Bleacher Report - Articles by Jameson Fleming

The Pac-10 Deserves a Cease and Desist Letter Right Now

Jameson Fleming — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:04:05 -0500

You would have thought the night that Oregon lost to Portland, Oregon State lost to Sacramento State, and Southern California lost to Loyola Marymount would have been the night the Pac-10 hit rock bottom.

Especially since Loyola Marymount and Sacramento State won a combined five games last year, or the fact UCLA had already lost to Cal-State Fullerton, Oregon State went down to Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and Stanford couldn't beat Oral Roberts earlier in the year.

But that night wasn't rock bottom for the Pac-10.

Neither was two days later when Montana knocked off Oregon and Wisconsin defeated Arizona.

Rock bottom might just be what happened during Wednesday and Thursday night's action.

California had a chance to redeem itself and go on the road to the Pit and beat New Mexico. Washington State held a double-digit lead against a ranked Gonzaga team. Arizona had two overtimes to knock UNLV from the ranks of the undefeated.

Unfortunately for the Pac-10, the Golden Bears couldn't win in a hostile environment. The Cougars collapsed down the stretch in Spokane, and the Zags escaped with a win. The Wildcats didn't have the grit to take out the Rebels on their home court.

The scoreboard at the end of the night should have read "Mountain West and West Coast Conferences 3, Pac-10 0."

You would think with a night of spectacular fireworks of futility, that Wednesday night would be the Pac-10's finale of failure.

But right now, the only thing the Pac-10 is excelling at is failing, and that finale would only be a tease.

Current Pac-10 favorite Washington managed to do the unthinkable. In the process of losing to a team picked to finish ninth in the Big 12, the Huskies remarkably lost in a way that allowed Texas Tech's students to rush the court not once, but twice.

After the referees waived off a basket that left the hands of Michael Singletary after the buzzer, Washington couldn't ride that momentum to an overtime victory.

Lorenzo Romar's team was supposed to be the ONE glimmer of hope during this bleak season of Pac-10 basketball.

Now, that's gone.

Outta here as fast as the Huskies left the floor to avoid the Red Raiders' second floor stormin'.

With Southern Cal's loss to Texas, the Pac-10 will have 24 losses among 10 teams. The Big East has 16 schools, and they've lost half as many games. The Atlantic 10 has 30 losses among 14 teams—that's 2.14 losses per team—and the Pac-10 is at 2.4.

Remember the A-10 has a team, Fordham, that won three games all last season and three others that finished 200th or worse in the RPI.

Last year, the Pac-10 had only three that finished outside the top 100—this year there are three outside the top 200.

It's not even that early in the season anymore where those numbers are that skewed. Most schools have played about half of their non-conference games. Most Pac-10 schools only have about a half-dozen remaining games out of conference to prove themselves, or really in their case, not further embarrass the league.

The way things are setting up, the Pac-10 might actually only receive one bid to the big dance.

What happens if Washington proves to be the dominant team and only losses one or two games in the league, no one else separates itself, and everyone else loses at least seven conference games?

You think the committee should be picking a nine or 10-loss Pac-10 team?

I don't think so.

Of course that part is just hypothetical, and one other team should separate itself to give the Pac-10 a second, maybe a third bid.

Right now though, you've got to think that the WCC with Gonzaga and Portland or the Mountain West with UNLV, BYU, and New Mexico might actually garner more bids than the Pac-10.

We all knew the Pac-10 might be bad this year. But who thought it would be this bad?

For more updates on college basketball, follow Jameson on Twitter.

NCAA Basketball Old Spice Classic: News, Notes, and Video

Jameson Fleming — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 21:25:53 -0500

ORLANDO-- Manny Harris, DeShawn Sims, Lazar Hayward, Jordan Crawford, LaceDarius Dunn, Epke Udoh, JaMychal Green, Soloman Alabi, Michael Snaer, and Chris Singleton.

The Old Spice Classic had enough current and future NBA prospects to field two All-Star teams on top of the eight very equally matched college squads that provided 12 very entertaining games this past Thanksgiving weekend.

In the final of those 12 games, Marquette's unique roster created problems for not only Florida State, but for each of the Golden Eagles' three opponents.

The problem for Marquette is that the team's lack of size causes problems for itself, as well.

Following Baylor's shut down of the Xavier defense, I wrote about the Bears' potential to be outstanding on the defensive end of the floor with their athleticism and length. One nugget I forgot to include in the piece was about Baylor's length keeping Xavier's best shooter off the floor because he couldn't match up with the Bears' size.

Here's a little video I shot of Florida State celebrating afterwards. What I didn't get on camera was Chris Singleton dropping his MVP award and breaking it. The aftermath was a trophy broken into two pieces.

Other Notes from Orlando:

I haven't really covered much about Creighton, who went winless in the tournament. The main story about the Blue Jays is defense. CU struggled quite a bit during the tournament after giving up 90 points to Dayton in its season opener. Coach Dana Altaman was very adamant about improving his team's mentality on the defensive end.
The personalities of coaches Kevin Willard of Iona, Scott Drew of Baylor, and Buzz Williams of Marquette are outstanding. They are stand-up guys who were very personable after each game. Drew seems like he's always has a smile on his face. I can understand why recruits are so drawn to him because when he steps into your living room, what mom could not love his friendliness?
Michigan needs to find scoring from someone other than Manny Harris. The Wolverines lost two games in Orlando because they simply could not get anything going when Harris didn't run the offense through him.
Marquette's Darius Johnson-Odom looks like he'll be a great player down the road for Buzz Williams. He really knows how to use his body very well when taking the ball to the hoop. He's a decent shooter that will help out Williams tremendously because of his versatility.
Alabama is in good hands with new coach Anthony Grant. The Crimson Tide do not have the talent to win two games in the Old Spice like they did. Their wins came because this team played harder than anyone in Orlando (except Iona, no one top the Gaels' effort). JaMychal Green is a name that everyone needs to know immediately. If he sticks around in Tuscaloosa one more year, then Grant will be taking the Tide to tournament next season. For now, 'Bama might be able to sneak out of conference play with eight wins.
Spotted players from both Baylor and Michigan in the amusement parks at Disney World. People knew who Manny Harris was and surrounded him for autographs.
While some Bears were at the parks, Ekpe Udoh, LaceDarius Dunn, and Tweety Carter stayed in the Milk House on Sunday in order to watch Udoh's former team, Michigan. Udoh was certainly on his old teammates' side.
Because I attended all 12 games, Old Spice organizers had me vote for the all-tournament team and MVP. I had Hayward despite the loss as my MVP, and Ekpe Udoh, JaMychal Green, Chris Singleton, and Manny Harris rounded out my all-tournament team.
Shameless plug: My other stories out of Orlando, about Florida State: Old Spice Classic Shows Florida State Still Needs to Improve Offensively and Soloman Alabi is Still Developing.
About Iona: Gaels Look Better Than the Ninth Best Team in the MAAC.
About Marquette: Coaches Preparation Beats Michigan.

For more updates on college basketball, follow Jameson on Twitter .

Old Spice Classic Shows the Florida State Seminoles Need To Find Scoring

Jameson Fleming — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:26:19 -0500

ORLANDO— Florida State doesn't have much that resembles an offense.

That's a fact.

Now that Toney Douglas is gone, a weak Seminoles scoring unit is even worse. Freshman Michael Snaer hasn't emerged as a quality replacement yet, and Soloman Alabi hasn't developed into a go-to guy in the post despite his incredible, well-built 7'1'' frame.

Even with the anemic FSU offense, the Tomahawk Chop was in full force in support of Florida State as they eked out an Old Spice Classic Championship because of a ridiculously good defense.

"The defense is what we pride ourselves on," said power forward and tournament MVP Chris Singleton after defeating Alabama in the second round of the tournament. "It's what we do. Our offense won't always be there, but our defense will be."

Florida State's devastating man-to-man defense starts with its incredible size. Leonard Hamilton doesn't have a player shorter than 6'4'' in his rotation.

His front line has a seven footer and two more players that are at least 6'8'', but also extremely bulky. They are tall, longer, AND strong.

Teams simply cannot shoot against Florida State. The Seminoles ranked 19th in field goal percentage defense last year; this year Hamilton's team is third. The Noles' D is making up for the fact that FSU can't put points on the board.

Despite Florida State's problematic offense, the Seminoles have figured out a way to get just enough points on the board. Their sparks haven't come from their stars Chris Singleton and Soloman Alabi.

Against Alabama, it was long range shooter Deividas Dulkys who hit several three pointers in a late first-half spurt that sent the Seminoles into the locker room with a five point lead.

"We need him shooting threes," said point guard Derwin Kitchen, "When he's hitting threes, we are a good team."

Dulkys isn't exactly your go-to guy, but neither is junior forward Jordan DeMercy.

His energy sparked Florida State's 17-point comeback against Marquette. After playing a total of 15 minutes in the first two games of the Old Spice Classic, Hamilton played DeMercy for 19 minutes against Marquette.

"Jordan and Luke [Loucks] came in and gave us tremendous effort," Hamilton said. "Jordan's activity diving on the floor for that loose ball and making that back-door play...that dunk, it kind of energized the team. His enthusiasm inspired the players and they followed his lead."

The back-door play Hamilton is referring to is a thunderous slam DeMercy thew down after taking a pass on a backdoor cut along the baseline. DeMercy brought the Milk House to its feet and kept the Seminoles from drowning in the second half.

Once DeMercy got Florida State going, coach Hamilton finally found scoring from his two stars. He needs Chris Singleton and Soloman Alabi to consistently give him 30 points between the two.

Singleton's development has been more noticeable than Alabi's.

"He was very smart," Hamilton said. "He was in foul trouble for long periods of time, but he was able to still be aggressive. When the game is on the line, he made the plays, and that's shown he's growing up as a sophomore."

Even with Alabi's struggles (entering the final minute against Marquette, he was just 2-of-5 for four points), Hamilton took a BIG step forward by giving Alabi the ball with the game on the line.

Twice Hamilton chose to run the offense through Alabi as the largest defender Buzz Williams could throw at Alabi was 6'7'' Lazar Hayward.

Despite Alabi showing there was no reason why he could take advantage of the size disparity, Hamilton trusted Alabi to deliver two big baskets.

"Soloman is very capable and I have a tremendous amount of confidence in him. I think it's a matter of him relaxing, getting a few more games under our belt and gaining more confidence."

For Alabi, converting both opportunities came down to focus.

"My team believes in me and they told me to take care of the ball, to be patient and read the defense before I score."

If Alabi's stretch play is an indication of the player he can become, Hamilton could have the missing link to make his offense effective. If Alabi develops an inside game like the one he showed late against Marquette, then it will free up Florida State's shooters.

Freeing up FSU's shooters means the Seminoles offense should dramatically improve.

An improved offense means Hamilton won't need his defense to ALWAYS suffocate his opponents.

For more updates and stories about college basketball, follow Jameson on Twitter.

Kansas Tops Bleacher Report Top 25, But Florida and Gonzaga Are Rising

Jameson Fleming — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:56:28 -0500

Bleacher Report's college basketball writers have still found no reason to remove Kansas from the top spot in the rankings especially after Michigan State's loss to previously unranked Florida.

11 writers participated in this week's poll conducted after Sunday's games. After about half of the teams in last week's top 25 lost, there was a lot of shake up in this week's rankings.

If you'd like to participate in the Bleacher Report Top 25, email me at jamesonfleming@gmail.com to receive a ballot each Sunday. Ballots are to be submitted during the day on Monday so the poll can be posted Tuesday.

Ranking, Team, (record through Monday) votes (first place votes), ranking last week.

1. Kansas (5-0) 274 (10) LW: 1

2. Texas (5-0) 264 (1) LW: 3

3. Villanova (6-0) 243 LW: 5

4. Kentucky (7-0) 234 LW: 4

5. Purdue (5-0) 223 LW: 6

6. Duke (6-0) 220 LW: 7

7. West Virginia (5-0) 214 LW: 8

8. Syracuse (7-0) 199 LW:9

9. Michigan State (5-1) 196 LW: 2

10. Tennessee (5-1) 172 LW: 10

11. North Carolina (6-1) 158 LW: 12

12. Washington (4-1) 156 LW: 13

13. Connecticut (4-1) 144 LW: 11

14. Ohio State (5-1) 128 LW: 16

15. Georgetown (5-0) 101 LW: 20

16. Gonzaga (5-1) 85 LW: Not Ranked

17. Florida (6-0) 83 LW: Not Ranked

18. Clemson (6-1) 79 LW: 19

19. Minnesota (4-2) 49 LW:17

20. Louisville (4-1) 47 LW: 18

21. Butler (4-2) 38 LW: 15

22. Cincinnati (4-1) 33 LW: Not Ranked

23. Portland (5-1) 30 LW: Not Ranked

24. Florida State (6-1) 24 LW: Not Ranked

24. UNLV (5-0) 24 LW: Not Ranked

Others Receiving Votes: Michigan 23, Illinois 23, Texas A&M 22, Oklahoma State 18, Maryland 17, California 14, Georgia Tech 13, BYU 10, Dayton 8, Notre Dame 7, Mississippi 7, Vanderbilt 5, Marquette 5, Wisconsin 4, Miami (FL) 1

Participants: Jameson Fleming, Paul Swaney, Nick Rall, Stephen Clay, Jesse Kramer, Blake Stansbery, Paul Seaver, Carl Stine, Steve Tater, Chris Golightly, College Football Fanatic.

Debate the rankings in the comments.

Baylor's Defense Has the Potential To be an Opponent's Nightmare

Jameson Fleming — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:20:32 -0500

ORLANDO-- It's been no secret that Baylor basketball has had its issues on the defensive end of the floor during Scott Drew's tenure.

Those struggles could be on their way out as Drew has a roster that looks radically different. A much improved Josh Lomers anchors the paint at a towering seven feet. His wingman are equally impressive as small forward Anthony Jones isn't so small. The sophomores is a skinny, but absurdly long 6'10''. Ekpe Udoh plays the four and five as another wirey 6'10'' big man.

That front line makes for a perfect fit for the 2-3 zone defense.

"We've been a man team for the last couple years, but we went zone at the end of last year and it did pretty well," Drew said. "We really have a team with a lot of length so we decided to start out the year with it. So far its been pretty good."

Pretty good is the key word here. The zone was impenetrable against Xavier in Sunday's fifth place game. Against Iona it was good, not great, but when Alabama opened its Old Spice Classic against Baylor, the Crimson Tide shred it pieces.

Each night Scott Drew has been a broken record trying to explain the defense's difficulties, but also its improvement, "We are the ninth youngest college basketball team with only four upperclassmen. So it's going to talk some time to reach your potential."

That improvement is very noticeable.

After Alabama ran up-and-down the court scoring at will, Baylor clamped down on Iona limiting second chance opportunities and dominating the paint with its ridiculous size.

But against the Gaels, the Bears still struggled to identify the shooters in the zone as Iona knocked down 12-of-28 three-point attempts. Baylor also several missed assignments that led to some confusion during the post-game press conference.

I asked Drew why he went to a 1-3-1 zone defense for about two possessions and Drew confusingly laughed.

"If we went to a 1-3-1 I didn't know about it. We must have had some missed assignments."

There was no 1-3-1/2-3 hybrid zone defense Sunday against Xavier. There were few missed assignments and Baylor's thin, but tall and long front line held up nicely against Xavier's monstrous, bulky front court.

For Baylor the personnel isn't the only difference.

"Love and dedication, said senior point guard Tweety Carter. "That's the difference. It's communicating. As leaders [He and Ekpe Udoh] of this team we preach defense in practice. It's what coach preaches every practice."

That love is clear with each smile and the demonstrative body language from Ekpe Udoh each time he blocked a shot.

The green and gold's success up front starts with a man known as the Nightmare.

Michigan transfer Ekpe Udoh is a menace around the basket. The lanky power forward/center is a dangerous shot blocker, but also an offensive force. Udoh's offensive game is quickly catching up to his defense.

In just three games in the Old Spice Classic, Udoh rejected 13 shots and grabbed 30 rebounds, including 11 offensive boards.

He can play the wing in the zone or anchor the middle when seven footer Josh Lomers isn't in the game.

His versatility on offense is just as valuable as his defense as Udoh is a long range threat who can handle the ball if needed to. He has the ability to pound the glass and finish his teammates' misses. His impact and the teams' improved defense allows Baylor to win even when star guard LaceDarius Dunn posts a 2-14 shooting day.

"It's a good thing for a coach when we win like that because it shows we don't need all our players to have their best games to win," Drew said.

Iona Gaels Look Better Than the Ninth Best Team in the MAAC

Jameson Fleming — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:38:05 -0500

ORLANDO—You would have no idea that Iona was picked to finish ninth in the 17th best conference in terms of conference RPI after the Gaels' performance during the Old Spice Classic.

Iona won just one of three games against Florida State, Baylor, and Creighton, but the Gaels hung tough with both the Seminoles and Bears who feature front lines that coach Kevin Willard will never see in the MAAC.

"Baylor and Florida State are so long," Willard said. "It was nice to play against a team that when you go inside you see 7'0", 6'11", and 6'9" and it's difficult. We don't see that on a regular basis."

That length halted Iona's offense almost to a standstill for the first two days of the tournament, but the seventh place game against Creighton that Iona won 63-55 allowed the Gaels to show what they can do against a team that better fits the profile of a MAAC school.

"The length of the other teams interrupted us the other days," said sophomore point guard Scott Machado. "When we were able to get into the paint we were able to see the corners because they [Creighton] weren't as long as Florida State and Baylor."

With the driving ability of Machado and fellow sophomore Jermel Jennkins, it is critical they can either get to the rim or see the corner where capable shooters Kyle Smyth and Milan Prodanovic frequently waited.

Iona also showed the grit on the defensive end of the floor to make the Gaels extremely competitive in the MAAC. Holding Old Spice finalist Florida State to .8 points per possession and Baylor below one point per possession is no easy task.

That defense should translate directly to MAAC play.

Iona cranked up the defense even further Sunday against Creighton.

"We tightened the defense and contested more shots," said red-shirt freshman Kyle Smyth. "After the 17 minute mark of the second half we stopped turning the ball over which didn't let them shoot threes in transition."

With the strong defense came outstanding effort. Throughout the tournament, Iona hit the deck quicker than anyone, which translated into grabbing its fair share of 50/50 balls. That advantage helped Iona make up its rebounding disadvantage against its bigger opponents.

The final step to Iona's development is experience. After losing another close game to Baylor Friday night, Willard explained his team's trouble in close games.

"We lost 10 games by five points or less last year so we are getting used to it...it's a maturity thing. We started three freshman, a sophomore, and a senior against a very good Big 12 team."

Willard's players have gone through enough close games last year and three in Orlando against teams that should be playing some form postseason ball.

After the Creighton game, Willard, Machado, and Smyth were generally in agreement that one of best things they could take away from this trip was getting to play three close games against three very good teams.

For more updates on college basketball, follow Jameson on Twitter.

Soloman Alabi Still Developing Game; Marquette's Incredible Preparation

Jameson Fleming — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 15:03:38 -0500

ORLANDO -- Soloman Alabi should have had a field day against an undersized Iona roster.

Instead the seven footer struggled mightily to the tune of only six points on 1-of-7 shooting and four free throws.

Alabi never looked comfortable against the Gaels, which is a serious problem for coach Leonard Hamilton.

Alabi's size allowed him to grab five offensive boards, but Alabi is still very raw in his development and couldn't finish his many short attempts.

Hamilton credited some of Alabi's struggles to Iona's pressure, but also the makeup of this year's squad.

"Soloman isn't accustomed to getting trapped like that," Hamilton said. "Last year, we had a different kind of team that was able to stretch the defense. Every time he caught the ball he had three or four defenders on him."

Alabi finished the game with a game-high seven turnovers.

Alabi is critical to Florida State's success as Hamilton needs someone to replace Toney Douglas's scoring.

Standout freshman Michael Snaer doesn't look like he's ready to star in Douglas's place just yet so the scoring has to come from somewhere.

Before the season, Hamilton was hoping it would be Alabi who would step up. But right now, Hamilton hasn't seen that improvement from Alabi or any other Seminole.

The nature of the Old Spice Classic means Hamilton better find someone quickly.

"This tournament is good for us," Hamilton said. "The competition is very good...it forces you to improve very quickly."

_______________________________________________________________________

It was pretty obvious during Marquette's postgame press conference after the Golden Eagles beat Xavier, that Buzz Williams was a bit concerned with the complexity of Michigan's offense and defense.

"I know they ran 25 different sets today and played four different defenses," William said. "In the next 18 hours we better figure it out. We will have a lot of walk-throughs tonight and in the hotel room."

Williams' team was in good hands with the amount of preparation time the Marquette coaching staff put into scouting the Wolverines.

"The turnover with the time was a quick turnaround," Williams said. "After dinner last night we studied a bit with our staff and then we brought the players in. We were together for about an hour and then I stayed with our staff through early this morning and then we brought our guys in."

The Marquette coaching staff had many of Michigan's offensive sets diagrammed while watching the Wolverines' live against Creighton. They had written down everything Michigan coach John Beilein was calling out for each set as well.

