Last we saw of the Jayhawks, they were arguably the favorite to win the NCAA Tournament, with a talented roster highlighted by a couple of All-American caliber veterans. Well, I guess that’s not exactly true, as the absolute last we saw of the Jayhawks was them walking of the court in disappointment, stunned by Northern Iowa and the heroics of Ali Faroukmanesh (a pair of words which, whether in combination or apart, will likely cause anguish to Kansas fans for quite a long time). Sherron Collins, Cole Aldrich and Xavier Henry are now ex-Jayhawks, preparing for NBA careers, and the Jayhawks that remain, though talented, will have to answer a couple big questions before they can be considered contenders in the Big 12.
Bill Self’s squad is loaded at the guard spot with three big time talents among the group competing for minutes there. The eldest of that bunch is Tyshawn Taylor, a 6’3 junior point guard who has been maddeningly inconsistent and enigmatic in his time in Lawrence. He averaged seven points a game and was second on the team in assists last season, but spent the season playing out of position quite a bit at the two with Collins, and tended to get down on himself and pout when things didn’t go his way. With Collins gone, now is Taylor’s chance to take a leadership role on the team and use his quickness and penetration ability to his benefit. If Taylor can’t get his attitude in shape enough to take over the lead guard role on the Jayhawks, there are two other similarly explosive guards waiting to do just that. Freshman Josh Selby has similar skills to Taylor, and they may wind up in the same backcourt together, which could either be brilliant or a case of not enough basketballs on the court. Selby is probably more suited to playing off of the ball than Taylor is, but in reality, both players will be most effective with the ball in their hands. Selby is an aggressive, attacking guard with great athleticism and coast-to-coast ability, and he is simply too good to keep out of the starting lineup, where he’ll likely be by the end of the season. His willingness to get down and dirty on the defensive end will determine whether he’ll be in that spot immediately. Elijah Johnson is the third uber-talented guard on this squad, a combo-guard who played extremely limited minutes in his first season in Lawrence, but Johnson, a five-star recruit out of high school, should play a much greater role as a sophomore. He is a strong and athletic guard with an uncanny ability to get into the lane with ease, where he is a strong finisher. He has had a tendency towards inconsistent effort in his high school days, but if he can bring the energy every time he hits the floor, he should be ready to make a big leap this season.
Elsewhere in the crowded backcourt, there’s Brady Morningstar, back for his senior season. Morningstar has been an on-again/off-again starter the last couple of seasons, and he supplies a gritty defensive toughness that Self loves. Tyrel Reed, a former Mr. Basketball in Kansas, will also be back for his senior season, and he is a designated shooter, who can surprise you with his athleticism from time to time. Travis Releford redshirted last season after getting limited minutes as a freshman, but he is a long and active slasher with a capable three-point shot who will press for time despite the crowded backcourt. Then there’s Royce Woolridge, an undersized freshman off-guard who will likely have to wait a season to crack Self’s rotation.
There isn’t as much depth up front, but there is still plenty of talent. To start with, senior Mario Little could reasonably be included among the backcourt players, but he is more of a true small forward at 6’5. Little is a junior college transfer who was considered the best JuCo prospect in 2008, but after an injury plagued first season in Lawrence, he redshirted last year. This season, it is possible he steps right into the starting lineup at the three. The four and the five spots may belong to the Morris twins, Marcus and Markieff, although neither of them is a true center. Marcus is the more skilled of the two, capable of playing both forward spots with his good handles and capable midrange jumper, but both brothers are long and tenacious rebounders with good passing ability (they could be a force to reckon with in the Self hi-lo) and the ability to convert at a high percentage from the field. The lone true center on the roster is junior Jeff Withey, a 7’0 transfer from Arizona who played just 45 minutes all of last season. He has the reputation as being soft, and will need to pick up his aggressiveness in order to get a lot of time, but he should see his minutes increase, regardless. The most intriguing frontcourt prospect may 6’9 sophomore Thomas Robinson, a big and athletic power forward whose minutes dropped precipitously down the stretch. He did, however, have some excellent games early in the season, such as his 15 point and 10 rebound effort in 18 minutes during a blowout of Alcorn State. Expect him to be the first forward off the bench this season.
The rotation up front is pretty set, with the Morrises likely starting together, possibly with Little at the three, while Robinson is the first guy off the bench and Withey seeing his minutes jump. The guard rotation, however, will likely be in flux early until players differentiate themselves from each other. It is possible that Self will play three guards, with two of Taylor, Johnson and Selby snapping up two of the three spots (with the other the next guard off the bench) and perhaps the veteran Morningstar stepping back into a starting role for leadership and defensive tenacity as much as anything else. Releford could also wind up with minutes on the wing, and Reed will likely again be called upon for his three-point range to stretch defenses in spot duty.
