College Basketball Preview

While I'm a little hesitant to allow myself to commit to the idea that "Winter is coming" and that I may have to endure another season of sub zero temperatures, I also know that the cold winds bring one of my favorite times of the year . . . College Basketball Season. I know I said earlier in my NFL predictions that I didn't like making predictions  before seeing teams actually play, but to hell with it! It's my blog, I'll do what I damn well please. I've done predictions for the top conferences with legitimate opportunities to make some noise come March.

 Now a little closer look at some of the "Major Conferences."




One of the toughest conferences in country, the ACC will have a lot of marquee games to watch throughout the season. I have Duke wining the conference but I am not 100% confident in the pick. My gut told me that because the conference is so stacked with talented teams, the youth of the Blue Devils could catch up to them and allow the more experienced teams to take advantage. Unfortunately for the other teams in the ACC, Duke looks REALLY good on paper and have the whole non-conference schedule to create some chemistry and gain experience for their young core.

I know that Wisconsin is a consensus favorite to run away with the best conference in land (my opinion) but I just can't do that be a self respecting Minnesotan, and not to mention they have one very large missing component to winning the Big Ten ... Tom Izzo. Not only is he one of the top 5 coaches in country, he has an under the radar squad this year, which I love. After losing 3 players to the NBA (two first rounders) and a recruiting class without a lot of Diaper Dandies, people may expect a less dominant year than normal for the Spartans. But last season he continued to win even when his NBA caliber players missed a combined 20 games. Because of this, the bench players now taking vital roles in the offense, already have solid game experience to carry over into this season.

The one variable that could really mess up my Big Ten prediction, is Minnesota. After wining the NIT Tournament last season, they bring back a squad that has lost really only one major piece (Austin Hollins) and have brought in some quality talent in recruiting. If they progress and grow under Patino's system as planned, they could finish as high as 2nd or 3rd. If they don't, they do have the potential to be as low as 11th in my opinion.


Kansas is clearly the cream of the crop in this conference. They get the top notch recruits, they have one of the best coaches in the game, and they don't lose at home, like ever. Bill Self's home record with Kansas against Big 12 opponents at home is 86-5 over his 11 year stint thus far, and has won 8 straight Big 12 titles so you can see why they are my favorite to win it again. One team that I like to make some noise and challenge KU this year is Texas. Reasons being, they didn't lose a single player from a team that finished with 24 wins, 4th in the conference, won a NCAA Tournament game and had one of the best recruiting classes in the country this off season. They are my dark horse team to turn some heads this season. 

Besides Arizona, there's not a whole lot for me to say about the Pac 12. Personally, I feel that it is a highly over rated conference that somehow continually gets 6-7 teams in the tournament that end up doing nothing. With that said, Arizona is a legit team. They have athleticism, skill and play very good defense. The loss of Aaron Gordon will be a tough one to fill, but they reloaded on young talent and should still be a strong team come March.

There is not a stranger conference in my opinion than the SEC. At the top, they have two elite programs that can compete year in and year out for a national title. After that, I wouldn't bet on any of them finishing in the top half of the more competitive ACC or Big 10. But the two they got, they can be proud of. Since 2006, Florida has dominated March Madness with 2 Nat'l Titles and 4 straight Elite 8 appearances ('11-'14). Then there is Kentucky, who has become the unofficial farm system for the NBA since the arrival of Calipari in 2009 (20 players drafted - 15 in the first round - 8 in the top 10) and continually replenish with the nations young talent every summer. Don't bother watching to much of this conference throughout the course of the year, unless it's Florida v. Kentucky. If that's the case, then get you popcorn ready, cause it's gonna be a good one.

Final Four Prediction:

I have the two elite teams from the SEC (making the conference look better than it actually is), the nationally favored Duke with their highly touted Freshman and Coach K at the helm, and then my dark horse for the year in Texas who also brings in one of the nations top recruiting classes along with a team that didn't lose a single player from last years Tournament bound squad last season. Should be another crazy year of college basketball. Can't wait for it to start.