During the Marquette's 79-65 win against Michigan, it sounded like every time Beilein called a set out, the Marquette coaching staff was identifying the set and where the cutters would come from and relayed that information to the Golden Eagles' defense before Michigan ran through its set.

Marquette's alertness on the defensive end of the floor resulted in Michigan struggling from the floor.

Williams didn't collapse on Manny Harris much and this allowed his defenders to contest the Wolverines' bread and butter, the three-point shot.

Michigan shot just 3-of-20 from three including a combined 0-for-9 from Stu Douglass and Manny Harris.

Buzz Williams also decided to start Dwight Buycks and Darius Johnson-Odom together for the first time because he wanted an extra ball-handler on the floor against Michigan's pressure 1-3-1 defense in the half-court.

After Michigan forced Creighton into 18 turnovers, the Golden Eagles turned the ball over just 10 times and were able to easily carve through Michigan's zone.

For more live updates from the Old Spice Classic, follow Jameson on Twitter.

Michigan Wolverines' Success Will Depend on the Play of Manny Harris

Jameson Fleming — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:10:10 -0500

ORLANDO-- Some teams are built to succeed even when their best players struggle.

Michigan is not one of them.

Let's face it, Michigan isn't going to score easily if Manny Harris isn't in the game or even just creating.

There's a reason Manny Harris never left the floor after halftime and the first half only received a quick rest around a time out according to coach John Beilein. Harris's play is critical to the effectiveness of Michigan's perimeter based attack which hoisted 27 three-pointers in a 83-76 OT win against Creighton on Thanksgiving.

If DeShawn Sims struggles like he did, Michigan's offense can only come from what Harris creates. There's really no one else on this team yet that can effectively create his own shot. Darius Morris isn't at the point in his development yet to be able to finish easily and Laval Lucas-Perry generally gets the majority of his points by being a beneficiary of Harris's play.

Harris faces the challenge of never being able to take a possession off and on Thanksgiving he was up to the task.

Harris showed late against Creighton how critical he is to the Wolverines' success.

Down the stretch as both teams looked like they were losing their legs, the junior wing turned it up a notch.

After the game, Harris claimed he never got tired despite a frenetic pace Creighton established with a full-court press the lasted most of the game.

It showed.

During the majority of the second half as Michigan lost its lead and began to fall behind, Harris was often not the focal point of the offense. In the final five minutes, Harris said he made it his prerogative to take over the game.

Harris had a hand in almost every offensive possession. As Michigan's top passer, best slasher, solid shooter, and glass crasher, Harris embraces all four of those roles and pushed his many skills to the forefront when the game was on the line.

"DeShawn [Sims] wasn't shooting the ball that well so there wasn't a lot of gaps for Manny [Harris]," said Beilein. "We had to create the gaps to open things up for Manny."

Harris opened things up for himself by simply playing with more composure. Harris stopped forcing shots and passes. Harris regularly finds himself in the lane with the defense collapsing. He's got two options at that point, continue to drive, take the low percentage shot and hope for the foul or find a teammate who's standing wide open because two or three defenders have keyed in on Harris.

Harris mostly chose the latter.

It's not just what Manny Harris can do that concerns Michigan's future opponent Marquette.

"They ran 25 different offensive sets and four different defenses," Marquette coach Buzz Williams said. "That's a lot to learn in the next 18 hours."

There were two Marquette coaches scouting Michigan next to me on press row. The one assistant repeatedly pointed out the complexity of the sets as Michigan uses a lot of ball reversal and what the coaches called point guard rejection.

Essentially, Michigan runs plays where the point guard passes the ball off, the Wolverines set it the play up so the player has nowhere to go with the ball so the ball automatically returns to the point guard while the rest of his team runs through the set.

This creates some deception as the defense thinks the set play is beginning when the wing player receives the first pass from the point guard.

For more on college basketball, follow Jameson on Twitter . He'll be live in Orlando on press row for the entire Old Spice Classic.

Syracuse-UNC and Puerto Rico Tip-Off Highlight Weekend of College Hoops

Jameson Fleming — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:52:15 -0500

Syracuse Strives to Knock off National Champ for Second Consecutive Year

Last season, an up-and-coming Syracuse team went to Kansas City, made an unthinkable comeback, and eventually sent the Kansas Jayhawks, the defending champions, to the showers after SU won in its favorite time of day: overtime.

This season, North Carolina may be the defending champs, but the Tar Heels face a challenge similar to the up-hill battle the 'Cuse fought and won last year. The Orange had to invade Jayhawk territory to come away with the CBE Classic Title.

UNC must defeat Jim Boeheim's bunch in SU's home away from home. That's no easy task considering the 'Cuse is 10-2 in its last handful of early-season tournaments that culminated in New York City.

Roy Williams has one of his toughest tasks ahead of him to have his Heels prepared to put points on the board against Syracuse's stingy zone.

Ohio State attempted to stop Carolina's offense in the second half with a sagging 2-3 zone defense, but the Orange will give UNC a completely different look.

Through three games, Syracuse's athleticism and incredible length has allowed Boeheim to crank up the defensive pressure. He's able to send his perimeter players out past the three-point arc to put pressure on the ball.

Boeheim's front line is so long and so effective at blocking shots that quick ball reversal hasn't resulted in easy baskets like past years.

North Carolina does present a challenge that Syracuse may not be able to meet. SU has not seen a team with the menacing size UNC brings to the table.

With six players who stand 6'10'' or taller, Roy Williams will keep sending redwood tree after redwood tree into the paint.

UNC should nullify the 'Cuse's dominance of the paint and hold the edge around the basket, but Boeheim's guard play has been so good that UNC may not be reloading quickly enough to win this early season battle.

Red-shirt sophomore Scoop Jardine looks like a jazz musician from New York City's Village Vanguard anticipating the beat rather than missing it after a season off.

Jardine will soon be playing the lead if he continues to excel. With less experienced and smaller guards running the show for North Carolina, Jardine's ball-hawking skills could be the difference on Friday night.

For now, Syracuse, in its midseason form, has the advantage over a North Carolina team trying to figure the best way to reload its double-barreled shotgun.

Come back in March, however, and Roy Williams will likely have that shotgun locked, loaded, and aimed perfectly. And if that fails, he'll have the depth to fill a backup pistol.

Puerto Rico Tip-Off

The organizers of this event miraculously struck gold with the first two games of the tournament with the pairings of Dayton-Florida State and Villanova-George Mason.

The second round should be just as good, as Dayton probably has the best pair of wins this season and Villanova is a top 10 team.

Kansas State will also tip off against Mississippi, who may be the class of the SEC West.

The Wildcats from Philadelphia are without their top freshman big man, Mouphtaou Yarou, who stayed home sick.

That proved costly against George Mason and could keep Villanova out of the championship game because Dayton's athleticism can exploit 'Nova's lack of size.

The Flyers may have a bunch of players with common last names in a Wright, two Johnsons, and a Williams, but their games have made them stand out. Dayton's needed all four to post outstanding efforts in its two wins against Creighton and 19th-ranked Georgia Tech.

It's a great sign for Brian Gregory's team to beat the Yellow Jackets despite the fact that Chris Wright, who dominated Creighton, couldn't make a positive play to save his life against G-Tech.

Dayton should move on to the finals against the winner of Kansas State-Mississippi.

The Wildcats of Manhattan, not the Manhattan in New York, but rather the ones of Kansas, come with a duo of guards that should challenge what's likely the best defensive backcourt in the SEC.

Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente vs. Chris Warren and Terrico White should be one of the most exciting matchups of the early season. Both duos can score at will, but only Warren and White will likely shut the opponents down.

Mississippi's defense should be the deciding factor.

The final, whether it features Dayton or Villanova against either Mississippi or Kansas State, will likely be won by Dayton/Villanova's half the of the bracket.

Both squads (even 'Nova without Yarou) are better than what the Rebels and Wildcats can bring to the table right now.

Few other quick notes:

South Carolina should roll through the Charleston Classic. After beating up what's arguably the second-best team in the field, La Salle, the Gamecocks get Big East cellar dweller South Florida, then likely the winner of Miami vs. UNC-Wilmington. It's a chance for a great start to Darrin Horn's second season in Columbia.
Vanderbilt at St. Mary's should be a defining game for both squads. The Commodores can make good on their sleeper status with a win on the West Coast. The Gaels can show they are for real after losing Patty Mills.
Providence isn't supposed to be very good, but the Friars are 3-0. They get an Alabama team that's already lost to Cornell. This is a chance for Providence to further increase the Big East's dominance and make the start to the SEC's season even more painful.
Cornell can show it is really, really for real instead of just pretty for real if it knocks off Seton Hall at home. That would give the Big Red road wins over Alabama and Massachusetts and a home win vs. Seton Hall.
The 2K9 consolation is nothing to sleep on either. Ohio State against California could set up to be an offensive showcase with the way both teams can score from the perimeter (though you wouldn't know it from Thursday night).
Oklahoma heads to VCU in a payback game which the Rams almost won last year. This has trap game written all over it for the Baby Sooners.
Mercer has a history of beating major conference programs. Saturday it gets it shot at Florida State at home.
On Sunday, Auburn vs. North Carolina State. It's the major conference basement championship. Yippee.

For more on college basketball, follow Jameson on Twitter.

UCLA and Mississippi State May Not Recover After Meltdowns To Mid-Majors

Jameson Fleming — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:59:46 -0500

Losing an early non-conference game against a mid-major can be an early death sentence for some teams, but for others it can just be a blip on a radar soon forgotten.

Kentucky's recent disasters under Billy Gillispie are the easiest examples to point out as ways an early-season upset can derail a season.

In each of the past two seasons, the Wildcats went down early against Gardner-Webb in 2007 and Virginia Military Institute in 2008.

The SEC also suffered several other significant upsets when Mercer knocked off not one, but two SEC West teams, Auburn and Alabama.

Neither recovered, and the Tigers may have been a mere one game away from making the NCAA Tournament. That loss to Mercer have doomed Auburn to the NIT.

But some teams can recover. The well coached, talented squads built for success can put a loss behind them and make a run in March.

Michigan State lost an exhibition game against Division II Grand Valley State, but eventually went on to the Sweet 16.

In 2005, when North Carolina won the national championship, the Tar Heels opened the season with a shocking loss to Santa Clara.

Georgetown made the Final Four in 2007 after losing to Old Dominion during the Hoyas' first handful of games.

Even last year, Washington reached the round of 32 after losing to Portland in its opener and Louisville became one of the most dominant teams in the nation after going down to Western Kentucky.

With all that said, there are several quality teams that have already suffered bad losses. Some should rebound, others not quite.

In the first week, Syracuse went down to Le Moyne in an exhibition game, Oregon State to Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Mississippi State to Rider, Alabama to Cornell, and UCLA to Cal-State Fullerton.

Syracuse

What went wrong : The Orange almost never plays man-to-man defense. Against Le Moyne, the 'Cuse showed why. The Dolphins went off in the second half to come back and knock off their crosstown rivals.

Why things will go right: In the first two games of the season, Syracuse has looked as good defensively as the Orange has since the 'Cuse won the National Title in 2003. The length of this team from point guard to center and everyone off the bench should give the Orange one of the best defenses in the country if Jim Boeheim's squad continues to hustle and rebound.

Why things will go wrong: Syracuse doesn't have an established go-to guy yet and Wesley Johnson might be the Orange's only player that can efficiently create his own shot. Point guard play with freshman Brandon Triche may also prove to be an issue.

The verdict: Syracuse is good enough to do what Michigan State did when the Spartans lost an exhibition game and that's go to the Sweet 16. But a first-round exit or trip to the round of 32 is a better bet.

Oregon State

What went wrong: Oregon State simply couldn't score. A splendid .63 points per possession won't be too many teams no matter how low-profile they are. Center Roland Schaftenaar battled foul trouble early and only played 19 minutes.

Why things will go right: The Pac-10 isn't very good so the Beavers can come into their own in conference play. OSU has started slow under Craig Robinson almost every year, but last year the Beavers were able to recover fairly well.

Why things will go wrong: Oregon State didn't lose to just Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, but also lost to Texas Tech. The Red Raiders aren't supposed to be very good so that loss doesn't bode well for the Beavers either. OSU will likely struggle all season to score as well.

The verdict: The Beavers have the look of a sleeper, but after losing twice already it doesn't look good for Craig Robinson's team. A trip to the NCAA Tournament originally looked feasible, but that goal is quickly become distant.

Mississippi State

What went wrong: The Bulldogs have one of the best defensive front lines in the country, but it didn't matter as Rider had little trouble attacking the MSU defense from the three-point arc. Mississippi State also struggled to score down the stretch.

Why things will go right: Jarvis Varnado is the best eraser in the game and if Renardo Sidney receives clearance, Mississippi State is going to be almost impossible to score on around the basket. The Bulldogs should have one of the best two-point field goal defense in the country.

Why things will go wrong: Mississippi State was mediocre last season on the offensive end and should only improve marginally this year. When teams score against them on the perimeter, MSU might not have the firepower to answer back.

The verdict: Mississippi State should still be good for NCAA Tournament and should still be considered the favorite in the SEC West if Renardo Sidney is eligible. How far MSU can go? Well that's debatable--anything from a first round exit to a Sweet 16 is definitely possible.

Alabama

What went wrong: The Tide just couldn't stop Cornell. Anthony Grant's team couldn't guard the perimeter which is Cornell's bread and butter. Alabama wasn't able to muster up enough offense after letting the Big Red go off from three-point land to start the second half.

Why things will go right: Well there isn't much hope in Tuscaloosa, but the hope that is there comes from former highly touted recruit JaMychal Green. In his sophomore season if he can consistently replicate his double-double from the open, Alabama has a shot to win a decent number of games.

Why things won't go right: Alabama simply doesn't have enough talent to compete in even a weak SEC West. There's question marks abound with this roster in Anthony Grant's first year.

The verdict: Alabama is good enough to go the NIT and that's all anyone realistically expected of this team. Even with the loss to Cornell, the Crimson Tide are likely still good enough to play postseason ball.

UCLA

What went wrong: Injuries, injuries, injuries have UCLA completely out of whack. The offense looked completely dysfunctional and no one on this Bruins' squad looked comfortable knocking down shots from deep.

Why things will go right: Two consecutive strong recruiting classes give Ben Howland a ton of talent. If his roster gets healthy, Howland is a great coach that should get his players to gel eventually.

Why things will go wrong: This team is nowhere close to being as good as last year's round of 32 team. The Bruins don't have an established go-to guy and not enough shooters or creators to stop teams from zoning them out.

The verdict: If UCLA goes dancing it will be a product of the Pac-10 being pretty awful this season. The Bruins might win 10 or 11 conference games, but that likely won't be good enough to make the tournament.

For more on college basketball, follow Jameson on Twitter.

Bleacher Report Top 25: Kansas Holds Down No. 1 Ranking

Jameson Fleming — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:28:57 -0500

A few weeks after voting Kansas as the No. 1 team in the country, 14 Bleacher Report writers once again ranked the Jayhawks first in almost near unanimous fashion. There was a little bit of jumbling at the top of the poll as Michigan State assumed the second spot from Texas.

Ranking, Team, votes (first place votes), ranking last week.

1. Kansas 349 (13), 1

2. Michigan State 331 (1), 3

3. Kentucky 309, 5

4. Texas 302, 2

5. Villanova 285, 4

6. North Carolina 283, 7

7. Purdue 271, 9

8. West Virginia 254, 7

9. Duke 222, 6

10. Tennessee 198, 10

11. Connecticut 185, 13

12. Washington 166, 11

13. California 159, 12

14. Ohio State 158, 17

15. Michigan 149, 16

16. Butler 141, 21

17. Minnesota 107, 14

18. Georgia Tech 92, 18

19. Oklahoma 74, 24

20. Georgetown 68, 19

21. Dayton 66, 27

22. Clemson 56, 28

23. Illinois 45, 25

24. Syracuse 44, 20

25. Louisville 41, 29

Others receiving votes: Siena 39, Mississippi State 35, Maryland 35, Gonzaga 19, Xavier 19, South Carolina 16, Notre Dame 8, Mississippi 7, Florida State 5, Cincinnati 4, LSU 4, UCLA 4, Cornell 4, Vanderbilt 3, Western Kentucky 1, Memphis 1, Rider 1.

Participants: Jameson Fleming, Ari Kramer, Paul Swaney, Chris Marakovitz, Henry Ball, Blake Stansbery, Steve Tater, Paul Seaver, Nick Rall, Daniel Abbas, Kristofer Green, Caleb M., Carl Stine, Mark Fodor.

Kansas Jayhawks Top the Rankings, Purdue Boilermakers Gaining Ground

Jameson Fleming — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:03:59 -0500

Kansas entered the season as the top team in the country, and one week into the season, the Jayhawks didn't disappoint. Bill Self's team dominated its opening game against a tough Hofstra team.

Kansas could have company atop the rankings as several extremely talented teams trail the Jayhawks. Michigan State, Texas, and Purdue all rolled in their openers as all three teams did what elite teams do: don't even give inferior opponents hope.

The Boilermakers jump up a few spot in the rankings after the opening because of the play of several highly touted teams. Kentucky looked pretty good against Morehead State without stud freshman John Wall, but with Wall in the lineup, Miami (OH) put on a three-point shooting clinic against a porous Wildcats' defense.

North Carolina did not look outstanding against Florida International or Valparaiso in uninspiring wins against those two squads. It's still very early in the season, but Carolina does not look like an elite team...yet. Roy Williams has a roster loaded with outstanding young talent, but the Tar Heels aren't coming out of the gate as a dominant top 10 team.

There's a great chance UNC will move back into top five or 10 by the end of season, but for now, the Heels don't deserve to be there. We'll get an early look at the strength of this team this week when UNC plays Ohio State in New York City and then either California or Syracuse.

A few other teams took understandable tumbles. Minnesota can easily be a top 15 team when at full strength. Without Devron Bostick and stud freshman Royce White, Minnesota is still a top 25 team, but not top 15. Connecticut also fell down a few spots for similar reasons as North Carolina.

The Huskies have the potential to be very good, but right now Jim Calhoun's team is playing a very mediocre brand of basketball. Kemba Walker hasn't shown his All-American potential yet and Stanley Robinson hasn't quite emerged as a go-to scorer. Connecticut will get much better when Ater Majok becomes eligible Dec. 20th.

My rankings will be a part of the Bleacher Report Top 25. If you have contributed to the college basketball community and are interested in voting in the Bleacher Report Top 25, email me at jamesonfleming@gmail.com to receive a ballot. The site's Top 25 rankings will be posted Tuesday.

1. Kansas 1-0

The Jayhawks have not given any voters any reasons to drop them from the top spot. A rematch of the 2008 title game is on deck for Bill Self's team this week.

2. Texas 1-0

The Longhorns are as deep as anyone, and are one of the longest teams in America. UC-Irvine stood no chance against Rick Barnes' defense.

3. Michigan State 1-0

The Spartans dominated Florida Gulf Coast as expected. Freshman Derrick Nix was outstanding in his debut hauling in a Spartans' freshman debut record 14 rebounds.

4. Purdue 1-0

The Boilermakers held a 28-3 to lead about five minutes in against a NCAA-Tournament team from last year (Cal-State Northridge). Yeah, that's pretty darn good. Purdue's balanced roster will give teams fits because the Boilermakers excel on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.

5. Kentucky 2-0

The Wildcats drew some criticism from me above, but the teams that trail Kentucky in the standings have their own question marks. John Wall wasn't spectacular in his debut, but he showed the moxy to step up and take the last shot, a shot he nailed at the buzzer.

6. West Virginia 1-0

The Mountaineers can win the Big East, but they need Devin Ebanks to do it. He's got "personal problems" and sat out the opener. If he's not back this week for WVU's trip to Anaheim, the Mountaineers might lose two games out west.

7. Tennessee 1-0

The Volunteers have the experience and the talent to take down Kentucky in the SEC East. Bruce Pearl's team flexed its muscles in its opener against Austin Peay. The Volunteers blew out the Governors who were coming off a win against the MAC favorite, Akron.

8. Villanova 2-0

The Wildcats' frontcourt isn't going to thrill anyone, but that's not much different from most of Jay Wright's best teams. But with his previous great teams, there was usually one dominant post player. Unless Mouphtaou Yarou develops quickly, 'Nova could be without that imposing big man.

9. Duke 2-0

The Blue Devils lack depth in the backcourt, but this team is still extremely talented. The young members of the frontcourt have looked strong against undersized opponents thus far.

10. Michigan 1-0

The Wolverines should settle into John Beilein's system this season as Manny Harris looked like a scorer, but also a distributor in Michigan's opener against North Michigan. Harris recorded his first career triple-double in the win.

11. Ohio State 2-0

The Buckeyes make a big jump in the rankings after their dominating wins to open the season. Ohio State's perimeter based attack is going to be very difficult to defend, especially if Evan Turner keeps operating as efficiently at the point. The 6'7'' point guard posted a triple-double in OSU's opener and then followed it up with 17 rebounds in his second game.

12. Washington 3-0

The Huskies got progressively better as the weekend rolled on. They played three games in the three days and finished off that streak with a ridiculous 111-55 win against a pretty solid Big Sky opponent.