This Jayhawk team may not have such big-time returning names as Aldrich and Collins or Rush and Chalmers, but if one of their hyper-talented guards steps up as a team leader and playmaker (my money is on Selby) and they are able to avoid injuries and the type of foul trouble that the Morris twins experienced at the end of last season, this team is very capable of making a deep run into March. Of course, in Lawrence, such quality is simply expected.
By all accounts, 2009-10 was supposed to be the year for Iowa State. Fourth-year head coach Greg McDermott was fortunate enough to get hypertalented forward Craig Brackins back for his junior season in Ames, despite the fact that he was projected as a mid-first round NBA draft pick. To go with Brackins, McDermott had plenty of surrounding talent and experience with seniors Marquis Gilstrap and Lucca Staiger and junior Diante Garrett. But the Cyclones lost all their up games in the non-conference schedule (although to their credit, they did take care of the teams they were supposed to beat), then proceeded to limp through a pathetic conference season, posting a 4-12 record with only two wins over Nebraska and a win over Colorado to show for their efforts prior to an upset of Kansas State in the season finale. And then things got really bad.
Soon after the season ended, Brackins declared for the NBA draft, Gilstrap lost an appeal to the NCAA for an additional year of eligibility due to an injury early in his career, but Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard announced his intentions to keep McDermott on board for another year. However, center Justin Hamilton announced he would be transferring out of the program in order to be closer to his home in Utah (he wound up in Baton Rouge, which suggests that Hamilton did not take Geography 101 at Iowa State). Next, guard Dominique Buckley announced his intentions to transfer. Then point guard Chris Colvin joined Hamilton and Buckley in jumping ship. All of a sudden, McDermott wasn’t so sure he wanted to stick around and in late April, McDermott resigned in order to head back to the Missouri Valley Conference and take over the Creighton position left vacant by Dana Altman’s move to Oregon. Within 24 hours of the McDermott announcement, Pollard named former Cyclone star Fred Hoiberg the new face of the program. But the bad times were just beginning for the Cyclones. Would-be senior guard Charles Boozer was arrested for assault the following weekend, and he subsequently announced that he would not be returning to the team for his senior season, but instead would be “seeking treatment.” Finally, forward LaRon Dendy announced he would be transferring and guard Antwon Oliver chimed in with the announcement that he would not be returning either.
So, what remains for the Cyclones? There are really just three players of any consequence that return from last season’s squad: Garrett, junior guard Scott Christopherson and senior center Jamie Vanderbeken. Garrett is the key cog, having started every game at the point for Iowa State the last two seasons. He can be a bit out of control at times, but he has coast-to-coast ability, is a great passer, can penetrate and score, and is a good team leader. Christopherson is a transfer from Marquette who got about 25 minutes a game last season, as well as a few starts. He is a deadly shooter (43% from behind the arc, 85% from the line), but doesn’t provide much beyond his shooting ability. And Vanderbeken, who earned a medical redshirt last season with a variety of injuries, is a pick-and-pop center with excellent shooting ability and pretty strong work ethic on the glass. All things considering, not a terrible group of returnees.
Hoiberg’s first bit of success as a coach in Ames was his ability to keep the incoming recruiting class intact, and given the shortness of the bench, all of these guys should get a chance to play immediately. There’s Jordan Railey, a long and thin center with developing post moves and a bit of a jumper. He’ll need to add strength, but he’ll at least provide an energetic body in the middle early in his career. Next up are a couple of power forwards: 6’9 Eric McKnight and 6’8 Calvin Godfrey. Both guys are long and athletic, they run the floor well and can block some shots. Godfrey probably has the more polished offensive game at this point, but McKnight might have more upside. Lastly, there are a couple of backcourt players in the class. Melvin Ejim is a 6’6 wing who can play either the two or the three, has great athleticism and length and a good midrange jumper that should develop into three-point range. He is not much of a threat off the bounce at this stage of his career, but that is something he could add, and he should be an excellent defensive wing. DeMarcus Phillips is a JuCo transfer who can play either guard spot, and will probably be the guy tapped to run the point when Garrett needs a break. He is more of a scoring point guard, with a crafty game, but the Cyclones will definitely need somebody to step up and score the ball, so Phillips could be the counted on to bring offense off the bench.
