ McCollum, Lehigh

Pierre Jackson, Baylor

Phil Pressey, Missouri

All-American Third Team

CJ Leslie, NC State

DeShaun Thomas, Ohio State

Rodney McGruder, Kansas State

Michael Snaer, Florida State

Isaiah Canaan, Murray State

Honorable Mention: Kenny Boynton, Florida; Mason Plumlee, Duke; Lorenzo Brown, NC State; Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State; Nate Wolters, South Dakota State; Tony Mitchell, North Texas; Jeff Withey, Kansas; Jack Cooley, Notre Dame; Nerlens Noel, Kentucky; CJ Fair, Syracuse

By: The Sports Guys