13. Syracuse 2-0

Like the Buckeyes, the Orange also make a nice jump in the rankings because of two dominating wins to open the season. Syracuse's defense suffocated Albany and Robert Morris, and Jim Boeheim might have his best defensive team since his Orange won the national title in 2003. California's deadly long range shooting should provide the nation with an accurate barometer on how good the 'Cuse defense will be this year.

14. North Carolina 3-0

The Tar Heels can show they do belong in the top 10 with at least one victory in New York City this weekend.

15. California 2-0

It's going to be a great two days in NYC with my 11th, 13th, 14th, and 15th ranked teams squaring off. California may deserve to be ranked a little lower because of its poor performance against Murray State, but Jerome Randle, Patrick Christopher, and Theo Robertson are hard to overlook.

16. Butler 1-0

The Bulldogs didn't look very good at all against Davidson. The defense was shaky and the offense stalled at times. Matt Howard and Gordon Hayward have to consistently perform for Butler to be a top 15 team.

17. Georgia Tech 1-0

Much of the Yellow Jackets' success will hinge on their freshmen. Derrick Favors had a respectable first game with 10 points and eight boards in 24 minutes.

18. Georgetown 1-0

The Hoyas went on the road and beat an OK Tulane team pretty easily. Georgetown can be scary good if the Austin Freeman-Greg Monroe-Chris Wright trio is good enough to overcome its lack of depth.

19. Dayton 1-0

The Flyers showed they can really score against Creighton. Last year, Dayton at times was anemic with the rock, but with Chris Wright running the show that should change this season.

20. Connecticut 2-0

As mentioned above, Connecticut can rise into the top 15 by the end of the season. For now, the Huskies haven't looked great against William & Mary and Colgate to open the season.

21. Minnesota 2-0

The Golden Gophers haven't missed a beat without Devron Bostick and Royce White. If they aren't back Tubby Smith's team will eventually get exposed without those two.

22. Cincinnati 1-0

Lance Stephenson's debut was a dud (2-of-10 shooting) and the Bearcats really struggled against Prairie View A&M. Cincy's shots didn't fall, but they eventually will. When they do, the Bearcats will be a tough matchup.

23. Vanderbilt 1-0

The Commodores are one of the most overlooked teams in the country and will contend for the SEC title. AJ Ogilvy had 13 points and nine rebounds in just 19 minutes in their opener.

24. Siena 1-0

The Saints weren't fantastic in their opener, but this team returns much of its core from a round of 32 team last year. Siena is better than last year, and the Saints will show it against a tough schedule.

25. Cornell 1-0

The Big Red get a vote because when the runaway projected winner of the Ivy League beats an SEC team on the road they deserve some recognition. So Cornell gets a top 25 vote out of respect for what Steve Donahue has done with his this program.

For more updates on college basketball, follow Jameson on Twitter.

Harrison Barnes Chooses North Carolina in Latest Hit to Duke Recruiting

Jameson Fleming — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:18:44 -0500

The talk of college basketball made his decision on where he's going to play college ball. Harrison Barnes ended one of the top recruiting circuses of the season with an announcement to play basketball at North Carolina.

In a world of increased online communication and social media, this announcement hits Duke extremely hard. Recruiting in college basketball has become much easier to follow with incredible in-depth access to highly touted prospects just a year or two away from starring in the NBA.

In the moments following Barnes' declaration to play for Roy Williams, thousands of tweets containing the word "Barnes" filled the social networking site. That's thousands of people across the nation discussing Barnes. That's thousands of users following those discussing Barnes instantly reading about Barnes' decision. Barnes quickly rose into Twitters' top 10 trending topics.

Twitter is giving other recruits instant feedback on Barnes' decision to go to UNC. They get reactions from anyone and everyone and most of those reactions are praising North Carolina and trashing Duke. Not trashing UCLA or Iowa State or even Oklahoma and Kansas who were among the finalists for Barnes.

Duke looked like it finally was starting to gain ground in its never-ending war with North Carolina after bringing in a solid recruiting class this season and signing highly touted guard Kyrie Irving.

Barnes' decision to go with the baby blue just ended that.

Instantly.

Then Barnes seemingly knowing his place in the rivalry already told ESPNU this, "I think it will be one of the greatest feelings to be able to play in front of the Cameron Crazies because I've been and I've seen the North Carolina rivalry and I think it will be absolutely great, and I think it will be a great game."

Well yes Harrison, it will be a great game from your perspective when your Heels run-and-gun to an 18-point win.

Barnes joins two more five-star recruits, shooting guard Reggie Bullock and point guard Kendall Marshall in Roy Williams' 2010 recruiting class.

The addition of Barnes to that class doesn't just put North Carolina head and shoulders above Duke next season, but it should put UNC in a separate league from almost everyone else. We don't know who from this current Tar Heels team will bail for the NBA after this season (my gut says just Ed Davis), but UNC will be close to having double-digit McDonald's All-Americans.

With 2008 and 2009's recruiting classes focusing on the frontcourt, the 2010 recruiting class gives Roy Williams a full complement of perimeter and wing players that will allow the Tar Heels to run two or three deep at every single position.

North Carolina will be the most versatile, talented team in the country next season.

The one thing North Carolina is probably missing this season is a dynamic long range shooter.

Harrison Barnes is that player.

Barnes is a player who may impact North Carolina directly on the court for one season, but his impact on Chapel Hill starts now. His decision will help lure other five-star McDonald's All-Americans to Tobacco Road.

He's not a lock to go pro after one season, but with his skill set and size it's hard to imagine he won't be a millionaire in 2011. He'll be a perfect fit to play the wing in the NBA. Barnes stands somewhere in the neighborhood of 6'7'' as now, but remember, Barnes isn't even 18 years old yet. Barnes could still have two or three years of growing ahead of him.

For more updates on college basketball, follow Jameson on Twitter.

Dayton-Creighton Highlights College Basketball's Opening Weekend

Jameson Fleming — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:26:45 -0500

It's been well documented that college basketball doesn't really have an "opening day" or in this weekend's case, there are few games that make for a riveting "opening weekend."

There are a few notable games that highlight this week's weekend rundown.

Creighton at No. 22 Dayton, 1 PM Saturday

One of the most critical non-conference games for both the Blue Jays and Flyers come in their season openers. This game is practically a must-win for Creighton if the Blue Jays want to go dancing with an at-large bid. Creighton will play in the Old Spice Classic, at New Mexico, and home against Nebraska.

That schedule gives Creighton five or six opportunities to win against what could remotely be considered a quality opponent. That means Creighton could really use a victory against a ranked Dayton team in order to build an at-large resume come March.

The Blue Jays should contend for the Missouri Valley Conference title as always, but the odds are stacked against them because the MVC is much stronger this year and Creighton's best player, Booker Woodfox, graduated. Creighton still has P'Allen Stinnett and the next three top scorers from last year's team.

The Blue Jays will give Dayton a challenge, but the Flyers are the best team in a league that's going to be even stronger than the MVC. Chris Wright is one of the nation's best high fliers and will lead Dayton's impenetrable defense.

The Flyers, behind Wright, should be stronger on the offensive end of the floor this year as well.

My pick: Dayton 73, Creighton 64

Morehead State at No. 5 Kentucky, 6 PM Friday on ESPNU

The Eagles are arguably the best team in the Ohio Valley Conference after reaching the NCAA Tournament and returning star big man Kenneth Faried. Morehead State gave Louisville a battle for a little bit last year in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, so the Eagles could do the same against a young Kentucky team.

If the Wildcats don't gel early because of all the new faces, the Eagles could maybe, just maybe, pull off an upset.

The chances of that are extremely low as John Calipari features two of the most unguardable players in the SEC and the entire nation. John Wall will sit out this game because of a suspension, but Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins will dominate the paint.

If Kentucky's tandem of big men get Faried in foul trouble, Morehead State will be playing to keep this game within 40 points.

My pick: Kentucky 88, Morehead State 69

Hofstra at No. 1 Kansas, 8 PM Friday

The Pride may have one of the best mid-major scorers in Charles Jenkins, but that won't be nearly enough to compete with a loaded Jayhawks team.

My pick: Kansas 96, Hofstra 69

Florida Gulf-Coast at No. 2 Michigan State, 7:00 PM Friday

The Eagles should be competitive in the Atlantic Sun Conference, but not with Michigan State.

My pick: Michigan State 84, FGCU 49

Fairleigh Dickinson at No. 6 Villanova, 7:00 PM Friday

Villanova just found out Mouphtaou Yarou will be eligible for the team's first game. They wouldn't have needed him in this one anyone.

My pick: Villanova 88, FDU 58

Cal-State Northridge at No. 7 Purdue, 7:00 PM Friday

The Boilermakers are one of the most sound teams in the country with few question marks. That will shine through as upsetting Purdue will be quite difficult this year.

My pick: Purdue 72, Cal-State Northridge 41

UNC-Greensboro at No. 9 Duke, 7:00 PM Friday

The Spartans were just awful last year. Really, really awful. Mason Plumlee won't be missing much as he sits out with a broken wrist.

My pick: Duke 98, UNC-Greensboro 52

Austin Peay at No. 11 Tennessee, 7:30 PM Friday

The always entertaining Governors with their creative "Let's Go Peay" chants won't have much to cheer about against one of the deeper and athletic teams in the country.

My pick: Tennessee 88, Austin Peay 70

Wright State at No. 13 Washington, 10:00 PM Friday

The Huskies will get a pretty solid test when Wright State comes to town. The Raiders have the talent to pull off the country's first upset.

My pick: Washington 77, Wright State 71

William & Mary at No. 14 Connecticut, 7:30 PM Friday

It took me more time to figure out where the ampersand was on my laptop than who would win this game.

My pick:Connecticut 85, William & Mary 48

Tennessee Tech at No. 18 Minnesota, 8:00 PM Friday

Tubby Smith opens the season without his stud freshman Royce White, but it won't matter against Tennessee Tech. The Golden Gophers defense will completely overwhelm the Golden Eagles.

My pick: Minnesota 78, Tennessee Tech 48

Rider at No. 19 Mississippi State, 9:00 PM Friday

Mississippi State could find itself in a dog fight (pun absolutely intended) with Rider. The Broncos should be able to keep it close for awhile, but MSU should definitely pull away by the end.

My pick: Mississippi State 83, Rider 68

No. 21 Georgetown at Tulane, 9:00 PM Friday

Yes, you read that right. The Hoyas are heading to the road for their season opener. Though who can blame them for going south to New Orleans to take on the Green Wave. The home-court advantage should help Tulane a bit, but Georgetown is pretty darn good.

My pick: Georgetown 70, Tulane 51

Presbyterian at No. 24 Clemson, 8:00 PM Friday

This is a throw away year for the Blue Hose as they are redshirting players so they are eligible when Presbyterian is postseason eligible. This will be ugly.

My pick: Clemson 92, Presbyterian 43

Davidson at No. 10 Butler, 2:00 PM Saturday

Last year, this game is a spotlight game considering the lack of highlight matchups on the docket. But Davidson won't be very good (still good enough though to finish in the top three or four of the Southern Conference) and Butler is potentially top-10 good. This is the back end of a Bracket Buster series.

It should be slow paced which means the scoring margin between these two teams will be deceptive.

My pick: Butler 68, Davidson 56

Belmont at No. 13 Washington, 10:00 PM Saturday

The Huskies play on back-to-back nights, but luckily for them they'll get somewhat of a breather when Belmont comes to town. Recent history suggests the Bruins have been pretty darn good, but last year they struggled and they didn't get much better coming into this season.

My pick: Washington 84, Belmont 62

Northern Michigan at No. 15 Michigan, 7:00 PM Saturday

The Wildcats aren't Division I. Michigan is. Northern Michigan is in a conference abbreviated GLIAC. The Big Ten is as many characters long as Northern Michigan's conference acronym. That's the most useful info about this game.

Expect Manny Harris to dominate like he did last year against Michigan Tech.

My pick: Michigan 88, Northern Michigan 41

Mount St. Mary's at No. 16 Oklahoma, 2:00 PM Saturday

MSM should be an NCAA Tournament team because the Mountaineers are the Northeast Conference favorites. So let's think of NCAA Tournament and call this 1 vs. 16 game. The Sooners aren't as good as a one seed, but they aren't losing this game.

My pick: Oklahoma 75, Mount St. Mary's 55

Florida A&M at No. 20 Georgia Tech, 7:00 PM Saturday

The whole "it look me longer to find the ampersand than pick this winner" joke doesn't work for this game because I'm now familiar with the ampersand; however, it still only took a split second to pick a winner.

My pick: Georgia Tech 86, Florida A&M 50

UC-Irvine at No. 3 Texas, 2:00 PM Sunday

The Longhorns' size is just too much for mid-majors. It would be shocking if any mid-major gives Texas a run for its money this year.

My pick: Texas 99, UC-Irvine 65

Valparaiso at No. 4 North Carolina, 4:00 PM Sunday

The Tar Heels get in a warm-up before heading to New York City for the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Like Texas, North Carolina's dominant front line will make it tough for smaller teams to stay in the game.

My pick: North Carolina 95, Valparaiso 52

Loyola (MD) at No. 9 West Virginia, 4:00 PM Sunday

The Mountaineers dominate front court of Devin Ebanks and Da'Sean Butler should be good for about 40 points and 25 rebounds in this game. They are the best frontcourt duo in the Big East.

My pick: West Virginia 83, Loyola 58

Portland State at No. 13 Washington, 10:00 PM Sunday

This makes three games in the first three days of the season for Washington. Preparation for the Pac-10 Tournament is beginning early for Lorenzo Romar's team.

My pick: Washington 73, Portland State 64

For more updates and commentary on college basketball, follow Jameson on Twitter.

Syracuse Orange Excel Defensively for the First Time in Years

Jameson Fleming — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:41:29 -0500

You can't see past them. You can't get around them. You can't shoot over them.

"Them," of course, refers to the Syracuse Orange defense that has smothered its first two opponents into submission. The defense has had two of its best games in terms of efficiency since Ken Pomeroy began keeping track in 2004.

The Syracuse defense put up an astounding 53.1 defensive rating (.531 points per possession) against Albany and approximately a 67.7 Wednesday against Robert Morris (official numbers will come in overnight).

Those numbers are remarkable . Maybe not for programs like Memphis, Kansas, and Louisville known for their defense, but certainly for a team like Syracuse, who hasn't been a superior defensive team since 2005.

That's finally changing this season because of the incredible length Syracuse has from players one through 10 on the depth chart.

Naturally, Syracuse was bound to have a size advantage against Albany and Robert Morris, but this reshaped roster is teaming with length that should put the Orange near the top of the country in relative height.

Size doesn't always mean success when playing a man-to-man defense, and the same goes for the 2-3 zone, but in the zone, length and athleticism decreases the gaps and shooting lanes.

With a frontline that features 6'9'' Arinze Onuaku in the center with 6'10'' Rick Jackson and 6'7'' Wesley Johnson on the wings, players don't have room to maneuver near the basket.

Repeatedly in the first two games of the season, opponents would take the ball baseline. In years past, SU wings struggled at closing out the baseline, allowing the opposition to take the ball one-on-one to the basket with only the center to defend. That development allows another play to slip through the lane for an easy pass and bucket.

This year, Rick Jackson, Wesley Johnson, and Kris Joesph—the first forward off the bench—have closed out the baseline extremely well. This has allowed Onuaku to double the ball on the baseline which leads to disastrous results for the offense.

This adjustment, as well as more actively interrupting the passing lanes has forced 60 turnovers in the first two games (32 for Albany, 28 for Robert Morris).

To put that into perspective, Syracuse has forced a turnover on 36 percent of its defensive possessions. In 2009, that number was 18.8 percent and the 'Cuse hasn't pushed 20 percent since 2006.

The Orange has also been able to extend the 2-3 zone because Andy Rautins, Scoop Jardine, and Brandon Triche have been more active on the perimeter, but also have great size for guards. Numerous times during the first two games, they've deflected passes thrown over their heads. That rarely ever happened with last year's backcourt of Eric Devendorf and Jonny Flynn.

The most promising sign for the Orange is probably the fact that Robert Morris is the kind of mid-major that usually gives Syracuse fits. Throughout the last handful of years, the 'Cuse has struggled to blow out mid-majors because the 2-3 zone typically allows good shooting teams to stay in the game.

The Colonials' offense revolves around the three-pointer and when they played the Orange in 2008 in the NIT, they drilled 16 three-pointers in a six point loss.

Wednesday night, Syracuse forced RMU into an abysmal shooting performance—not only from behind the arc (6 of 23), but everywhere else as well (22 of 62).

With a California team that led the nation in three point shooting last season looming in the semifinals of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic next week, Syracuse might finally have a way to protect its once vulnerable Achilles heel.

For more updates and observations on college basketball, follow Jameson on Twitter.

North Carolina, Syracuse Look Radically Different This Year

Jameson Fleming — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:10:54 -0500

The roster turnover at North Carolina and Syracuse has radically changed the way the Tar Heels and the Orange operate on the hardwood.

Roy Williams lost speedy point guard Ty Lawson, sharp-shooters Wayne Ellington and Danny Green, and All-American center, Tyler Hansbrough while Jim Boeheim won his 800th game without Jonny Flynn, Paul Harris, Eric Devendorf, and Kristof Ongenaet.

Both teams functioned successfully with high-tempo guard orientated attacks last season. But if both teams' first game is any indication of the rest of the season, then both squads will have frontcourt dominated offenses.

Despite the two victories for UNC (88-72 over Isaiah Thomas's Florida International team) and 'Cuse's (75-43 over Albany), one team should be quite happy with its performance while the other needs to improve.

North Carolina look like it had the game in the books late in the first half and into the beginning of the second half. But suddenly Zeke's team came alive and made a run at the Tar Heels to cut the lead below 20.

UNC began to lose its lead despite having the majority of its starting five on the floor during the second half. When the freshmen entered the game, FIU drew closer even quicker.

North Carolina should have won this game by 35 or 40 points, but instead won by only 16 against what is supposed to be the Sun Belt Conference's worst team.

In comparison to last year, the 2008-2009 Tar Heels would win this game against this FIU team 110-65.

The freshmen are supposed to be North Carolina's strength. The Tar Heels are supposed to be reloading, not rebuilding.

If the freshmen play like they did tonight, they will be rebuilding. The starting five UNC put on the court is not a top 10 or even 15 starting lineup. The freshmen have to develop for this team to be successful.

A few late buckets moved their collective line to 6-12 for 15 points and six turnovers. The defense from the freshmen was mediocre and they were careless with the ball. They certainly didn't look like five top 40 prospects.

John Henson, who's considered a top five freshman, doesn't look like he's going to have a top five impact.

He's INCREDIBLY skinny. He's an absolute twig and Henson looked like he wanted no part of the paint. The freshman had just one rebound in 12 minutes. Henson did guard the perimeter and the ball pretty well. For a recent comparison, he's a more talented Donte Greene that can play defense.

As a whole, UNC turned the ball over 22 times (not counting garbage time) and couldn't handle FIU's second half scrappiness. The turnovers were not the fault of Larry Drew who looked like he should fill Ty Lawson's shoes pretty well. He looks almost as fast as Lawson, but he is not built as well as Lawson who may have been short, but was fairly stocky for his speed.

Luckily for North Carolina, this was just the Tar Heels' first game and more specifically their five stud freshmen's first game.

As for Syracuse, Jim Boeheim should be thrilled with his team's performance especially after losing to LeMoyne in an exhibition game.

The Orange, like the Heels, won this game in radically different fashion than last year. Last year's up tempo team would have hung close to 100 on Albany and probably allowed at least 70 points.

Syracuse continued to run and gun, but could not convert as easily on the offensive end. The defense basically couldn't have been any better.

The length of this new 'Cuse team is outstanding and plays right into Boeheim's trademark 2-3 zone. Syracuse forced a turnover for every point the school won by.

The Orange won by 32 points.

That's 32 turnovers.

That's ridiculous for a team who needed the opponent to miss shots to get a stop last season.

Replacing a 5'10'' Jonny Flynn with a 6'4'' Brandon Triche who actually hits the defensive glass, a 6'3'' Paul Harris with 6'7'' Wesley Johnson, and 6'4'' Eric Devendorf with 6'5'' Andy Rautins makes a huge difference defensively.

Off the bench, Boeheim could use Kris Joesph, Mookie Jones, and James Sutherland who all stand at least 6'6''.

Boeheim has the most size since the 2003 title team.

Besides forcing turnovers, the length of Syracuse also forced Albany to shoot 27.3 percent. The Great Danes put up a pathetic 51.8 offensive rating (average is about 101).

Syracuse does have some concerns. In approximately 83 possessions, the offense put up just 78 points because of 2-17 shooting from three and 21 turnovers.

Brandon Triche looked ok in his debut, but Scoop Jardine deserves to start over Triche as the red-shirt sophomore had an efficient 12 points and 4 assists. Triche tended to force too many passes and repeatedly entered the lane uncontrollably. The freshman got into foul trouble in the first half because of two offensive charges.

Andy Rautins also left the game with a bum ankle and did not return (most likely because the game was a blow out, not because he was too injured).