In addition to the incoming recruits, Hoiberg has also drawn in three transfers, two of whom could see some type of playing time this year. The biggest name is Royce White, a transfer from Minnesota. White never played a minute for the Golden Gophers after an alleged shoplifting incident and later a laptop theft on the Minnesota campus. The end for the White/Minnesota marriage was bizarre, with White releasing a rambling YouTube video which apparently announced his retirement from basketball. Hoiberg has talked with White and is convinced that those troubles are in the past, but it may be White’s immense talent and Iowa State’s equally immense need for a playmaker that helped tip the scales in Hoiberg’s mind. White was a top-20 prospect last season with post skills, the ability to put the ball on the floor and finish and strong defensive capabilities. He is petitioning the NCAA to be eligible immediately, with the answer to that petition expected later this summer. If he is allowed to play for the Cyclones this year, that would be a huge boost for the program, and White would probably be the number one offensive option for the squad and a frequent target of Garrett’s passes.
Off-guard Darion Anderson, an incoming transfer from Northern Illinois, is taking advantage of the NCAA rule allowing players who have completed their undergraduate degree to transfer out of their program to a different program without having to sit out a year, provided the new school offers a post-graduate degree that your old school did not, meaning he will be eligible to play immediately. He is a streaky scorer and a great rebounder for his position who could wind up starting immediately, boosting the team’s athleticism and offering a scoring option that may be very much needed.
The final incoming transfer is Chris Babb, from Penn State, who will not be eligible until next season. The combo-guard will have two remaining years of eligibility and should be ready to take over for Garrett when he graduates.
As bad as things got for the Cyclones in the middle of spring, they are actually not in terrible shape. If White is eligible this season (my guess, the NCAA grants him eligibility at the semester break), he’ll pair nicely with Garrett, and guys like Christopherson, Vanderbeken and Anderson could benefit from the ability of those two to break down defenses. Throw in the bouncy athleticism of McKnight and Godfrey, and this team could surprise some people. Unfortunately, they still play in a very stout Big 12, and making any headway against the powers at the top of the conference is a dicey proposition. But given that Hoiberg is going to get a pass for his first year regardless of what happens, this team will be playing without a lot of pressure on them, and they have enough talent to improve upon the mediocre record last year’s underachieving team produced, but probably not enough to challenge for an NCAA tournament bid.
Generally, finishing in eight place in your conference, four games under .500, is not considered a good year at all. But when it comes following a 1-15 conference record and three straight last place finishes, you’re definitely making progress. Enough progress, apparently, for the head coach to parlay that improvement into a new head coaching job in the ACC, which is exactly what Jeff Bzdelik did, heading out to Wake Forest following the season. After leading scorers Cory Higgins and Alec Burks expressed some initial anger over Bzdelik’s departure, they worked on campaigning for associate head coach Steve McClain to get the job, even hinting that Burks, after a very successful freshman season might decide to transfer if McClain were not named the head man. Well, in the end, Mike Bohn, the CU athletic director, plucked Tad Boyle from Northern Colorado to take over the program, with McClain landing in Indiana as an assistant. Boyle built up the Northern Colorado program from one of the worst in the nation to a 25-8 record last season in just four years, and got off to a pretty strong start in Boulder, convincing Burks and others to stick around, with only little-used freshman Keegan Hornbuckle deciding to transfer out of the program.
What remains is the most talented Buffalo team in some time, headlined by Higgins and Burks, who averaged 19 and 17 points per game, respectively, last season. With Boyle generally regarded as running a more up-tempo offense than Bzdelik (although Bzdelik’s reputation as a slow-it-down coach is more than a little exaggerated), and with an additional year under their belt, expect their offensive success to continue. The problem for the Buffaloes in 2009-10, however, was their inability to guard anybody, ranking in the bottom half of Division I in defensive efficiency. They didn’t rebound well, they didn’t defend the post well, and even though the forced a good amount of turnovers and got some steals, those often came with defenders overreaching for the ball, a tendency that led to Colorado trading a handful of easy hoops scored as a result of the turnovers for even more easy hoops given up by the out-of-position defender. And then there’s the fact that outside of Higgins, Burks and senior Marcus Relphorde, there just isn’t a ton of athleticism here.
To start with the good, the group of Higgins, Burks and Relphorde is a pretty strong trio of wings. The bad part here is that they’re all basically the same position with similar skillsets. Higgins and Burks both convert their offensive opportunities at a high rate, even as the focus of opposing defense, both shooting over 50% from the field last season. Relphorde isn’t quite the shooter that the other two are, but is an effective slasher and can knock down a three, and is generally a pretty strong third-option. The problem is, there is a big drop-off in talent after those three.
Nate Tomlinson got 21 starts at the point for Colorado last season, and while he is a nice little player who can distribute and take care of the ball and shoot the lights out from deep, he is more suited towards being a role player rather than a starter at a BCS school. Likewise, Austin Dufault, who got 26 starts up front for the Buffs, is a nice player, but doesn’t rebound particularly well for a four-man (let alone the center position that he was forced into often) isn’t strong enough to body up to power frontcourt players and isn’t quick enough to handle more athletic forwards. Unfortunately, they’ll probably both have to start again, putting what amounts to a four-guard lineup (with Tomlinson, Burks, Higgins and Relphorde) with the overmatched Dufault manning the middle.
There are some other options up front for Boyle. Incoming freshman Andre Roberson is a bit undersized to play the power forward on most teams, but with this team being thin and underathletic up front, the bouncy Roberson could get some early minutes. Roberson needs to add strength, but he is long, athletic and skilled, with some ballhandling skills and a perimeter game that could mesh well with the rest of the squad. Also in the two-man recruiting class is seven-footer Ben Mills, a solidly skilled big guy who, while not a great athlete, can at least bring some good size to the Colorado frontline. There are also a couple of returning bigs in 6’9 junior Trey Eckloff and 6’10 sophomore Shane Harris-Tunks. Harris-Tunks, a big Aussie, is the brightest prospect of the two. He is big and physical and rebounds the ball well, but was just a mess offensively as a freshman, turning the ball over at an alarming rate, although he did show some flashes of some coherent post moves. Eckloff, on the other hand, is more of a perimeter big guy, possessing a nice looking jumper but missing the strength and tenacity to compete inside. Any contributions Boyle gets from him will be bonus.
Depth on the perimeter will generally fall to 6’4 senior shooter Levi Knutson or 6’0 redshirt freshman Shannon Sharpe. Knutson is another guy who is probably below-average athletically, but makes up for it a bit with his accurate shooting. He’ll never be more than a role player here, but he could make some big shots for the Buffs. Sharpe redshirted last season following microfracture surgery, but before the injury he was regarded as the most explosive athlete the Buffaloes had signed in many years. If he is able to get back to full strength, Sharpe could add a bit of energy of the type this team has lacked, and he may just force his way onto the court, even in a crowded backcourt.
The Buffaloes are certainly headed in the right direction, with their days as basement dwellers in the Big 12 done (and not just because they aren’t going to be in the Big 12 after this season). They’ll need to adjust to their new head coach, and it may take a few games, but they should have the kinks worked out by the time conference play rolls around. Unfortunately, while they may be a better team than they were in 09-10, it is hard to see where they are going to make up much ground on their conference in 10-11, with the top half of the Big 12 (think Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M, Missouri, even Oklahoma State) looking pretty impenetrable. But with a little luck and some quick adaptations, they could at least remain in the NCAA at-large picture late into the season. At the very least, this will be a fun team to watch.
Last season was a banner season for the Baylor basketball program. Under seventh-year head coach Scott Drew, the Bears made it to the first ever Elite Eight in the school’s history, a feat made even more astounding by the depths from which the program has risen. Drew took over a program that had been rocked by scandal: the murder of player Patrick Dennehy by teammate Carlton Dotson the most salacious and tragic, but multiple NCAA violations by previous head coach Dave Bliss nearly as damning. But Drew has built the program slowly, surely and cleanly, combining recruiting coups with excellent coaching. And now, not only is Baylor coming off the best season in the school’s history, but there is still plenty of talent and plenty of hope that the team can build upon their accomplishments. While forward Ekpe Udoh has departed for the NBA with a year of eligibility remaining, and point guard Tweety Carter, the first major recruiting get for Drew, has used up his eligibility, plenty of talent remains, and the next big Baylor recruiting steal arrives in the form of 6’9 Perry Jones, a skilled big man who already has NBA scouts drooling.
But the focus of the Baylor offense will continue to be 6’4 guard LaceDarius Dunn, now back for his senior season. Dunn led the team in scoring last season with nearly 20 points a night, and along the way also established a school record for total points in a single season. He is one of the nation’s premiere perimeter players (and one of its most confident), a guy that is not only a great shooter (42% from three, 86% from the line), but a great scorer as well, capable of scoring not only as a bomber, but as a slashing threat as well. Likely ready to take over the starting point guard role is sophomore A.J. Walton, who showed himself to be a capable facilitator in relief of Carter last season. Walton also knocked down perimeter shots at a highly efficient rate (46% from three on limited attempts), was an effective and creative finisher in the lane, and excelled defensively. Walton will have to hold off exciting freshman guard Stargell Love, however. Love is a terrific athlete who excels in the open floor and will fit in nicely with the Baylor running game. While Walton has the edge due to his year of experience, Love may be the brighter prospect overall and he will certainly earn plenty of minutes from Drew.