Few other points from the night:

North Carolina needs to get rid of the red trim on its jerseys. It looks ridiculous. Tar Heel blue and white is the way to go.
Florida International has to consider this a victory for the program. It looked like the Golden Panthers were going to get blown out, but Thomas said something at half that inspired this team to keep the game relatively close.
Ohio State's Evan Turner had an outstanding debut as the Buckeyes' point guard. In OSU's 100-60 win, Turner had 14 points, 17 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals and just 2 turnovers.
Hey Big 10, have fun guard Ohio State's perimeter based attack.
Amazingly, the line for the Ohio State-Alcorn State game was 39 points. The Buckeyes covered by a single point.
California didn't look very good against Murray State. The Golden Bears struggled at times defensively (same problems as last year). Cal's four returning starters played fairly well, but the Golden Bears didn't get contributions out of anyone else.
The close game means the much anticipated debut of Bak Bak didn't happen for Cal.
Morehead State is the very trendy pick to win the Ohio Valley Conference, but Murray State looks like the Racers could give MSU a real challenge.
Entering today, California-North Carolina looked pretty solid for the Coaches vs. Cancer Final. Now, Syracuse-Ohio State looks like a better pick.
Monday afternoon, I wrote that Seton Hall could finish as high as fifth in the conference. Well that is looking less likely after Keon Lawrence had a pretty nasty run in with the law.

For more on college basketball, follow Jameson on Twitter.

Road to the Final Four: Postseason Projections

Jameson Fleming — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:50:43 -0500

I've posted most of my projections on my Twitter page, but I'm publishing them as well to have something tangible at the end of the season.

If you have any qualms, questions, and/or comments about my projections just leave a comment and you'll get an explanation.

Final Four

Kansas—The best team in the country and should win the national title. Since Kansas is the best team and on a similar plane as North Carolina last year, the Jayhawks will reach the Final Four and win it all for the second time in three years.

Texas—The Longhorns are insanely deep and talented; so much so that any issues at point guard should not keep them out of the Final Four.

Purdue—Michigan State is probably the better team than Purdue, but the Boilermakers will be a tougher out in March. E'Twaun Moore, Robbie Hummel, JaJuan Johnson trio will be unstoppable and Chris Kramer will provide more than enough defense to interrupt the opposing offense. Purdue will be in the title game and lose to Kansas.

West Virginia—This team has minor issues in the backcourt, but the frontcourt is as good as it gets with Da'Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks.

Elite Eight

Kentucky—The Wildcats have as much talent as anybody, but lack experience. That will burn them at some point. For me, that point will be the Elite Eight.

Duke—If the freshman talent comes through and Mike Krzyzewski gets contributions out of his new big men, Duke is almost as good as anybody because of Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer.

Michigan State—The Spartans will fall two steps short of last year's team despite the fact they are almost as good as last year. The top teams are simply better this season.

Georgetown—Someone almost always makes the Elite Eight that doesn't deserve to be here and my pick for that team this year is Georgetown. The Hoyas probably aren't even a top 15 team, but the Austin Freeman, Greg Monroe, Chris Wright trio has the capability to upset some really good teams.

Player of the Year

Luke Harangody—Hands down the best college player in the country. The college game just doesn't have the kind of athletes that can consistently slow down Harangody.

Apologies to—John Wall could end up being the player of the year and deserves immediate contention, but I don't want to anoint him the Player of the Year just yet.

Freshman of the Year

John Wall—On top of being the most talented freshman, he always walks into the best fit for any of the top freshman.

Apologies to—Derrick Favors will dominate both ends of the floor, but there is a chance his Yellow Jackets will under-achieve leaving him without the necessary publicity to be the freshman of the year.

Big 10 Champion

Regular Season and Tournament—Michigan State. The Spartans are barely the better team over Purdue and have more depth to win on consecutive days in the postseason tournament.

Big East Champion

Regular Season—West Virginia. The Mountaineers have the best duo in the league with Devin Ebanks and Da'Sean Butler

Tournament—Villanova. The Wildcats' stable of guards will be nearly impossible to stop after two or three days of consecutive basketball.

Big 12 Champion

Regular Season and Tournament—Kansas. The Jayhawks are the best team in the country and definitely have the depth to compete with Texas in the tournament.

Pac-10 Champion

Regular season—California. The Golden Bears should have no trouble rolling through the Pac-10 regular season because of their ability to out-score everyone.

Tournament—Washington. If Cal struggles defensively like they did last year, Washington will have the advantage in the tournament when offense sometimes goes dry.

SEC Champion

Regular season—Mississippi State. The Bulldogs will finish with the best regular season record because of the weakness of the west. Plus, Kentucky might struggle early as the freshman continue to gel together.

Tournament—Kentucky. John Calipari's teams rolled through Conference USA tournaments and will have this team built for success in the postseason.

ACC Champion

Regular season—North Carolina. The Tar Heels have a dominate frontcourt that few teams in the conference can match which will translate into a lot of conference wins.

Tournament—Duke has the experience and talent to knock off North Carolina's inexperienced team in March.

Atlantic 10

Dayton is clearly the best team in the conference, Richmond will finish second.

Conference USA

Tulsa has a dominate duo with Ben Uzoh and Jerome Jordan. UTEP, Memphis, and Houston all could be good enough to either win the league or even garner an at-large bid.

West Coast Conference

Portland has the experience to dethrone Gonzaga who is clearly down this year. Some nice pieces remain in Spokane, but there's no way the Zags are a top 25 team like some suggest.

Missouri Valley

Northern Iowa returns all five starters from an NCAA Tournament team. Creighton, Southern Illinois, and Illinois State have the potential to upset the Panthers.

Colonial Athletic

Old Dominion should finally end VCU and George Mason's reign atop the league. VCU behind Larry Sanders and Northeastern behind Matt Janning could challenge for the league title.

For more conference winners, check out my preseason bracketology.

For the record predictions:

I've been touting these five teams during the offseason as sleepers: Cincinnati, Seton Hall, Baylor, Oregon State, and Vanderbilt can all be really good this season. Top five finishes in the Big East aren't out of the question for the Bearcats and Pirates. Baylor can finish fourth or fifth in the Big 12 if the Bears play defense. Oregon State can end up third in a weak Pac-10 and Vandy could finish second in a very strong SEC-East.

Florida, Notre Dame, and Pittsburgh aren't very good in my book. The Gators lose their best player, but bring in Kenny Boyton and somehow this team goes from NIT to top 25 as some claim? I'm not buying it. Notre Dame isn't much better than last year, if the Irish are even better at all. The defense should be better, but the offense won't be as strong. Pittsburgh loses four starters, but have some talented players waiting in the wings. Those players aren't talented or experienced enough for the Panthers to go dancing.

The Mountain West will be only a one bid league this year. The league will be strong again in 2011, but for now Brigham Young should dominate that conference. UNLV has talented newcomers, but this team limped into the NIT last year and loses Wink Adams from last year's team.

I'm not completely sold on Butler. There's lots of talent, but not a lot of size. Last year, the Bulldogs repeatedly struggled or lost against more athletic, longer teams (Ohio State, LSU, Cleveland State). We'll see early on if Butler is for real as the Bulldogs have a challenging non-conference schedule.

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Road to The Final Four: Irrefutable Statements About The Upcoming Season

Jameson Fleming — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:34:27 -0500

Pretty much the same premise as last year's article: The following statements can be debated, argued, and squabbled over, but in the end the counterarguments against them aren't strong enough to make the statement debatable.

Last year's turned out pretty well...North Carolina was undoubtedly the best, the Big East was insanely strong, Indiana defined terrible, no mid-major league stood out, and the freshman lacked significant impact.

1. When not violating the law, Kansas is the best team in the country.

The Jayhawks have certainly had their issues during the offseason. Players fighting with fellow student-athletes, facebook wars, drunken driving incidents would have Kansas fighting with Binghamton for the top spot of the Fulmer Cup (if basketball had such a version).

If Kansas can ignore the distractions and focus on the hardwood, then this team will be practically unstoppable. Bill Self has himself a collection of talented players that rivals the strength of last year's North Carolina team which steam-rolled to a title during the NCAA Tournament.

Kansas better get its act into gear right now. While the Jayhawks are confidently the best team entering the season, the gap between KU and other teams like Texas, Michigan State, and even Kentucky isn't as wide as North Carolina's gap.

Bill Self's team makes the above statement true because he has a wide variety of superior talent. Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich form the best one-two, inside-outside punch in the nation. Both could easily be All-Americans by the end of the season.

The talent doesn't end with Aldrich and Collins. The Jayhawks are the premiere team in the land because of the support Aldrich and Collins have. Freshman Xavier Henry will start from day one and provide the extra punch KU needs from a swing man.

The rest of the backcourt is loaded with players like Tyshawn Taylor who will eventually be a first round NBA pick when he leaves Lawrence and also incoming freshman Elijah Johnson.

Aldrich also has forwards around him that will take the pressure off him to dominate the paint. Aldrich was looked to for significant contributions last year as forwards Markieff and Marcus Morris developed as freshmen. Now as sophomores, in addition to stud transfer Jeff Withey and freshman Thomas Robinson, the Jayhawks' frontcourt shouldn't be as much of a one-man band.

2. The Big 10 is the best in not just the Midwest, but the whole nation...

This one is actually quite debatable, but in the end, the Big 10 will dominant this year.

Yes, the Big 10 brand of basketball is generally somewhat of a snooze fest with those great 37-33 games, but that doesn't mean it can't be the best basketball this year (besides the Pac-10 is quickly catching up in the category of ugly basketball).

It will be undeniable how good the Big 10 really will be this season. Michigan State and Purdue are interchangeable at the top of conference. Both squads bring back the majority of their rosters from excellent teams last season.

The Spartans are missing a few replaceable parts from last year's National Runner-Up team while Purdue returns everybody from a Sweet 16 squad.

After Purdue and Michigan State, there is a cluster of top 25 worthy teams that can really be ordered anywhere from third to sixth.

Ohio State has an All-American in Evan Turner who excelled in his first test at point guard in the Buckeyes first exhibition game. Thad Matta has a stellar starting five that should be thinking Sweet 16.

The Buckeyes' old time rival, Michigan has an outstanding one-two punch with Manny Harris (another potential All-American) and DeShawn Sims. Another year in John Beilein's system means another push towards incredibly efficient basketball.

Minnesota has hit a speed bump in its quest for a Sweet 16 after Devron Bostick and Royce White were suspended indefinitely. But even without those two, the Golden Gophers are still a borderline top 25 team and a threat to overachieve with Tubby Smith, a great x's and o's coach, at the helm.

Illinois should also figure into the mix with reliable point guard Demetri McCamey and the Mike and Mike's, Davis and Tisdale in the frontcourt. The Fighting Illini also have a superbly talented freshman class that should give Illinois a jolt off the bench.

These six teams give the conference the best top six in the entire country and the next two best teams in the league aren't slouches either. Northwestern could make its first ever NCAA Tournament this season behind Kevin Coble while Wisconsin's Bo Ryan coached team lurks in the shadows with great balance.

3. ...and the Atlantic-10 is the conference outside the big six.

So technically the A-10 isn't considered by most as a mid-major because of the amount of money those schools spend on athletics and basketball specifically, but in all reality, the A-10 doesn't fit in with the big six conferences.

You won't see the A-10 put half its team in the tournament like big six conferences do, but you will see on a yearly basis the Atlantic 10 fight with the Missouri Valley Conference, Mountain West Conference, and Conference USA as the best non-big six league.

This year, that fight won't even be close.

The Atlantic 10 is absolutely stacked at the top of the league. Dayton is clearly a top 20 team with high flier Chris Wright leading the way. After the Flyers, parity dominates the upper echelon of the 14 team league.

Typical powerhouse Xavier is taken a slight step back in 2010 with new coach Chris Mack walking the sidelines. The Musketeers should still compete for the second spot in the league and make the NCAA Tournament.

Richmond's Chris Mooney and his Princeton Style offense finally has all the pieces to be a slow, but deadly weapon. The Spiders have two great guards Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez as well as stud center Dan Geriot who's back after missing last season.

La Salle could also make the NCAA Tournament to give the Atlantic 10 at least four tournament teams. The Explorers return all five starters and bring in perhaps the best freshman in the Atlantic 10, Aaric Murray.

The Charlotte 49ers should also be much improved with Boston College transfer Shamari Spears. Duquesne could also contend for an NCAA Tournament berth if they can replace leading scorer Aaron Jackson.

No other mid-major conference has that kind of depth at the top. The Missouri Valley could come close this year with Northern Iowa, Creighton, Illinois State, and Southern Illinois touting solid teams, but those four aren't in the same ballpark as Dayton, Xavier, Richmond, and La Salle.

4. John Wall deserves Player of the Year consideration from day one (well actually day four).

After John Wall serves his two game suspension, he should immediately be considered a player of the year candidate. The situation Wall enters couldn't be more perfect for the most highly touted recruit since Michael Beasley.

For a player that is practically a shoe-in to be the top pick in the 2010 draft, there is no debating how good Wall will be.

He should have a very similar impact to John Calipari's last stud point guard recruit, Derrick Rose. Although Rose later proved to be ineligible, he was a slick point guard that excelled in Calpari's dribble-drive motion offense. Rose had no problems slashing to the basket or getting his teammates involved when defenders sealed his path to the hoop.

Wall is that same kind of point guard who may even be a better scorer than Rose ever was in 2008. With a strong supporting cast around Wall, he should have no issue scoring as opposing defenses won't be able to focus on just stopping him.

Kansas Jayhawks Top Preseason Bracketology

Jameson Fleming — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:14:58 -0500

Kansas, as the heavy favorite, projects to receive the top overall seed in the 2010 NCAA Tournament and should stay on that top seed line throughout the season. Following the Jayhawks should be Rick Barnes' incredibly deep Texas team, last year's national runner-ups, Michigan State, and an underrated team out of the Big East, West Virginia.

For each team, a short explanation will detail why they received that seed. Keep in mind the seed might not always reflect the strength of the team, but how influential factors could change a team's seeding like conference strength and seeding rules.

Midwest (St. Louis, Missouri)

1 Kansas (Big 12)

The Jayhawks have two All-Americans, a stud freshman, and a great supporting cast. Their preseason profile is very similar to the 2009 North Carolina team, which steamrolled to a title.

16 Sam Houston State (Southland)

After Stephen F. Austin's solid season last year, which netted the conference a 14 seed, the Southland will find itself back on the 16-seed line without a dominant team this season.

8 Louisville

The Cardinals could really finish anywhere from third to eighth in the Big East. Louisville could get beat up a bit in the always-tough Big East and end up as an eighth seed. In theory, Louisville was supposed to end up on the seven seed line, according to my s-curve, but seeding rules forced them down to an eight.

9 Northern Iowa (Missouri Valley)

The Panthers were a 12-seed last year as the Missouri Valley's best team. With almost everyone returning, this team will be better, meaning their seed should be better.

4 Butler (Horizon)

The Bulldogs have been under-seeded, according to their AP and Coaches Poll Ranking the past few years. Figuring they finish around 10th in the polls this year, dropping them a seed line or two seems fitting. Last year, Butler received a nine seed, but laid an egg in the NCAA Tournament against a more athletic and longer LSU team.

13 Akron (MAC)

The deepest, most talented team in the MAC added stud freshman center Zeke Marshall. The Zips will be challenged for the league title by Kent State, but Akron should be too good to not win the MAC.

5 Dayton (Atlantic 10)

The Flyers will unseat Xavier as the Atlantic-10's best team, but likely won't crack the top 15. Chris Wright is a high flier that should have Dayton in the Sweet 16.

12 Northwestern

The Wildcats have never made an NCAA Tournament. Never. Not in the 71 years in the history of the tournament. That will change in 2010, as the Wildcats should be one of the last teams to go dancing. Get to know forward Kevin Coble. As a senior, he'll be highly motivated to lead NW to its first tournament.

3 Washington

Whoever wins the Pac-10 will have a solid chance of landing a two seed, and whoever finishes second should not receive lower than a three seed. If the Huskies don't win the conference, they should roll through the league fairly easily, because the Pac-10 is down this year. Washington and California's win totals should be slightly inflated, ensuring those teams will receive at least three-seeds.

14 College of Charleston (Southern)

Davidson's reign atop the Southern Conference ended last season, leaving the conference wide open for someone to step up and lead the league. Bobby Cremins' College of Charleston team will be the Southern Conference's best squad this season.

6 Ohio State

The Buckeyes improved during the offseason and that will be reflected in their seeding. Last year, Thad Matta's club lost in the opening round as an eight seed. OSU might end up a seed line or two lower because Big Ten teams should beat up on each other; that league is loaded this year.

11 South Carolina

If the Gamecocks make it out alive in the SEC East, then Darrin Horn will go dancing in his second season. With the league's most relied upon player at the helm (Devan Downey), SC should control the tempo of each game. For the Gamecocks, their season will come down to execution.

7 Maryland

The Terrapins finished last season in the Round of 32 as a 10 seed, but should be improved during the offseason. The Terps were a victim of seeding rules; originally they were a six seed in my bracket, but seeding rules forced them down to the seven seed line.

10 Oklahoma State

It's debatable whether the Cowboys are a better team than last year, so for now they'll stay in the same range they were seeded last year. Junior James Anderson could single-handedly move OSU up a line or two.

2 Villanova

The Wildcats are the trendy pick of the Big East, but there are issues in Jay Wright's frontcourt. Even if the 'Cats don't win the Big East, it would be hard to imagine that Villanova would end up seeded lower than a two.

15 Morehead State (Ohio Valley)

After winning the Ohio Valley Conference last year, Morehead State should repeat as champions, moving up from a 16 seed to a 15 in the process.

West (Salt Lake City, Utah)

1 Texas

The Longhorns are the deepest team in the country, featuring a backup at each position that could start at most schools across the nation. Two stud freshman, Avery Bradley and Jordan Hamilton, will be key to Texas living up to the hype.

16 Long Beach State (Big West)

With two all-league performers, the 49ers should easily be the league's best team. T.J. Robinson and Larry Anderson are only sophomores, and should lead this team to multiple titles.

8 Xavier

The Musketeers should take a step back from last year's club, but if Jordan Crawford lives up to expectations, Xavier could contend for the A-10 title. If new coach Chris Mack doesn't have a seamless transition, Xavier could struggle a bit and finish as low as fourth behind Richmond and La Salle.

9 UCLA

The Bruins will likely end up higher than a ninth seed as a product of their weak conference, but for now the Bruins are no better than a nine seed on paper.

4 Minnesota

The Golden Gophers suspended talented freshman Royce White and senior Devron Bostick, but if they are back, Tubby Smith has a team that's talented and deep. Minnesota is a sleeper pick in the Big 10.

13 Nevada (WAC)

The Wolf Pack lost its coach Mark Fox, but return two of the WAC's best players, including the likely player of the year, Luke Babbitt. Armon Johnson is also a stud in the backcourt and should complement Joey Shaw, who can shoot the lights out.

5 Connecticut

The Huskies take multiple steps back from last year and their success will depend on their very young frontcourt. That's not the way to succeed in the Big East, but the Huskies have one of the most talented backcourts in the country, which should carry them to a top-five finish in the Big East.

12 Old Dominion (CAA)

The Monarchs will be back in the NCAA Tournament now that VCU's and George Mason's reign atop the conference is over—for now. All five starters return from a team that won the College Insider Tournament and all five stand at least 6'5''. A large lineup could give ODU the size to compete with major conference teams in the NCAA Tournament.

3 California (Pac-10)

The winner of the Pac-10 should have an inflated record come March because the conference is weak, which could propel the Golden Bears to the two seed line. For now, Cal is no better than a three seed, but could drop as far as a five if the defense doesn't improve.

14 Portland (WCC)

Gonzaga lost a ton of talent while Portland returns its top 10 scores. That's a perfect mix for Gonzaga to finally miss out on the tournament while Portland should finally make it in. Overall, the WCC is down this season, and the winner of the conference shouldn't receive anything better than 13 seed (unless Gonzaga really surprises).

6 Mississippi State

The Bulldogs are close to a top-25 team if Renardo Sidney isn't eligible, but should be close to a top-15 team with him. For now, MSU will float around the six seed line as the SEC West's best team.

11 Kansas State

The Wildcats have a tremendous trio with guards Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente and freshman forward Wally Judge. With no clear-cut, third-best team in the Big 12, KSU could finish as high as third or as low as seventh.

7 Brigham Young (Mountain West)

The Cougars lose a star in Lee Cummard, but bring back a talented twosome in Jimmer Fredette and Jonathan Tavernari. Those two should have BYU atop the Mountain West by a mile and a seven seed in the NCAA Tournament.

10 Seton Hall

One of the nation's best sleepers, the Pirates feature several great newcomers, as Keon Lawrence and Herb Pope give coach Bobby Gonzalez two great complements to Jeremy Hazell. If Seton Hall plays defense this season, then the Pirates will likely return to the NCAA Tournament and save Bobby Gonzalez's job.

2 North Carolina (Atlantic Coast)

The Tar Heels' outstanding recruiting class will give North Carolina an adequate title defense. Ed Davis could emerge as an All-American in Roy Williams' frontcourt.

15 Weber State (Big Sky)

Despite losing their top scorer, Weber State is still the best team in the Big Sky Conference because four other starters return. They'll want revenge after going 15-1 in the regular season last year, but missing out on the NCAA Tournament.

East (Syracuse, New York)

1 West Virginia (Big East)

Most pundits have West Virginia sneaking around the bottom half of the top 10, but the Mountaineers are for real in Bob Huggins' third year. This team has two fantastic scorers in the frontcourt and solid point guards to run the offense.

16 Mount St. Mary (Northeast Conference)

Jeremy Goode is the league's best player and returns to a team that finished tied with two other teams for second place in the NEC last year.

8 Florida State

The Seminoles have the potential to finish up on the fourth or fifth seed line, but for now, Florida State will camp out around the turn in the bracket. Soloman Alabi needs to be a breakout player and Michael Snaer has to replace Toney Douglas' scoring.

9 Texas A&M

The Aggies seem to really never get better or get worse and that's generally the case this year. TAMU has floated around this spot in the bracket for awhile and that should continue in 2010.

4 Michigan

Jon Beilein finally has a roster of players that fit his coaching philosophy and that should pay dividends in 2010, when Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims lead the Wolverines towards a high seed in the NCAA Tournament and a third place finish in a stout Big Ten.

13 Cornell (Ivy League)

The Big Red is ready to dominate the Ivy League again and could make some noise in March with its incredibly talented roster. Cornell's top trio of Louis Dale, Ryan Wittman, and Jeff Foote is outstanding and could lead Cornell into the Round of 32.

5 Siena (MAAC)

The Saints have several tough non-conference games that should allow them to pick up the wins needed to be a five seed in the NCAA Tournament. Even if Siena loses the conference tournament to another solid team, Niagara, Siena will still likely go dancing.

12 Mississippi

The Rebels have one of the best backcourts in the SEC and should feast on a weak SEC West. If they can pick up one win over rival Mississippi State, the Rebels could go dancing with a very attainable 11-5 conference record.

3 Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets make a gigantic leap into the NCAA Tournament as a third seed because of a great freshman class that should save coach Paul Hewitt's job. Derrick Favors is a monster on both ends of the floor and should dominate the paint for one year before bolting to the NBA.

14 Boston University (America East)

With the implosion of Binghamton's basketball program, it's pretty clear the team to beat in the America East is Boston University. The Terriers have a great trio in John Holland, Corey Low, and Jake O'Brien.

6 Tulsa (Conference USA)

The Golden Hurricane should end Memphis' run in Conference USA and in the process pick up a pretty high seed. The league has more balance this year, but everything falls in place for Tulsa, the Golden Hurricane could be a top-25 team by the end of the year.

11 Cincinnati

The Bearcats need Lance Stephenson to be cleared to play and also need him to fit into a crowded backcourt that features senior Deonta Vaughn and redshirt freshman Cashmere Wright. If that doesn't happen, Mick Cronin could be out of a job and Cincinnati will be out of the tournament. The Bearcats have the potential to make the tournament with as high as a five seed.

7 Vanderbilt

The Commodores should be one of the nation's best sleeper picks because they are overshadowed in a loaded SEC East. Kevin Stallings' team returns the majority of its talent and brings in one of the best freshman scorers, John Jenkins.

10 Oregon State

Craig Robinson has worked wonders out west and his latest wonder will be turning the Beavers into an NCAA Tournament team. Of course, that won't be too hard with the state of the Pac-10. Normally, this team should finish around seventh out west, but this year, this team is a top-four or five team in the Pac-10.

2 Purdue

The Boilermakers can certainly win a national championship with this group of players. Purdue features one of the best trios in the country with guard E'Twaun Moore and forwards Robbie Hummel and JaJuan Johnson.

15 Jacksonville (Atlantic Sun)

The Dolphins have the Atlantic Sun's best player in senior guard Ben Smith. Last year, JU fell short of the NCAA Tournament after winning the regular season with a 15-5 record. Revenge has to be on the mind of those dangerous Dolphins.

South (Houston, Texas)

1 Michigan State (Big 10)

After losing to North Carolina in the national title game last year, Tom Izzo's club knows they need to improve just a little bit to take that next step. After some losses in the frontcourt, Izzo's team knows each player has to improve this season to attain their goal of a national title.

16 Jackson State (SWAC)/ Morgan State (MEAC)

After finishing 15-3 in the league last year, the likely player of the year Grant Maxey returns to a Jackson State team ready to take the next step.

Morgan State won the league last year and has the parts to do it again this year. Reggie Holmes should be the MEAC's best player.

8 Clemson

Oliver Purnell's club is a casualty of seeding rules and instead of being a seven seed, they are dropped to the dreaded eight line. But that's okay for Purnell, as the Tigers have the talent and athleticism to beat any of the top seeds in the country in the second round.

9 Oklahoma

The Sooners will rely heavily on young players as Willie Warren looks to pull a Blake Griffin and become a player of the year candidate as a sophomore. Freshman Keith "Tiny" Gallon and Tommy Mason-Griffin will likely immediately start.

4 Tennessee

The Volunteers are good enough to knock off Kentucky in the SEC East, but will need to improve their defense. Tyler Smith is one of the nation's best forgotten players after Tennessee didn't live up to preseason expectations last year.

13 Western Kentucky (Sun Belt)

The Hilltoppers return lots of talent that includes Sun Belt Player of the Year candidate AJ Slaughter. Until Isiah Thomas gets Florida International turned around, the Sun Belt is Western Kentucky's league.

5 Georgetown

The Hoyas should be back in the NCAA Tournament after virtual addition by subtraction when DaJuan Summers and Jessie Sapp went pro/graduated. Greg Monroe is a dominant player in the paint while Chris Wright should man the backcourt very well.

12 Oakland (Summit)

The Grizzlies can surprise some people after disappointing last season and not winning the Summit League. Behind Jonathan Jones, Oakland can be just as good, if not better than North Dakota State, who almost knocked off Kansas as a 14 seed last year.

3 Duke

The Blue Devils can win the ACC, but even if they don't, Mike Krzyzewski's team should be among the nation's top-ten teams, which should garner Duke at least a three seed in the NCAA Tournament.

14 Holy Cross (Patriot League)

Even without coach Ralph Williard, who left for Rick Pitino's staff, Holy Cross is still the favorite to win the Patriot League. A talented Lehigh team should contend with the Crusaders for the title.

6 Illinois

The Fighting Illini could be the victims of a rugged Big Ten as the worst team of the conference's loaded top six. If Illinois gets off to a slow start, a six seed will be a reach and Illinois could fall into the dreaded eight/nine range.

11 Memphis

The Tigers are a tough pick to put back in the tournament, but there is enough talent in Memphis to reach the Big Dance. Depth and lack of experience are serious issues for Memphis.

7 Syracuse

The Orange should be a six seed in the East, but because the regional final is in the Carrier Dome, the 'Cuse gets shifted to the south as a seven seed in my bracket. Jim Boeheim loses three players from his backcourt, but returns a loaded frontcourt that features the nation's best transfer, Wesley Johnson.

10 Richmond

The Spiders also would have been an 11 seed in the east facing Syracuse in the first round, but seeding rules forced Richmond into the south against SU. Richmond nearly knocked off Syracuse last year during the regular season and the Spiders were also the first 15 seed ever to beat a two seed when they knocked off Syracuse almost two decades ago.

2 Kentucky (SEC)

The Wildcats will be the premiere team in the south if the freshman class that John Calipari has brought in learns to play together. There's no doubting the talent of John Wall or DeMarcus Cousins, but at this point, Kentucky could face a chemistry issue. If Calipari sorts it all out, watch out, Big Blue nation could win another national title.

15 Radford (Big South)

Artsiom Parakhouski dominated the Big South last season and should do so again this year for the Highlanders. They received a 16 seed last year, but the team should be even better this year and receive a better seed in accordance.

Other Teams with Real Tournament Potential

Florida, Missouri, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Arizona, Pittsburgh, Creighton, Southern Illinois, Houston, Baylor, Iowa State, Northeastern, Wake Forest.

Of those teams, the one team that will likely make me regret not putting them in my preseason the bracket the most will be Wake Forest. Al-Farouq Aminu and the rest of Wake's frontcourt could be outstanding, but the guard play is a bit worrisome.

For more updates on college basketball, follow Jameson on Twitter.

Big East College Basketball: Teams On the Rise and Decline

Jameson Fleming — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:12:12 -0500

The Big East underwent an incredible amount of plastic surgery during the offseason after the majority of the league's best players graduated or left to play professional basketball.

The familiar faces that headlined the league for so the long—the Georgetown's, Syracuse's, Connecticut's—likely won't factor too deeply into the Big East title race.

They'll fall in line behind Villanova and West Virginia as the far and away two best clubs in a conference that's down, but certainly not out.

Unlike the SEC last year and the Pac-10 this year, the Big East won't suffer a significant drop-off when paired against the rest of the nation.

Yes, the Big East certainly won't have three teams campaigning for No. 1 seeds nor will the conference produce league schedules commonly referred to as "the gauntlet" like last year.

The league will shape up to have a half-dozen top 25 teams and a few more that could and should compete for an NCAA Tournament bid.

In that group of tournament worthy teams, there are squads on the rise that should break into the conference's top tier as well as some on the decline.

Bob Huggins Turning Alma Mater into National Power

It took Bob Huggins almost 30 years to finally return to his hometown and alma mater and coach his beloved Mountaineers. It's taken Huggins a mere two years to take his 'Eers and remake them into an elite Big East club.

With just three recruiting classes in the books, Huggins has pulled in a handful of top 100 talents including potential All-American Devin Ebanks. While one of his recruits for this season, Deniz Kilicli, is facing eligibility issues and will sit out more than half this season, Huggins has impact newcomers to support his current cast of studs.

West Virginia is nearly a consensus top 12 team and basically a toss up with Villanova for the Big East's best team in 2010.

West Virginia is still in the running to haul in a handful of different top 100 recruits in 2010 which means the Mountaineers could extend their success into next season.

Of course that means Devin Ebanks will have to be good enough to lead WVU deep into the tournament this year, but not too good to want to bail for the NBA Draft.

Cincinnati Finally Recovering From the Bob Huggins Fall Out

When Bob Huggins resigned from Cincinnati after the 2005 season, the Bearcats immediately went backwards. They won 25 games in Huggins' last year, but haven't really come close to that total since.

Mick Cronin replaced Huggins and has taken longer than Bearcats' fans would have liked to get this program turned around. Cronin probably suffered his last acceptable hiccup when his team lost to winless DePaul in the first round of the Big East Tournament.

He should be skating on thin ice this season, but he received a contract extension through 2014. UC may regret that decision if Lance Stephenson never gets cleared or has trouble co-existing with guards Deonta Vaughn and Cashmere Wright.

Despite the issues surrounding Cincinnati, it is undeniable that the Bearcats have close to top 25 talent. Deonta Vaughn and Yancy Gates make up one of the nation's most underrated and best unknown duos.

If Lance Stephenson fits into Cronin's mold, he'll likely be the Big East's best freshman scorer. The Bearcats have the talent to finish as high as third in the league, but they should be the neighborhood of sixth in Big East.

Don't Let the Door Hit You on the Way out Notre Dame

Last year, college basketball pundits were lining up behind Notre Dame touting them as a potential Final Four team because of Luke Harangody. With two-time reigning Big East Coach of the Year Mike Brey at the helm, it was likely that the Irish could only over-achieve.

Clearly, that wasn't the case. Notre Dame tanked last season with a putrid defense and one-dimensional offensive attack.

This year probably won't be much better especially after Purdue transfer Scott Martin tore his ACL. Next year should be even worse as Luke Harangody will be gone and there will not be any star power left to replace him.

Rarely can teams succeed in the conference without big name recruits and Brey doesn't have any coming in this year or next (so far). Notre Dame could quickly be headed toward a perennial finish in the bottom half of the Big East.

Louisville Could Fall Off in 2010

The Cardinals certainly won't be as good as last year after the departures of Terrence Williams and Earl Clark, but Louisville could easily end up back in the top 25. Samardo Samuels is one of the league's best players, but he could be playing professional ball in 2010-2011.

With several seniors on this squad and no top recruits committed for 2010, Louisville could find itself in a precarious position next year. The Cardinals could be forced next year to rely on Terrence Jennings and Peyton Silva, who haven't played a minute of college ball.

It's imperative that Rick Pitino could put his problems behind him and continue to recruit like he had been over the past half-decade. He has to haul in one of his three top targets: Tobias Harris (who if he heads to the Blue Grass State, it will be for Kentucky), J.J. Moore, or JayVaughn Pinkston.

Bleacher Report College Basketball Season Preview Digest

Jameson Fleming — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:22:32 -0500

Bleacher Report writers have put together an extensive preview of the upcoming college basketball season. Below are the links to every preview written for the 2009-2010 season.

For general previews, including Paul Seaver's Arena Pulse and National Top 10 Lists including the country's top sleepers, teams on the rise, and All-Americans, CLICK HERE.
For Bleacher Report's Top 25 CLICK HERE.
For ACC, Big East, and Big 10 Previews CLICK HERE .
For Big 12, Pac-10, and SEC Previews CLICK HERE.
For everyone else, CLICK HERE.

General

Paul Seaver’s Arena Pulse Series

#1 Cameron Indoor Stadium

#2 Phog Allen Fieldhouse

#7 Gallagher-Iba Arena

#8 Assembly Hall (Indiana)

#9 Kohl Center

#10 Freedom Hall

#11 Assembly Hall (Illinois)

#12 Frank Erwin Center

#13 Pauley Pavilion

#14 O'Connell Center

#15 Peterson Events Center

#16 McArthur Court

#17 Comcast Center

#18 Memorial Gymnasium

#19 Gampel Pavilion

#20 Thompson-Boling Arena

#21 Mackey Arena

#22 Hinkle Fieldhouse

#23 The Pit

#24 Joel Coliseum

#25 The Palestra

Preseason All-Americans by Jameson Fleming

Minnesota, Cincinnati Headlines Five Teams on the Rise by Jameson Fleming

Recruits and Newcomers to Help Get Coaches off Hot Seat by Jameson Fleming

Big Ten has Best Wings in the Country by Jameson Fleming

Luke Harangody, Cole Aldrich Top List of Best Big Men in the Country by Jameson Fleming

Austin Freeman and Elliot Williams Top List of Players Most Likely to Break Out This Season by Jameson Fleming

10 Dark Horses That Can Make Some Noise Come March by Jameson Fleming

Predicting Which Top 15 Teams are Most Likely to Disappoint by Jameson Fleming

The Nation's Best Three-Headed Monsters by Jameson Fleming

Virginia Military Institute Highlights the 10 Most High-Strung Teams in America by Jameson Fleming

Top Non-Conference Battles by Jameson Fleming

Top 15 Mid-Major Recruiting Classes by Ari Kramer

The 10 Teams Relying Most on Freshmen and Newcomers by Jameson Fleming

Top 25 Recruits and What Their Impact Will Be by Jameson Fleming

Bleacher Report's Preseason Top 25

#1 Kansas: The March to Indianapolis

#2 Texas: Depth Not an Issue in the Lone Star State

#3 Michigan State: Returning to the Title Game Not Enough

#4 Villanova: Wildcats Ready to Pounce in 2009-2010

#5 Kentucky: Freshmen Need to Shine in Blue Grass State

#6 Duke to Return to National Spotlight

#7 North Carolina: Tar Heels Don't Rebuild, They Reload

#8 West Virginia is the New Beast of the East

#9 Purdue: Can Robbie Hummel's Back Carry the Weight of Purdue's Expectations?

#10 Tennessee Has the Talent to Top Kentucky in the SEC

#11 Washington has a Choke Hold on the Pac-10

#12 California Poised for Golden Season

#13 Connecticut: Rebuilding or Reloading?

#14 Minnesota to Finally Contend in Big 10

#15 Mississippi State to Lead SEC West

#16 Michigan to Compete in Loaded Big 10

#17 Ohio State: Evan Turner to Lead Sweet 16 Quality Team

#18 Georgia Tech: Is Paul Hewitt on the Hot Seat?

#19 Georgetown Should be Dancing in 2010

#20 Syracuse Not to be Overlooked After Losses

#21 Butler Battles the Big Boys in 2009-2010

#22 Siena Saints Poised to Reach Big Dance for Third Straight Year

#23 Maryland to Reach Tournament Behind Greivis Vasquez

#24 Oklahoma Legit Contenders, But Youth Must Succeed

#25 Illinois: Backcourt Key to Success

ACC

Duke:

2009-2010 Blue Devils Season Preview by Tyler Lambert

Duke Schedule Breakdown by Brad Frank

Duke Doesn’t Have to Wait Until Next Year by Mike Kline

Duke Basketball, Facebook, and the Domino Effect One Has on the Other by Justin McTeer

Two Views on Duke’s Pressing Questions by Tyler Lambert

Florida State:

2009-2010 Seminoles Preview by Rob Dauster

Maryland:

2009-2010 Terrapins Preview by Rob Dauster

North Carolina:

2009-2010 Tar Heels Preview by Josh Concon

Can North Carolina's Larry Drew Lead Young Tar Heels to ACC's Apex? by Jacob Motley

North Carolina State:

2009-2010 Wolfpack Preview by Allen Lopp

Virginia:

2009-2010 Cavaliers Season Preview: Will Bennett Ball Bring Hope? by Ben Gibson

Big East

Cincinnati:

2009-2010 Bearcats Season Preview by Rob Dauster

Connecticut:

2009-2010 Huskies Season Preview: Rebuilding or Reloading? By George Peterson

DePaul:

Blue Demons Season Preview: Addition by Subtraction or Division by Zero? By Calvin Boaz

Georgetown:

2009-2010 Hoyas Season Preview: Georgetown Should be Dancing in March by Tryvon Paige

Louisville:

2009-2010 Season Preview: Getting the Focus Back on the Court by George Peterson

Notre Dame:

Coach Brey and Luke Harangody Seek Redemption by Dan Scofield

Providence:

Providence’s Keno Davis Planting Seeds of Future Friars Success Now by George Peterson

Rutgers:

Rutgers Climbing the Big East Hill by Calvin Boaz

Syracuse:

Road to the Final Four: #20 Syracuse Not to Be Overlooked Despite Losses by Jameson Fleming

Villanova:

The Wildcats are Ready to Pounce in 2009-2010 by Nick Rall

West Virginia:

Mountaineers Season Preview: WVU New Beast of the Big East by Tryvon Paige

Big 10

Parity Reigns in the Big 10 by Joe Slowik

Michigan:

2009-2010 Wolverines Season Preview: Raised Expectations for Michigan by Charles Clinton

Michigan State:

Any Michigan State Spartans Epic Begins with Big Non-Conference Battles by Tyler Rummel

Kalin Lucas Readies National Runner Up for Next March Marathon by Tyler Rummel

Michigan State’s Secret Weapon: The Depth Chart by Tyler Rummel

Minnesota:

2009-2010 Golden Gophers Season Preview by Rob Dauster

Northwestern:

2009-2010 Wildcats Season Preview by Joe Slowik

Purdue:

Robbie Hummel To Carry the Load for Purdue by Scott Henry

Wisconsin:

2009-2010 Badgers Season Preview by Carl Stine

Pac 10

Arizona:

It's Miller Time in 2010 by Calvin Boaz

Oregon:

2009-2010 Ducks Season Preview by Caleb M.

Tajuan Porter is Back and Better Than Ever by Caleb M.

Big 12

Missouri:

Tigers Not Bothered by Unflattering Expectations by Ryan Faller

Expectations Low Again for Missouri by Luke Thompson

Texas:

2009-2010 Longhorns Season Preview by Dino Niccandros

SEC

SEC Conference Wide Preview by Kurt Wirth

Alabama:

Coach Grant Could Get Alabama to the NIT in First Year by Kurt Wirth

Auburn:

Jeff Lebo Makes His Last Stand by Kurt Wirth

Arkansas:

Razorbacks' Postseason Chances are Slim by Kurt Wirth

Florida:

Gators to Get Back on Track and into the NCAA Tournament by Kurt Wirth

2009-2010 Gators Season Preview by Rob Dauster

Georgia:

Bulldogs Not Getting out of the East's Basement by Kurt Wirth

Kentucky:

Kentucky Might Not be the SEC's Best by Kurt Wirth

C-A-T-S: A Kentucky Basketball Preview by Adam Cain

Louisiana State:

LSU: Welcome to the Cellar by Kurt Wirth

Mississippi:

Ole Miss to Settle in Behind Mississippi State by Kurt Wirth

2009-2010 Rebels Season Preview by Rob Dauster

Mississippi State:

Mississippi State is the Best the West has to Offer by Kurt Wirth

2009-2010 Bulldogs Season Preview: These Dogs Have Bite by Calvin Boaz

South Carolina:

Gamecocks Could be Left Behind in SEC East by Kurt Wirth

2009-2010 Gamecocks Season Preview by Lee W.

Tennessee:

Tennessee: Volunteers Ready to Challenge for Title by Kurt Wirth

Vanderbilt:

Vanderbilt: The Forgotten Team in the SEC East by Kurt Wirth

2009-2010 Commodores Season Preview by Rob Dauster

America East

Boston U tops America East in 2009-2010 by Paul Seaver

Atlantic 10:

Dayton is Class of Atlantic 10, but Richmond and Charlotte Could Surprise by Jameson Fleming

Colonial Athletic Association:

CAA Conference Preview by Paul Seaver

Old Dominion: Monarchs Looking to Regain Crown by Calvin Boaz

VCU Prepares for Life After Eric Maynor by Ben Gibson

Conference USA

Alabama-Birmingham:

Blazers 2009-2010 Season Preview by Leroy Watson

East Carolina:

Pirates 2009-2010 Season Preview by Leroy Watson

Marshall:

Thundering Herd 2009-2010 Season Preview by Leroy Watson

Memphis:

2009-2010 Tigers Preview by Rob Dauster

Rice:

Owls 2009-2010 Season Preview by Leroy Watson

Southern Methodist:

Mustangs 2009-2010 Season Preview by Leroy Watson

Southern Mississippi:

Golden Eagles 2009-2010 Season Preview by Leroy Watson

Horizon League

Butler:

Road to the Final Four: #22 Butler Battles the Big Boys in 2009-2010 by Jameson Fleming

Ivy League

Cornell:

Road to the Final Four: Cornell Read to Lap Ivy League Field by Jameson Fleming

MAC

Mid-American Conference Preview: Mid-Major League Returning to Relevance by Charles Clinton

MAAC

MAAC 2009-2010 Season Preview: Siena to Three Peat? By Ari Kramer

Around the MAAC: Preseason All-MAAC Teams by Ari Kramer

Around the MAAC: All-Freshman Teams by Ari Kramer

Siena:

Siena Hoops Preview: Saints Poised to Reach Big Dance for Third Straight Year by Ari Kramer

2009-2010 Saints Preview by Rob Dauster

Niagara:

2009-2010 Purple Eagles Ready to Challenge Siena for MAAC Title by Ari Kramer

Manhattan:

Rico Pickett to Have Enormous Impact on Manhattan Basketball by Ari Kramer

Mountain West Conference

Mountain West Conference Preview: Montezuma’s Revenge by Chris Golightly

Mountain West Conference Preview: BYU, UNLV, and SDSU Top Three by Tyler Stimson

BYU:

2009-2010 Cougars Season Preview by Tyler Stimson

UNLV:

2009-2010 Runnin’ Rebels Preview by Chris Golightly

Northeast Conference Preview by Paul Seaver

West Coast Conference

Gonzaga:

Gonzaga Under the Radar Entering 2009-2010 Season by Samuel Silverman

2009-2010 Gonzaga Season Preview by Rob Dauster

Recruits and Newcomers To Help Get Several Coaches Off Hot Seats

Jameson Fleming — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:04:45 -0400

Several coaches at high-profile major conference teams will be relying on freshmen and transfers to turn their programs around this year. Coaches like Bobby Gonzalez, Mick Cronin, and Paul Hewitt will be desperately relying on either freshmen or transfers to make a return to the NCAA Tournament and save their jobs.

Other coaches have little hope and few reinforcements to save their jobs. Here's a look at the coaches with the hottest seats in America.

Bobby Gonzalez, Seton Hall

Record at the Hall: 47-46 overall, 18-34 in the Big East

Why he's in trouble: Seton Hall basketball has seen its better days and those better days haven't come under coach Bobby Gonzalez. He's tuned down his fiery act during the past year, but that hasn't influenced the Pirates' ability to win on the court. A trip to the NCAA Tournament needs to come soon for Gonzalez.

Why he's safe: Seton Hall offered him an extension through 2014-2015 which Gonzalez intelligently signed. He has one of the Big East's best scorers, Jeremy Hazell, and two great transfers, Keon Lawrence from Missouri and Herb Pope from New Mexico State.

This Pirates team should be pretty good even though the Pirates were picked to finish in the bottom half of the league which Gonzalez was rightfully upset about.

Prognosis:

Mick Cronin, Cincinnati

Record in the Queen City: 42-52 overall, 18-34 in the Big East.

Why he's in trouble: Cincinnati has yet to win consistently since joining the Big East. Cincinnati hired Cronin thinking he'd have the Bearcats back to being a national power by now, but that simply hasn't happened. Cronin's top recruit that should put UC in the tournament still hasn't been ruled eligible for the season.

Why he's safe: Cronin has started to recruit much better as he pulled in local star Yancy Gates last year and managed to sign New York City great Lance Stephenson this year. Cronin will benefit from a down year for the year Big East and his team could finish as high as third or fourth this season.

Prognosis:

Paul Hewitt, Georgia Tech

Record at Tech: 153-129 overall, 60-84 in the ACC

Why he's in trouble: Georgia Tech hit rock bottom last season when the Yellow Jackets finished the season in last place with a 2-14 record in the league. Hewitt managed to reach the NCAA Title game in 2004, but other than that, his tenure in Atlanta has been very mediocre.

Why he's safe: Hewitt really saved his butt in the offseason by bringing in an outstanding recruiting class headlined by Derrick Favors. Georgia Tech is a sleeper to win the ACC this year.

Prognosis:

Jerry Wainwright, DePaul

Record in Chicago: 52-72 overall, 20-48 in the Big East

Why he's in trouble: DePaul has been flat out awful since joining the Big East. The Blue Demons didn't get their first league win until the first round of the Big East Tournament last season. This season looks just as bad as DePaul should finish dead last again.

Why he's safe: *Crickets*

Prognosis:

Todd Lickliter, Iowa

Record amongst the cornfields: 28-35 overall, 11-25 in the Big Ten

Why he's in trouble: Lickliter's agonizing slow style of basketball should have fit in nicely in the Big Ten, but he's had trouble getting his players to buy into his system. The problems culminated when his two best players Jake Kelly and Jeff Peterson transferred out of the program.

Why he's safe: Most schools give coaches more than two or three years to get a program turned around. This season should be disappointing for Lickliter, but he should get one last chance to sign notable recruits and get Iowa moving in the right direction.

Prognosis:

Ernie Kent, Oregon

Record on the west coast: 219-157 overall, 102-114 in the Pac-10

Why he's in trouble: Kent has on-again, off-again success in the Pac-10 and currently he's in an off-again cycle. Oregon somehow made it into the tournament two years ago with an 18-13 record and then dropped off inexplicably to 2-16 in the conference last year.

Why he's safe: Kent brought in highly rated recruit Michael Dunigan last year as well as stud recruit Jamil Wilson this season. The Pac-10 is really down this year which means Oregon could find itself on the top half of the league in 2010.

Prognosis:

Greg McDermott, Iowa State

Record in some more cornfields: 44-50 overall, 14-37 in the Big 12

Why he's in trouble: McDermott hasn't figured out how to win games despite having one of the most dominant players in college basketball, Craig Brackins. McDermott also couldn't keep Wesley Johnson in town who left to play ball at Syracuse and Johnson is a dark-horse candidate to be an all league former back east.

Why he's safe: McDermott does have one of the nation's most exciting players so he deserves credit for that. Iowa State has a chance to turn things around this year because of Brackins. ISU needs to make a serious run at the tournament for McDermott to save his job and this year that run is a realistic possibility.

Prognosis:

Jeff Lebo, Auburn

Record in football country: 81-76 overall, 28-51 SEC

Why he's in trouble: Well first of all, he made the list last year . Second of all, he reached the NIT Quarterfinals which is all nice and good, but that's still not the NCAA Tournament. An tournament berth isn't likely again this year which means Lebo could be in deep trouble.

Why he's safe: Last year's trip to the NIT was definitely progress for the Tigers. A return to at least the NIT Quarterfinals could be seen as progress since the SEC is much stronger this year and Lebo would be doing it without two of his top four leading scorers from a year.

Prognosis:

Others in trouble

North Carolina State's Sidney Lowe, St. John's Norm Roberts, Southern Methodist's Matt Doherty, Maryland's Gary Williams, Fordham's Dereck Whittenberg

For more on college basketball or more of my outstanding Microsoft Paint drawings, follow Jameson on Twitter.

Luke Harangody, Cole Aldrich Top the List of Best Big Men in the Nation

Jameson Fleming — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:45:21 -0400

The two most important positions bookend a basketball court. The point guard runs the offense while the center is the defense's last line of defense. For Kansas and Kentucky, they have two of the best point guards in the game, Sherron Collins and John Wall, but also two of the best big men, Cole Aldrich and Patrick Patterson.

While Aldrich and especially Patterson aren't necessarily centers, they are the most dominant force on the inside for their teams and they are the difference makers on both ends of the floor.

Aldrich and Patterson excel because the talent around them takes pressure off of them to carry the load.

The nation's other premier big man, Luke Harangody, doesn't have that luxury. He's got a serviceable role players around him, but no stars to lessen the burden on him. The Notre Dame senior struggled with shot selection and conditioning last season as he was one of the most used offensive pieces in the country and typically played more minutes than he was capable to play.

Patterson and Aldrich will go on to compete for a national title while Harangody, perhaps the most dominant player in college basketball will be struggling to finish higher than seventh in the Big East.

Here's a look at the top big men from around the nation:

Big East

Luke Harangody, Notre Dame

He's the favorite to win the conference's player of the year award and will like be a front-runner for the Naismith Trophy at the end of the season. Harangody will need to shoulder the load once again as the supporting cast around him is different, but not much better than last year. Frequent 35 points and 15 rebound games will pop up on 'Gody's game-log all season.

Greg Monroe, Georgetown

The Georgetown sophomore couldn't have picked a better system to play in when he chose to play for John Thompson III. Monroe is an excellent passer that fits extremely well into Thompson's methodical, efficient offense. The sophomore is a solid defender and smart basketball player that should emerge as a challenger for Big East Player of the Year honors.

Samardo Samuels, Louisville

The Cardinals sophomore came into the Big East almost as highly touted as Monroe, and finished last season almost as well as Monroe. Now, Samuels will likely emerge as a player almost up to Monroe's caliber and should be the dominant force on a new look Louisville squad.

Others to watch in the Big East: Syracuse's Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson, Connecticut's Stanley Robinson and Alex Oriakhi, Villanova's Mouphtauo Yarou, and DePaul's Mac Koswal

Big Ten

Robbie Hummel, Purdue

One third of the Boilermakers' outstanding trio, Hummel brings great three-point shooting and rebounding to Purdue's frontline. Hummel battled back problems all of last season which slowed him down quite a bit, but the junior should be back to his freshman form when he shot much, much better from the field.

JaJuan Johnson, Purdue

Purdue has an inside-outside combination with just its post player. Hummel provides the outside pop, Johnson is a back to the basket player and outstanding shot blocker. Johnson and Hummel form one of the most formidable frontcourt tandems in the country.

DeShawn Sims, Michigan

Manny Harris received much of the publicity for the Wolverines last year, but DeShawn Sims frequently dominated Michigan's opponents as well. Sims improved his shot selection immensely as last year and became an extremely efficient offensive player. He fits into John Beilein's system well as he can step out and knock down the occasional long ball.

Others to Watch in the Big Ten: Illinois's Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale, Northwestern's Kevin Coble, and Michigan State's Raymar Morgan

ACC

Ed Davis, North Carolina

The Tar Heels lost a lot of weapons in the offseason, but under utilized center Ed Davis will be the top option for Roy Williams this season. Davis has incredibly polished low post moves, and he effectively times his shot blocking attempts. He was dangerous on the weak-side blocks last season, but will have a starring role playing inside paint in 2010.

Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech

The ACC is have a bit of a youth movement in the paint. Davis as a sophomore and Favors as a freshman could end up being the league's most dominant players in March. Favors, like Davis, is a force on both ends of the court and will likely make his presence known on defense before offense as he adjusts to the college game.

Trevor Booker, Clemson

The Tigers should really refer to Booker as the "Dunker Heard Around the World." Booker is an athletic freak that typically enlivens Clemson's uptempo style with thunderous dunks and high energy plays. Booker has slowly improved his three years under Oliver Purnell and will be of the conference's most exciting players in 2010.

Others to watch in the ACC: Virginia Tech's Jeff Allen, Boston College's Joe Trapani, Florida State's Soloman Alabi, North Carolina's John Henson, Georgia Tech's Gani Lawal

SEC

Patrick Patterson, Kentucky

Every returning Wildcat, but one dropped about five spots in the rotation with the influx of outstanding recruits. That one is Patrick Patterson who will likely maintain his role as dominating complement to a top-notch guard.

Patterson was under utilized last season, and will like see that same fate with the offense likely to revolve around new point guard John Wall. Of course that's not a bad thing, Patterson still average almost 18 points per game last season.

Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State

The nation's best walk-on is also the nation's best shot blocker. When the Bulldogs were one scholarship short this season, Varnado gave his up knowing professional ball is in his future. His ridiculous wingspan makes him the most feared shot blocker in the game as the senior has recorded triple-doubles by reaching double-digits in points, rebounds, and blocks .

A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt

The Commodores center took a slight step back last season as a sophomore, but with great returning talent around him, Ogilvy just needs to maintain his game for Vandy to be successful this season. Ogilvy dropped 17 per game as a freshman and over 15 as a sophomore as the Aussie is a truck in the paint.

Others to watch in the SEC: Michael Washington Arkansas, JaMychal Green Alabama, Alex Tyus Florida, and Wayne Chism Tennessee.

Big 12

Cole Aldrich, Kansas

Sherron Collins and Aldrich have followed similar paths in Lawrence. Both were role players when KU won the title two years ago, emerged as stars last year, and should be All-American Candidates this year when the Jayhawks make another run at a title.

Aldrich has always been known as a difference maker on both ends of the floor, but his real coming out party came when he dominated Dayton in the NCAA Tournament.

Craig Brackins, Iowa State

One of the most unknown skilled players in the conference finds a home in Ames. Craig Brackins should get the publicity of a Luke Harangody or Cole Aldrich, but instead finds himself in the land of obscurity known as Iowa. The Cyclones forward finally has enough help to potentially get ISU back to the NCAA Tournament.

Dexter Pittman, Texas

The old saying goes, "Everything is bigger in Texas." On the Longhorn's basketball court, the same adage applies. Dexter Pittman has toned down his 300+ pound frame, but the Longhorn center is still one of the largest post players in the country. Being in better shape should help Pittman play more minutes and remain his same dominant self.

Others to watch in the Big 12: Texas Tech's Mike Singletary, Kansas State's Wally Judge, Oklahoma's Keith "Tiny" Gallon.

Pac-10

Roeland Schaftenaar, Oregon State

It says something about the Pac-10 when the best forward in the league is a player few outside the conference know anything about. Like Greg Monroe and Georgetown, Schaftenaar is a perfect fit for Oregon State's offense as Schaftenaar is a tremendous passer out of the low post. The senior center led last year's CBI championship team in assists.

Michael Dunigan, Oregon

If the Ducks are going to rebound this season and Ernie Kent wants to save his job, Michael Dunigan needs to live up to the hype. The sophomore was highly touted last year, but didn't produce up to expectations. Dunigan should emerge as Oregon's second option offensively behind the tiny 5'6'' guard Tajuan Porter.

Alex Stephenson, Southern California

It will be an interesting year in sunny Southern Cal with the departures of so many key players and coach Tim Floyd. One player that should be immediately inserted into the spotlight will be North Carolina transfer Alex Stephenson. If he was good enough to play for Roy Williams, he ought to be good enough to start immediately for the Trojans.

Others to watch in the Pac-10: Arizona's Kyryl Natyazhko, UCLA's Niko Dragovic, and Washington's Matthew Bryan-Amaning.

Everyone else

Marqus Blakely, Vermont: Two-time defending American East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year lacks a supporting cast this season.

Kenny Frease, Xavier: The Musketeer sophomore should step up as the A-10's most dominant post player.

Dan Geriot, Richmond: Despite a year off from knee-surgery, Geriot should return as an all-league performer in the Atlantic 10.

Art Parakhouski, Radford: The Big South's best player will also be a pro-prospect when he's done with his senior season for the Highlanders.

Larry Sanders, VCU: Sanders should ride the coattails of Eric Maynor and will keep the Rams in the national spotlight.

Adam Koch, Northern Iowa: Best player on the best team in the Missouri Valley Conference should get some Naismith consideration.

Kenneth Faried, Morehead State: Outstanding rebounder should lead Morehead State back to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.

Road to The Final Four: Top Two-Guards And Wings In The Nation

Jameson Fleming — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:51:48 -0400

There has been an extraordinary amount of turnover in college basketball during the offseason. Last year's preseason list of top wings in the country perfectly exemplifies the changing of the guard (or wing, if you want to be literal in this case). Just one of the top 14 wings in the preseason is back for 2010.

The list this year has been expanded a little bit to include shooting guards, as many times the two-guard and wing are interchangeable on the floor. Combo guards like Scottie Reynolds, Willie Warren, and Elliot Williams are NOT included.

1. Evan Turner, Ohio State

He'll guard any player and can fill almost every offensive role. Ohio State's Evan Turner exploded during his sophomore season into one of the most dynamic and versatile players in the entire country.

Turner ranks in the top 500 in 11 of 15 of Ken Pomeroy's tempo free statistics, a feat extremely rare and reserved for the most elite athletes in the nation. At 6'7'' Turner is Thad Matta's leading returning "almost everything."

The junior wing will be a favorite for the Big Ten Player of the Year honors as Turner will likely improve his 17 ppg scoring average and become an even bigger force on the glass.

2. Manny Harris, Michigan

If Evan Turner is the No. 1 wing, then Manny Harris is essentially No. 1a. Harris is a better pure scorer than Turner, but Harris struggles with shot selection at times because sometimes John Beilein relies too heavily on the junior.

Harris reads passes very well on the defensive end of the floor and is nearly unstoppable in transition. Harris is one the nation's best slashers, but also streakiest shooters.

The Wolverine wing will almost get his points in the paint and from the stripe, but when the long range bombs and mid-range jumpers drop, Harris can put up some memorable performances.

3. Kyle Singler, Duke

There's been a common theme among the top wings in the country. They score in a variety of ways, but also rebound the ball extremely well. Kyle Singler is no different as the junior is a threat from beyond the arc, but also puts points on the board around the glass.

Singler is a beast on the offensive boards and draws a lot of contact under the basket. Singler will be allowed to play a lot more of his natural position (small forward) which will help him continue to develop as well as improve his NBA Draft stock.

4. Lazar Hayward, Marquette

One of the nation's most over-shadowed and underrated players, Lazar Hayward should balloon into one of the nation's top scorers. The Marquette forward never received much publicity with the Golden Eagles' outstanding trio of guards.

An unbalanced roster forced Hayward to play out of position during his tenure in the Badger State. That won't change in 2010 as Buzz Williams is still devoid of big men. Hayward might get to spend a little more time playing the three, but for the most part Hayward will be an undersized power forward.

Despite playing out of position, Hayward has excelled at scoring as he's developed a stronger game eight feet or closer to the basket; he's still a good three-point shooter.

5. Tyler Smith, Tennessee

Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl began to lean on Tyler Smith much more in 2009, but it came at a cost. The senior's shooting percentages dropped dramatically last season as Smith tried to do too much on the offensive end of the floor.

Smith still was an above average player in terms of offensive efficiency, but there's room to improve in 2010. Three-point shooting should be at the top of Smith's to-do list as he knocked down a putrid 29 percent of the almost 100 three-pointers he took last season.

The entire supporting cast around the senior returns and should make Smith's job as a scorer a bit easier.

6. James Anderson, Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford has a dark horse candidate to receive conference player of the year honors with in small forward James Anderson. The junior fits nicely in Ford's up-tempo system as a dangerous transition scorer and threat to drill the long ball.

Anderson connected on over 40 percent of his three-pointers last year and shot over 50 percent inside the arc which are two standards for excellence. Anderson isn't one to take many bad shots which is beneficial for OSU for more than obvious reasons.

At 6'6'', Anderson was one of Ford's tallest players last year and the team struggled to rebound its misses. This year, things will be a little different for OSU as the Cowboys brought in size which should allow Anderson to fill a more natural role.

7. Damion James, Texas

Longhorn forward Damion James is a tough player to classify at a certain position, but no matter where you want to classify him, he's an outstanding scorer and dominant rebounder.

Kevin Durant originally forced James out of position at Texas, but James has found success as a wing instead of a back-to-the-basket player. James still has the moves inside, but he's found other ways to be successful with the ball.

Being an absurdly strong rebounder for his size, James helps his team end defensive possessions quicker and keep offensive ones alive.

The Texas senior will see his role change in 2009 with the fantastic freshmen that should take pressure off of him to score.

8. Avery Bradley, Texas

One of the phenomenal freshman that will take the pressure off of Damion James is stud two-guard Avery Bradley. He's an outstanding shooter with limitless range that could be Rick Barnes' best player from day one if Bradley quickly adjusts to the college game.

The Longhorn freshman's biggest impact in Austin this year might be his offense, rather than his defense. He's considered the best defensive guard in this year's freshman class and should give Texas a stopper against Kansas' Sherron Collins.

9. Devin Ebanks, West Virginia

West Virginia's Devin Ebanks is one of few players and by few, really the only wing you'll see in the top 20 that won't be knocking down many three-pointers. Ebanks hit just five of 40 attempts from deep last year, but Ebanks has worked hard on his outside game over the summer.

A more confident Ebanks could become a more versatile scorer this season, but he'll likely settle in as the Mountaineers' second option behind sensational senior Da'Sean Butler.

Ebanks began to come around as an offensive threat down the stretch and when that likely carries over to 2010, Ebanks could emerge as a potential honors candidate in the Big East.

10. Wes Johnson, Syracuse

During Syracuse basketball media day, the players had to be sick of two questions: "What will they do without Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf, and Paul Harris?" and "How good is he ?" That he most reporters kept referring to is Iowa State transfer Wesley Johnson.

It seemed like the other nine players and the rest of the coaching staff each found a different way to gush over Johnson like they had a school-boy crush on the guy.

He's a 6'7'' small forward who jumps like he's got springs in his legs. Johnson shoots as well as sharpshooter and teammate Andy Rautins and rebounds better than former teammate Paul Harris.

If Johnson emerges to be the player his teammates can't stop raving about, Syracuse won't be looking to just make the tournament after its offseason losses, but head back to the Sweet 16.

11. Gordon Hayward, Butler

If the Bulldogs want to have success outside the Horizon League, sophomore Gordon Hayward will need to develop into an All American candidate. Sure, Butler has a lot of talent, but John Stevens needs a player that can dominate against any level of competition.

Hayward has the potential to be that player.

He's one of the nation's best shooters and smartest players. By the time he's done at Butler, he'll remind you of Adam Morrison or Drew Neitzel in the category of "I can't believe this guy is still in college."

12. LaceDarius Dunn, Baylor

Without Curtis Jerrells and Kevin Rogers, Baylor will be looking towards LaceDarius Dunn to lead the Bears' dynamic offense. Dunn couldn't be a better fit for Scott Drew's up-tempo attack that looks to get the most out of transition opportunities.

Dunn is a shifty slasher, but much like Manny Harris can get scorching hot from three-point range and put on a show.

The one negative that stands out about Dunn is he doesn't get his teammates involved...ever. The junior dished out a mere 0.6 assists per game!

13. Dominique Jones, South Florida

Joining the Big East was supposed to generate more publicity for South Florida's stars. Unfortunately for superstar Dominique Jones, the Bulls perennial stay in the conference cellar has garnered him little attention.

Jones deserves it though as a 6'5'' wing who is one of the conference's best scorers. Jones is a well built wing whose size helps him create space in the lane.

14. Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall

Bobby Gonzalez's leading scorer is in a similar boat as Dominique Jones, but Hazell has a great supporting cast this year. Hazell will likely average close to 20 points again for a Pirates' team that should be ready to return to the NCAA Tournament.

Hazell has an extremely low turnover percentage which is extremely impressive considering the ball was always in his hands last year.

15. Tasmin Mitchell, Louisiana State

The Tigers have little hope to go to the NCAA Tournament this year and all that hope revolves around LSU's outstanding small forward Tasmin Mitchell. After missing most of the 2008 season, Mitchell had a studly junior season averaging 16 points per game for a surprising LSU team.

16. Jonathan Tavernari, Brigham Young

The Brazilian baller is a favorite to be the Mountain West Player of the Year for good reason. Tavernari won't be playing second fiddle to Lee Cummard this year which means Tavernari could average close to 20 points per game.

He's a strong shooter from three, but can struggle with his decision making and his shot selection.

17. Klay Thompson, Washington State

With so little talent returning in the Pac-10, Washington State's Klay Thompson could be one of the best players in the league. Thompson rarely left the court last year as a freshman and had a major role under former coach Tony Bennett.

Few major conference teams relied on a freshman more than Washington State did with Thompson, and his role should only increase this season.

18. Rodney Green, La Salle

The Explorers are poised to make a run at the NCAA Tournament behind senior wing Rodney Green. Between Green and outstanding freshman Aaric Murray, La Salle should contend for an at-large birth out of the Atlantic 10. Green is a strong slasher and is also developing a better three-point shot.

19. Xavier Henry, Kansas

The Jayhawks won't need to ride a one-and-done freshman to a championship, but Xavier Henry will be a major contributor to Kansas' No. 1 ranked team. The Jayhawks will be able to work him in slowly with Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich carrying the load.

Henry is a great shooter with a well sculpted body that helps him defensively. Henry is described as an average defender and his athleticism makes up for any of his fundamental problems.

20. E'Twaun Moore, Purdue

The Boilermakers have a trio of juniors that make Purdue one of the elite teams in the country. Shooting guard E'Twaun Moore is a crafty scorer that provides the outside component of Purdue's deadly inside-outside combo. Moore could improve his decision making skill as he can get reckless with the ball and take questionable shots.

Chris Kramer gets most of the credit as Purdue's defensive stopper, but Moore is also a great defender.

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Road To The Final Four: What's Wack With The Pac-10?

Jameson Fleming — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:42:25 -0400

The Pac-10 has as many NCAA Tournament-worthy teams on paper in the preseason as the Atlantic-10.

California and Washington are bound for the tournament, and UCLA has lots of young talent but is no sure bet to go dancing.

After that, you have to look long and hard to find another team that should make the tournament.

The rest of the league is filled with mediocre or bad teams, most going through transition periods. Few are transitioning in the right direction, and most have gone backwards over the past few seasons.

This season is rock bottom for the Pac-10 which means a turnaround is near. While the league should start moving forward in 2010-2011 (much like the SEC is doing this year), many teams battling mediocrity in the Pac-10 will stay static or drop-off.

Moving Full Steam Ahead

California

The Golden Bears will be outstanding this year and coach Mike Montgomery has put together an outstanding four-man recruiting class for 2010. It comes at the right time as Montgomery's four top scorers are seniors. 2010 will be a down year for Cal, but the Golden Bears will likely be an elite team again in 2011.

Washington

Isaiah Thomas has said he plans to stick around Seattle for his four years, meaning Lorenzo Romar will have a program that should be stay among the nation's elite. Freshman Abdul Gaddy might stick around just one year, but if he does stay for at least two years, Washington could be a preseason top five team in 2011.

UCLA

In the Ben Howland era, every time the Bruins needed to reload, there were always upperclassman stars to guide the freshmen along. That's not the case this year, but Howland has an outstanding group of sophomores and a pretty potent bunch of freshmen. UCLA will rack up Pac-10 wins because of the conference's weakness this year, but 2011 will the year the Bruins shine.

Oregon State

Craig Robinson has the Beavers moving in the right direction after a dismal 2008 season. OSU should be close to an NCAA Tournament team, and with the Pac-10 being so bad this year, Oregon State could garner enough conference victories to make the tournament.

Staying Static

Arizona

The Wildcats will likely be moving forward because of the recruiting of Sean Miller. He's secured a handful top 100 prospects during his limited time in Arizona. But Miller has to figure out how to get this year's mediocre team to succeed to keep the ball moving in the right direction.

If Miller keeps his recruits all happy and learns to use their varying talents, the Wildcats will be joining the rising column next year.

Arizona State

The Sun Devils won't be very good this year after losing James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph. The incoming freshmen won't be big impact players this year and there isn't a lot of returning talent, but there is hope. 2010's recruiting class is already outstanding which means next year the Sun Devils should be poised to reach the tournament again.

Going Backwards

Stanford

Johnny Dawkins' first year wasn't very good, but that was expected after losing the Lopez twins. His second year won't be very good either; in fact, the Cardinal may take another step back. The 2010 class will begin to turn the program in the right direction, but for now the Cardinal will likely be looking at the bottom third of the league for this season and at least the next.

Oregon

The Ducks should be mediocre this season as the league is moving backward and they should be a little better than last year's 2-16 Pac-10 team. Freshman Jamil Wilson should help the program in the near future, but talented newcomers after Wilson are few and far between. Ernie Kent will need to land another star for 2010 if Kent wants to save his job.

Washington State

New coach Ken Bone brings with him from Portland State a new style not suitable for his current roster. 2009-2010 will be a transition year for the Cougars. Bone is bringing in a number of freshmen for this year's club which features just one impact returning player.

WAZZU will likely finish near the bottom of the league and should stay there in 2010-2011. If Bone doesn't start recruiting well, the Pac-10's influx of talented freshmen will put the Cougars in the conference cellar for the next few years.

Southern Cal

New coach Kevin O'Neill needs to pray he can get through this season without a disaster. Tim Floyd left him a roster void of much talent. Dwight Lewis and Alex Stephenson form a decent inside-outside combination, but the rest of the team is a mess.

O'Neill has recruits signed in 2010 that could save the program, but future recruits aren't always a saving grace. USC's finish this year and start to next season could be the difference between the Trojans reascending to the top of the league in 2011 or 2012 or staying near the bottom, where USC should finish this year.

What Lies Ahead

Overall, the league has suffered a drain of talent during the past two seasons leaving it in a state of decay. Fresh faces in 2009 and 2010 should send the Pac-10 back to respectability among the major conferences as early as 2010-2011 season.

If the Pac-10 teams that are already recruiting strong for 2010 cap off their classes well, the conference could be among the nation's elite once again in 2011-2012; thus completely a cycle similar to the one the SEC just went through to get itself back in the national spotlight.

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Road to the Final Four: Five Teams on the Rise

Jameson Fleming — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:23:59 -0400

Baylor

The future looked so bright for Baylor basketball last season. An NCAA Tournament team returned the majority of its talent and was poised to play well into March. Scott Drew's defensively challenged team withered in Big 12 play, fading to a 5-11 record in conference play.

But a late season surge put the Bears in the Big 12 Title game, which garnered an NIT bid. The senior-laden team reached the finals before losing to Penn State under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden.

Gone are three stud seniors, Curtis Jerrells, Kevin Rogers, and Henry Dugat. Leaving with them is four years of awful Baylor defense. What's left is a core of players that gives Drew one of the most athletic squads in the country.

After last season's disaster, Baylor's future almost certainly has to be up.

Junior LaceDarius Dunn is poised to be one of the Big 12's best scorers after stepping up as the team's most dangerous weapon last year. This is Dunn's team now with Jerrells and Rogers gone.

The rest of Baylor's backcourt comes with uncertainty, as Dunn's backcourt mates will generally be very young. Senior Tweety Carter will likely be the first man off the bench, but a strong recruiting class fills out the rest of the guard spots in the rotation.

A.J. Walton is Coach Drew's point guard of the future, and may start the season off the bench. He'll likely be starting ahead of Carter by Big 12 play if Walton plays to his potential.

Dunn's future predecessor at the wing position bolted from Memphis after John Calipari bailed for the Bluegrass State. Nolan Dennis will some day be a prolific scorer and will provide pop off the bench, much like Dunn did when he was a freshman.

Baylor's frontcourt will look much differently this year and will greatly improve the Bears' defense. Impact transfer Ekpe Udoh gives Baylor an inside presence that can anchor the center or play alongside seven foot center Josh Lomers. Sophomore Quincy Acy should fill Kevin Rogers' shoes pretty well, but will be a bigger factor defensively.

The real future for Baylor lies with next year's recruiting class. It's just a two-man class for now, but the top prospect is a top 10 recruit nationally. Power forward Perry Jones could be the missing piece that turns Baylor into an elite team.

Cincinnati

The Bearcats were so good for so long under coach Bob Huggins. When Huggie Bear left town, the program spiraled downhill despite enjoying the benefits of competing in the Big East.

Cincinnati looked within the program at one of Huggins' former assistant coaches to turn the program around. Mick Cronin received a monumental task to turn the 'Cats back into a nationally recognized program.

Cronin's task is now closing in on completion as Cincinnati is a Big East sleeper that should be bound for the NCAA Tournament.

Xavier took over for a few years as the premier basketball program in the Queen City, but Cincinnati is closing in on taking that title back. The Bearcats landed several highly rated recruits over the past few seasons, including stud forward Yancy Gates right from Cincinnati.

With a roster that features two of the Big East's most underrated and under-recognized players, Gates and guard Deonta Vaughn, Cincinnati has the building blocks of a fantastic team. Two fresh faces in the backcourt gives Cronin four dangerous weapons.

UC won the Lance Stephenson sweepstakes to give Vaughn a scoring complement in the backcourt. Red-shirt freshman Cashmere Wright missed all of last season with a knee injury, but Wright will likely start from day one to give the 'Cats a pure point guard.

Cincinnati can finish as high as third in the league if the frontcourt is consistent. A strong finish will further increase Cronin's ability to recruit across the Midwest and compete with Big Ten schools for recruits.

Oregon State

Having Barack Obama as a "friend" of the program is quite the recruiting tool for coach Craig Robinson. President Obama is Robinson's brother-in-law which makes the President of the United States Oregon State's most notable supporter.

Famous Oregon State alumni may soon want to come out of the woodwork to throw their support behind the program and coach Robinson is turning the Beavers into winners.

OSU's Princeton Offense fits in nicely in the Pac 10 where the slower the brand of the basketball the better. Robinson has the right pieces to succeed this season after improving OSU's win total by an astounding 12 victories in 2009.

The offense improved from 264th in offensive efficiency in 2008 to 95th in 2009 as Robinson's players fully bought into his system.

With off-season losses at a minimum, Oregon State should improve again behind one of the most effective weapons in a Princeton Offense: the passing big man.

Roeland Schaftenaar is a tremendous low-post passer who helps keep the offense moving, but the senior center can also put the ball in the hoop.

Robinson also has more newfound offensive firepower with freshman Roberto Nelson, who will support the team's leading returning scorer, Calvin Hayes.

The Pac-10 will go through one of the worst seasons the conference has seen this decade, which gives Oregon State a chance to emerge as one of the three best teams in the league this season.

Minnesota

When Tubby Smith left Kentucky to take the job at Minnesota, he wasn't walking into a national championship-caliber roster like he did in Lexington. Smith's Golden Gophers team went from a putrid nine wins in 2007 to 20 wins and an NIT berth in 2008.

Minnesota took another step forward last season and reached the NCAA Tournament. In addition to an outstanding recruiting class, Smith loses nobody important from last year's team, giving Smith an effective mix of established veterans and talented young guns.

Minnesota will have the ability to go 12 or 13 players deep, and Smith has pretty much every kind of role player on his bench. The Gophers will be able to adjust to the teams their playing and wear them down with their outstanding depth.

Smith needs to keep the program moving forward and build off of this year's great recruiting class. Next year's class isn't setting up to be anything special, but that could change if Minnesota can land Cory Joesph, one of the best point guard prospects in the country.

Florida International

The 12 other teams in the Sun Belt Conference should be scared silly of Florida International's potential. Hiring NBA great Isiah Thomas put FIU on the national scene and an instant contender in the Sun Belt...in 2010-2011.

The Golden Panthers lost SBC Freshman of the Year Freddy Asprilla after he decided to transfer out and Josue Soto, who left to play pro ball in Puerto Rico.

Thomas brought in a very solid four man recruiting class composed of all JUCO transfers. Swing man Marvin Roberts will be one of top newcomers in the conference while Phil Gary Jr, Antoine Watson, and Stephon Weaver will fill out the backcourt.

Florida International's 2009-2010 season will be a chance for Thomas to install his offensive system and defensive packages. His four-man class this year will be the backbone of the future, when his outstanding 2010 class arrives on campus.

Power forward Dominique Ferguson is considered a top 40 recruit and as a freshman, could end up being the Sun Belt's best player in 2010. Thomas also has a second commitment from point guard Phillip Taylor, who will likely be the second best freshman in the league next year after Ferguson.

FIU won't be very good this year, but the future looks very bright for the South Florida program. The Golden Panthers do have three chances this season to pull off miraculous upsets against potential top 25 teams, North Carolina, Tulsa, and Florida State.

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Road To The Final Four: Top 25 Fail Factor

Jameson Fleming — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:24:18 -0400

Every year several top 25 teams inexplicably fall apart and don't live up to expectations. Last season, UCLA, Notre Dame, and Tennessee all entered the season as preseason top 15 teams, but none of them fit the bill as elite teams.

Using the Bleacher Reports Writers Poll, I'll take a look at the odds each team in the top 15 will drastically not live up to expectations.

On a scale of one to 10, teams will be rated on the fail factor scale. A one means only devastating injuries will keep this team from performing at a high level. A rating of 10 means the team is bound to fail: the team is talented, but various factors has this team destined to fail.

1. Kansas, Fail Factor: 4 and rising.

Rewind about a month ago and the Jayhawks' fail factor would stand at about two. But Tyshawn Taylor's fight with the football team, Brady Morningstar's DUI, and Markieff Morris' car accident has Kansas faithful on edge in Lawrence.

As for on the court, Kansas isn't really relying on freshmen or have lots of roster overturn. Considering the Jayhawks outperformed last year's expectations, it would unlikely they'd take a 180 this year.

2. Texas, Fail Factor: 3

The Longhorns are a very experienced team, but also extremely deep. If the two stud freshmen Avery Bradley and Jordan Hamilton struggle, Rick Barnes has a 14 player roster ready to backup the two stud young guns. Texas is so deep, Florida transfer Jai Lucas is a walk-on this season.

The Longhorns did fade down the stretch last season with the same core of players, so the potential to fail is there.

3. Michigan State, Fail Factor: 2

The same group of players that led the Spartans to the National Title game return to East Lansing. MSU has a veteran backcourt and won't be relying on freshmen to lead them back to the promise land.

4. Villanova, Fail Factor: 5

The Wildcats lost several key seniors from last year's team and will need a freshman, Mouphtaou Yarou, to anchor the frontcourt. If 'Nova doesn't recreate the success of a few years ago when using a guard dominated lineup, the Wildcats will not live up to the top five preseason expectations.

5. Kentucky, Fail Factor: 6

The Wildcats return just one key player, Patrick Patterson, but do have one of the best recruiting classes in the last decade. John Wall is one of the best players in the country and the rest of the class is filled with very talented players, but this Kentucky team isn't like John Calipari's Memphis teams.

When Derrick Rose exploded onto the scene for the Tigers, Memphis returned a loaded starting lineup. Calipari at Kentucky must figure out how to get six newcomers used to being the star to play together.

Odds are Kentucky will be extremely dangerous, but there's significant potential the Wildcats might not shape up this year.

5. Duke, Fail Factor: 5

The Blue Devils have a very thin backcourt and will need their talented freshmen big men to give Mike Krzyzewski some kind of contributions for Duke to emerge as a top five team.

Jon Scheyer will take over the point this season after playing the last 12 games of the season last year as the floor general. He's not a pure point guard in the least bit and could be the source of Duke's downturn if he doesn't run the offense effectively.

7. North Carolina, Fail Factor: 6

The Tar Heels return just two major components of last year's team and will need freshmen to run the offense. That's never a recipe for success, but luckily for Roy Williams, the five player class UNC brings in is ultra-talented and the second best group of freshmen in the country.

7. West Virginia, Fail Factor: 3

The off the court indiscretions are behind the Mountaineers because both Truck Bryant and Joe Mazzulla have been reinstated after their problems. West Virginia is loaded in the frontcourt which should carry the Mountaineers this season. Unless the point guard play is very shaky, WVU isn't going to struggle this season.

9. Purdue, Fail Factor: 2

The Boilermakers aren't the best team in the country, but they should be one of the most consistent. Purdue losses no one too important from last year's team. Purdue is one of the safest bets to stay in the top 10 all season.

10. Tennessee, Fail Factor: 8

The Volunteers return a loaded roster losing only Emmanuel Negedu whose career might be over because of a heart ailment.

But this Tennessee team drastically failed to live up to expectations last year because this group of players don't play a lot of defense. With all those same players back, who's to say they'll play defense this year?

11. Washington, Fail Factor: 7

The Huskies have a fantastic backcourt, but an undersized frontcourt could hurt Washington in the postseason. Lorenzo Romar put together a pathetic non-conference schedule so the non-conference record is going to look great.

12. California, Fail Factor: 6

The Golden Bears had an early exit last year and at times looked shaky in the Pac-10. The defense as awful last year and Cal isn't exactly doing anything to fix it. If teams figure out how to stop Cal's potent offensive attack, the Golden Bears will be in lots of trouble.

13. Connecticut, Fail Factor: 6

The Huskies only return three pieces from last year's final Four team, so this team's success will revolve around the play of freshmen. Jim Calhoun said last year that incoming freshman Ater Majok, had he been eligible, would have played 20 minutes per game for last year's Connecticut team.

Alex Oriakhi is also a McDonald's All-American and should be a force around the basket. Jerome Dyson is returning from a severe knee injury and may need the non-conference schedule to be back in full basketball shape.

14. Minnesota, Fail Factor: 4

The Golden Gophers return everyone from a great defensive team. The offense struggled at times, but a strong freshmen class should help add some offensive pop. Tubby Smith is one of the best coaches in the country and won't let this team fail to take another step forward in 2010.

15. Mississippi State, Fail Factor: 6

There's still uncertainly whether Renardo Sidney will actually suit up for the Bulldogs this season and he could be the missing piece that turns MSU into a top 15 team. The returning players are solid, but the offense wasn't very efficient. Sidney could change that, but as a whole, Mississippi State needs to improve its shot selection and hit the offensive boards harder.

For more updates on college basketball, follow Jameson Fleming on Twitter.

Road to the Final Four: Bleacher Report Preseason Top 25

Jameson Fleming — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:02:36 -0400

Bleacher Report's College Basketball writers ranked the top 25 teams in the nation. If you are interested in participating in future polls, e-mail me at jamesonfleming@gmail.com to receive a ballot.

A first place vote is worth 25, and a 25th place vote is worth one and 21 voters submitted ballots.

Rank, Team, Total Votes (first place votes), Last Year

1. Kansas 418 (18), Lost in Sweet 16 to Michigan State

The Jayhawks have two potential All-Americans, Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich, but also a stud freshman in Xavier Henry. Kansas is incredibly deep, but that depth will be challenged early because of recent off the court problems.

2. Texas 370, Lost in Round of 32 to Duke

The Longhorns bring back a loaded frontcourt, but bring in fantastic freshman scorers Jordan Hamilton and Avery Bradley. Texas is so deep, that former Florida top recruit Jai Lucas is a walk-on this year.

3. Michigan State 363 (1), Lost in Championship Game to North Carolina

The Spartans have one of the most talented backcourts in the country and Tom Izzo teams always rebound. MSU has the perfect mix brewing in East Lansing to win it all.

4. Villanova 355, Lost in Final Four to North Carolina

Scottie Reynolds will emerge to replace Dante Cunningham as this team's leader, but the Wildcats need freshman stud Mouphtaou Yarou to live up to the hype to account for Cunningham's inside scoring.

5. Kentucky 331, Lost to Notre Dame in the NIT

The Wildcats burst into the top five behind one of the best recruiting classes in college basketball history. Few coaches can handle a group of young players like Kentucky's freshman class; coach John Calipari is one of them.

5. Duke 331, Lost in Sweet 16 to Villanova

The Blue Devils are ready to challenge North Carolina for the ACC Title again. Coach Mike Krzyzewski will rely on potential All-American Kyle Singler to lead the charge back to the top.

7. North Carolina 316 (1), Won National Championship

The Tar Heels bring back just two major contributors from last year's championship team, but players returning from red-shirt (Marcus Ginyard) and freshmen (John Henson, Leslie McDonald, and Dexter Strickland) will likely have coach Roy Williams' team back in the top 10.

7. West Virginia 316, Lost in First Round to Dayton

The Mountaineers had a disappointing end to their 2009 season, but after losing just Alex Ruoff and landing a solid recruiting class, West Virginia will be thinking about getting four wins to reach the Final Four this year.

9. Purdue 308, Lost in Sweet 16 to Connecticut

The Boilermakers didn't quite live up to expectations with a roster full of sophomores last year. Those sophomores are now juniors and should be Michigan State's biggest challenge to the Spartans' conference supremacy.

10. Tennessee 258, Lost in the First Round to Oklahoma State

The Volunteers can get redemption for not fulfilling expectations last year by shocking Calipari's Kids and winning the SEC. Tyler Smith is one of the nation's best slashers and the front court he leads is one of the best in the SEC.

11. Washington 219, Lost in the Round of 32 to Purdue

Isaiah Thomas is the best thing to happen to Seattle basketball since Brandon Roy. The combination of Thomas and fantastic freshman Abdul Gaddy gives the Huskies one of the best starting backcourts in the country if coach Lorenzo Romar starts both from day one.

12. California 215, Lost in the First Round to Maryland

The Golden Bears return every key contributor from last year's 22 win team. Washington and Cal are head and shoulders above the rest of the Pac-10 and will jockey for the league crown all year.

13. Connecticut 188, Lost in the Final Four to Michigan State

The Huskies lose their massive frontcourt of Hasheem Thabeet and Jeff Adrien, but return the brilliant backcourt pair of Jerome Dyson and Kemba Walker. A bumper crop of high potential freshmen should help Jim Calhoun rebuild, but continue to compete at a high level.

14. Minnesota 170, Lost in the First Round to Texas

It's not taking long for Tubby Smith to turn the Golden Gophers into a nationally feared program. Terrific talent returns to complement a very strong recruiting class. Minnesota could be the third best team in the Big Ten.

15. Mississippi State 162, Lost in the First Round to Washington

The Bulldogs made a miraculous run through the SEC Tournament last season to go dancing, but no surprise championship will be necessary for MSU to punch its ticket to the tournament. Walk-on center Jarvis Varnado is the most feared defender in the country.

16. Michigan 157, Lost in the Round of 32 to Oklahoma

Each year, the Wolverines better execute John Beilein's unique basketball philosophy. With the right components finally in place, Beilein's squad should be a dark horse to knock off Michigan State and Purdue in the Big Ten.

17. Ohio State 155, Lost in First Round to Siena

The Buckeyes are the fifth Big Ten team in the top 17 in the country, showing the conference's depth and strength in 2010. Evan Turner is the nation's most versatile player and sleeper for National Player of the Year honors.

18. Georgia Tech 150, No Postseason, 12-19 record

The Yellow Jackets need their freshmen class to living up to billing. Derrick Favors can dominate a game on both ends of the court. If he messes well with returning stars Gani Lawal and Iman Shumpert, Tech will have a terrific triumvirate.

19. Georgetown 119, Lost to Baylor in NIT

The 2010 Hoyas are a product of addition by subtraction with the graduation of Jessie Sapp. DaJuan Summers' defense or lack thereof won't be missed either because John Thompson III has a tough to top threesome with center Greg Monroe, wing Austin Freeman, and point guard Chris Wright.

20. Syracuse 75, Lost in Sweet 16 to Oklahoma

No Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf, and Paul Harris has some pundits thinking the Orange won't be a factor in the Big East. But a fantastic frontcourt that star transfer Wesley Johnson will lead will give almost every Big East school trouble.

21. Butler 73, Lost in the First Round to LSU

The Bulldogs have the Horizon League's two best players, Gordon Hayward and Matt Howard. Hayward has the potential to be a third or fourth team All-American.

22. Siena 70, Lost in Round of 32 to Louisville

The Saints should be even better than last year which they hope will translate into a more manageable NCAA Tournament seed. Siena is good enough to reach the Sweet 16, but the MAAC's best team has to do enough in the regular season to earn a tournament seed that will allow them to reach the third round.

23. Maryland 63, Lost in Round of 32 to Memphis

The Terrapins' Greivis Vasquez is hated in almost every ACC gym. Finally, Vazquez has a team capable of shutting those opposing fans up. Maryland could finish as high as third in the ACC.

24. Oklahoma 48, Lost in Elite Eight to North Carolina

Keith "Tiny" Gallon won't make Sooner fans forget about Blake Griffin, but the 300 pound center should have a calming influence in Norman. Gallon, fellow freshman Tommy Mason-Griffin, and super sophomore Willie Warren form the nation's youngest superior trio.

25. Illinois 39, Lost in First Round to Western Kentucky

The Illini complete the Big Ten's dominance in the top 25 as Bruce Weber's club is the sixth club from the league to find a home in the rankings. Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale could be the second Mike & Mike pairing to be household names.

Others Receiving Votes

Gonzaga 38, Dayton 36, Clemson 27, Louisville 24, Texas A&M 24, Florida State 21, Cincinnati 16, LSU 15, Notre Dame 15, Vanderbilt 15, Tulsa 10, UCLA 8, Kansas State 6, Xavier 6, South Carolina 4, Seton Hall 3, Memphis 2, Western Kentucky 2, Florida 1

Participating Voters

Jameson Fleming, Henry Ball, Justin McTeer, Tryvon Paige, Sam Silverman, Dan Scofield, Dino Nicandros, Caleb McConachie, Daniel Abbas, Kurt Wirth, Joe Slowik, Joshua Concon, Mark Fodor, Pete McMullen, Nick Rall, Kevin Trahan, George Barnette

Road to the Final Four: Cornell Ready to Lap Ivy League Field

Jameson Fleming — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:11:09 -0400

The year was 1998 and for the first time in a generation the government had a budget surplus. Countless graduates of Ivy League schools played a major role in turning American economics around.

As the budget turned around, so did Ivy League basketball. Few teams during the past decade could remotely compare to the last great Ivy League team.

The 1998 Princeton squad lost just two games, and the Tigers' methodical offensive system became popular across the country.

But since 1998, only a few Penn teams could even remotely sniff the skill and success of the '98 Tigers.

A new Ivy League team is ready to make a national impact because of un-Ivy League like talent and a daunting schedule.

Cornell's starting line up is so head-and-shoulders above the rest of the league, an all-league team made up of the best players from the rest of the Ivy League may not be able to beat the Big Red this season.

It's bold, but a statement tough to argue against.

Cornell will practically monopolize the league's All-Conference team as at least three members of the Big Red are practically shoe-ins.

Cornell's next three best players could all start and either be the top contributor or second most important player on almost every other Ancient Eight school.

Plus, the Big Red bring in two transfers from higher profile schools that add depth.

Coach Steve Donahue may not have the league's best player (that distinction should probably go to Harvard's Jeremy Lin), but the Big Red might have the conference's second, third, and fourth best stars.

Wing Ryan Wittman is the son of former NBA guard and Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman. The small forward averaged at least 15 points per game in each of his first three seasons and dropped 18 per game last year.

His slick stroke almost single-handedly knocked off Syracuse last year in the Carrier Dome. Against the Orange, he scored 33 points and knocked down nine three-pointers.

Ryan's dad, Randy, must have taught Ryan well. The Cornell senior showed unbelievable poise as he launched three-ball after three-ball against the 'Cuse 2-3 Zone.

Most of his shots came from well behind the arc because Jim Boeheim extended the zone to try to stop him.

It didn't work.

The Big Red at one point held a 15-point lead behind Wittman and did so without Wittman's co-star Louis Dale, who missed the Syracuse game and seven others with a hamstring injury.

Dale returns at full strength for the 2009-2010 season and could challenge Wittman for the team lead in scoring.

Dale, the 2008 Ivy League Player of the Year, won't be relied upon to be the team's leading scorer, but with opponents more likely to key in on stopping Wittman, Dale could reap the benefits.

Cornell's point guard distributes the ball effectively to his endless supply of options, but can also score with ease. Dale's a solid shooter and can also get to the basket fairly easily.

Dale developed alongside Cornell star Adam Gore, but Gore missed last season with a torn ACL decided not to return to Ithaca for a fifth season.

Had Gore played out his final year of eligibility, the Big Red would have four players worthy of being all-league selections.

Scary, isn't it?

The final player in Cornell's deadly trio is center Jeff Foote. He's a lumbering seven-foot tree that controls every aspect of the glass while he presides over the paint.

Foote is the best defender in the Ivy League because few players can remotely challenge his size and strength.

The Cornell center won't impress anybody with his range, but the big man is highly polished around the basket which is extremely deadly in a mid-major league.

Like most mid-majors trying to close the gap with the major-conference schools, Cornell shoots the lights out from three-point range. Besides Wittman and Dale, Chris Wroblewski and Geoff Reeves are accomplished marksmen from deep.

Wroblewski is the league's reigning Newcomer of the Year after having an outstanding freshman campaign. He drilled a team best 44 percent of his long bombs while Cornell's second winger, Geoff Reeves connected on 42 percent of his attempts from deep.

Coach Donahue will have another weapon from behind the arc as UMass transfer Max Groebe is eligible this season. Groebe is a catch-and-shoot guard who will fit into Donahue's system quite effectively.

Donahue also has more depth in his front court with Kentucky transfer Mark Coury. He didn't see much playing time in the Bluegrass State, but Coury will bring a major-conference body to the Ivy League. Coury will likely backup Foote and the final returning starter Alex Tyler.

Tyler's a svelt 6'7'', 235 pounds who complements Foote's toughness on the blocks.

Cornell has the size to compete with the big boys, but the size isn't the key to Cornell's success.

The three-point bomb is how Cornell almost beat Syracuse last year and will upset at least one of its many NCAA Tournament foes this coming season.

Four returning players averaged at least one three-pointer per game and star Ryan Wittman drilled almost 100 last year. Max Groebe gives Cornell a fifth option from long distance.

The Big Red opens its season with four games against Alabama, Massachusetts, Seton Hall, and Syracuse. There's a chance Cornell could start the season 4-0.

The Crimson Tide should be mediocre this year, UMass is a mid-rate A-10 team, the Hall doesn't play a lot of defense, and Cornell is built to beat Syracuse's 2-3 Zone.

Later games against St. Joe's, Davidson, a much-improved La Salle, and preseason favorite Kansas provide more opportunities for Cornell to garner the respect its first round opponent in March will need to avoid being up-ended by an Ivy League school.

If everything goes right for Donahue's club, Cornell can win six or seven of those games. Looking at the remaining schedule, the Big Red shouldn't lose another game.

An undefeated conference run like 2008 is definitely possible and the Big Red could become every barely top-25 team's nightmare in March: the always dangerous 12 seed.

For more updates on college basketball, follow Jameson Fleming on Twitter.

Road to The Final Four: 10 Teams Relying Heavily on Freshmen

Jameson Fleming — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:30:05 -0400

One single freshman can catapult a team from the NIT deep into the NCAA Tournament. Sometimes, just one freshman is the final piece to a Final Four team. Other times, an entire starting lineup of first year players makes a team elite.

In the end, those teams all have something in common- they've relied on freshmen heavily to make a run at college basketball's promise land- the Final Four.

In the age of one-and-done freshmen, the top prospects have rejuvenated and returned programs back to the top tier.

Kansas State's Michael Beasley, Texas's Kevin Durant, Memphis's Derrick Rose, and Syracuse's Carmelo Anthony are the prime examples of the impact freshmen their teams relied heavily upon to reach elite status.

Putting that much trust into freshmen isn't a novel idea. Michigan's Fab Five in the early 90's revolutionized college basketball.

The teams who's success will depend significantly on incoming players (freshmen, transfers, or red-shirts) have been broken up into three categories: Dangerous now, Will develop to be dangerous, and may never be dangerous. The teams profiled are squads that have a significant chance of playing deep into March or at least making the tournament.

Dangerous Now

Kentucky

The closest reincarnation of the Fab Five has found a home in the Bluegrass State. Coach John Calipari has a group of six newcomers that may be the greatest single recruiting class in the history of the game.

Though they lack a popular nickname for now (Scintillating or Super Sextet, Big Blue Babies, and Kentucky's Kids are the suggestion's I'm throwing out there), Kentucky's young guns are going to be almost impossible to stop from day one.

John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins are arguably the two best freshmen in the country and Eric Bledsoe, Daniel Orton, and Jon Hood aren't too far behind. Also, small forward Darnell Dodson is one of the best JUCO transfers in the country.

Together, they form a new League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, err...I mean a top five team (in my defense, Big Blue Nation is acting like Calipari is the second-coming of Jesus and his recruits are his disciples).

North Carolina

It's pretty simple for Roy Williams. He doesn't rebuild, he reloads. After losing the majority of his National Championship team, Williams will replace his stars with future stars.

Only Kentucky has a better recruiting class than the Tar Heels and UNC's recruits will fill a multitude of different roles. With a handful of top 100 recruits and a skilled defender returning from a medical red-shirt, the Heels will rely heavily upon newcomers to return to the Final Four.

John Henson, David and Travis Wear will fill out the frontcourt to give UNC terrific depth. Leslie McDonald and Dexter Strickland are no John Wall/Eric Bledsoe combination, but they'll contribute immediately to UNC's backcourt.

Marcus Ginyard will be Roy Williams x-factor. He's a defensive stopper and an average offensive player. As the veteran member of the backcourt, he'll be responsible for leading his unit and developing chemistry among his young colleagues.

Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets return several very talented players, but Georgia Tech's lethal sting will come from the youngest bees in the hive.

Center Derrick Favors is as skilled as any other freshman in the nation and should rule both ends of the floor.

Tech already lost one of its stud freshmen, Kammeon Holsey to a season knee injury, but there's honeycombs full of eager newcomers waiting to take his place.

D'Andre Bell isn't a newbie, but missed all of last season because of a spinal problem. He's a team leader ready to whip all the young guns into shape.

The Yellow Jackets have a perfect mix of young stars and grizzled veterans to make them a prevailing force in the nest they call home.

Will Develop to be Dangerous

Syracuse

The Orange could eventually be as good as last year's Sweet 16 team as Jim Boeheim begins reloading after major personnel losses. Boeheim will replace Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf, and Paul Harris with a freshman, red-shirt player, and a transfer.

Brandon Triche will likely start as the team's floor general; while red-shirt sophomore Scoop Jardine will be a combo-guard; and back-up Triche and returning starter Andy Rautins. Wesley Johnson's is the nation's top transfer and fill will the role of Paul Harris as the team's athletic freak.

Syracuse could struggle early and might come away from a trip to New York City with multiple losses to ranked teams. But as the season progresses, Boeheim's bunch could turn into one of the best teams in the Big East.

Clemson

Freshman Devin Booker is an athletic freak of nature that will some day rock the rims of Littlejohn Coliseum.

Sound familiar?

It should.

Booker's brother is none other than current hoop hammerer Trevor Booker. The younger Booker should see some time in his first year because of his god-given talents, which fit right into Oliver Purnell's strangle-by-the-neck defense.

But Booker isn't the freshman that will impact the Tigers the most and send them dancing.

After KC Rivers graduated and Terrence Oglesby left for Europe, Purnell must rely on freshmen to catapult the Tigers back to the tournament.

Noel Johnson is a late signee from USC and should garner some important minutes ahead of little Booker, but it's Milton Jennings that could steal the Tiger spotlight. Jennings has the makings of a star. Key word is makings though.

Behind the freshmen, Clemson may start out slow until they've gotten their feet wet and learned Purnell's unique system. By the end of the season, the Tigers could be an ACC force.

Oklahoma

The Sooners are all about deception.

First, they toy with opponents with two Griffin Brothers and now it's with a center nicknamed Tiny Gallon who's really the size of about three barrels. Keith Gallon tips the scales at close to 300 pounds, but he's got the shooting touch of a 180 pound guard.

Gallon's like that guy you see at pickup who lumbers around the court. You expect him to only be able to score because of his behemoth size under the basket. Then, he drifts to the perimeter and you think he's just being lazy, but he then puts up that first shot and swish.

Suddenly, three points are on the board and everyone is hooting and hollering at the big man's touch from deep.

Well, Gallon is a load under the hoop as well and with an array of talented sharp shooters that include another freshman, Tommy Mason-Griffin. He will allow super sophomore Willie Warren to play his more natural position of two-guard.

The Sooner attack will revolve around Warren, Mason-Griffin, and Gallon. With two being freshmen and Warren just a sophomore, Oklahoma could fall victim to a few early upsets.

By the time conference play is in full swing, the Sooners should be turned around and headed full steam ahead for March.

May Never be Dangerous

Kansas State

The Wildcats make the list because like two years ago when Michael Beasley dominated Manhattan, a freshman forward will be a critical Kansas State contributor.

Wally Judge is one of the top five or ten freshmen in the country and should help the Wildcats return to the NCAA Tournament. Without Judge, K-State would have a tremendous backcourt of Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen and that's about it.

Even with Judge, Clemente, and Pullen, Kansas State may not develop into a tournament team as the Wildcats lack significant supporting players.

Seton Hall

The Pirates bring in two of the best transfers in the country in New Mexico State's Herb Pope and Missouri's Keon Lawrence. Both averaged double-digits at their former schools and will team with one of the league's best scorers, Jeremy Hazell.

Seton Hall returns its four top scorers from last year and should be ready to compete with the top tier teams in the Big East for the first time in several years.

Bobby Gonzalez's team does have one weakness that not even the transfers may be able to help. His teams have been very porous defensively and if the defense doesn't improve, Seton Hall won't see a large improvement in the win column.

Arizona

If the Wildcats want to keep their string of 25 consecutive years in the NCAA Tournament, new coach Sean Miller will need to whip a bunch of freshmen into Pac-10 shape quickly.

The one returning difference maker is point guard Nic Wise and he'll need help to push the 'Cats into the tournament.

The support will come in the form of freshman center Kyryl Natyzhko who hopes to score more points per game than awkward consonants in his name. Natyzhko hails from Ukraine, but developed his game at the IMG Academy in Florida.

Natyzhko is already prepared to be one of the most dominant centers in a league currently devoid of imposing big men.

Fellow freshmen Kevin Parro and Lamont Jones bring New York City style to the wild west no longer accustom to high scoring shoot outs.

There's a pretty solid chance Arizona will have to rely on freshmen not ready to compete with the best teams in the Pac-10, but lucky for them, the conference is so down this year, great teams are far and few between.

*Bonus Category*:

Stands No Shot to be Dangerous

Binghamton

Dismissing six players from a basketball team typically leaves that team a bit short-handed. Dismissing all the star players from a basketball team leaves that team in the gutter to finish dead last.

That's the problem Binghamton faces after the school kicked six players off the squad for various violations of school policy and the law. Now, Binghamton is left with a roster chalked full of freshmen.

What's worse is Binghamton is holding open tryouts for anyone interested.

Rode the pine for four years in high school? Get your academic transcripts, head to Binghamton and you just might make a Division I roster.

For more updates on college basketball, follow Jameson Fleming on Twitter.