Jones figures to be the big threat in the frontcourt, and given his NBA Lottery-level talent, he’ll be a force. He is long and skilled, with inside/outside game – a good face-up jumper, the ability to put the ball on the floor, plus plenty of post moves to go along with natural rebounding ability. The one knock on him has been inconsistency, so he’ll need to make sure to bring his hard hat every night in order to get the most out of his amazing talents. But while Jones will have the spotlight in the Baylor frontcourt, there are several other talented players ready to contribute. Quincy Acy returns for his junior season, and he’ll be asked to improve upon the nine points and five rebounds he contributed nightly last season. Acy is another spectacular athlete on a uber-talented Bear squad, capable of wow-inducing dunks and rebounds. Most of his scoring is done from point-blank range, but he converts those chances at a high rate – he made his first 20 field goal attempts in his college career on his way to shooting 66% from the field as a freshman, then improved upon that number by making 70% of his field goal attempts last season. Alongside Jones and Acy up front will likely be 6’9 junior small forward Anthony Jones (no relation to Perry), who started all 36 games for the Bears in his sophomore season. Jones is a long and skinny athlete with a smooth offensive game, ranging from glides along the baseline out to three-point ability. It would be nice to see Jones improve his percentages from downtown, but he contributes on the defensive side as well. Speaking of defense, the Bears relied heavily on the 2-3 zone during last season’s run to the Elite Eight, but with Udoh and departed seven-footer Josh Lomers missing from the inside, there is some doubt as to what type of defense Drew will go with. With a frontline of both Jones’ and Acy, each right around 6’9 with spectacular athleticism to boot, the coaching staff has some flexibility. This lineup would present a long and intimidating zone, but each individual is athletic enough to develop into a strong man-on-man defender. In the end, expect Drew to stick with the zone as the primary defense, but mix in more man defense than they did last year.
The Baylor bench will be made up of a handful of young prospects. Junior wing Fred Ellis is the most experienced (he got about six minutes a night in his 29 appearances last year) of a pretty inexperienced bunch. Ellis is a skinny and solid player off the bench who rebounds well for his size, but seems destined to be a limited role player. Sophomore guard Nolan Dennis got a few more minutes a night than Ellis did last season, but seems to have more upside. While he’ll remain behind Dunn in the rotation, he is a capable offensive player who should see his minutes increase in his second year. Cory Jefferson, a 6’9 sophomore center, also got a handful of minutes last season, but he also figures to have his best days ahead of him. Jefferson has arms that seem to go on forever, and uses them to be a strong shotblocker. He also has some good offensive skills, with a little bit of a midrange jumper, and the ability to put the ball on the floor and go by a defender. Fellow sophomore Givon Crump is a combo-forward with excellent scoring ability, range out to the arc and a rebounding mentality. Finally, there is incoming freshman Bakari Turner, a 6’3 off-guard who is a good athlete with in-the-gym range. Given that Turner sits behind Dunn and Dennis (not to mention the two point guards), he’ll likely play a limited role as a freshman, but could be an important cog down the line.
The Bears’ run to the Elite Eight last year should not be mistaken for a fluke; Drew is definitely building a program here. This Baylor roster is jam-packed with elite athletes who should thrive in the open offense, but replacing Carter, both as the floor general and a leader off the court, will be no easy task. While Walton and Love are both talented guards, they have big shoes to fill, although the presence of Dunn’s dead-eye and Perry Jones’ athletic skill ready to bail them out on bad possessions should ease the transition. There is as much talent on this year’s edition of the Bears as there was last season, but they’ll need one of those guards to help bring everything together for Baylor to match or exceed last season’s successes.
After a wild couple of weeks, it looks like conference realignment is done, for now. I still expect that the Big Ten has some more tricks up its sleeve, but they may wait until next offseason to break them out. My wrap up of the winners and losers of conference realignment is up at RTC.
Previously there was also my post after Texas made it official and pulled back from the conference expansion ledge and remained in the Big 12 (or Little 12, or Big 10-But Not The One That Plays in the Rose Bowl, or Big 12-Lite, or Texas and the nine dwarfs).
Also coming up in the next couple of days at RTC, will be more of my draft profiles (upcoming Elliot Williams, Ed Davis, Solomon Alabi and Damion James), with a whole host of other draft profiles from all the great writers at Rush the Court. Check out all the draft profiles here.
And, with conference expansion no longer taking up the vast majority of my attention, I'm looking forward to picking back up where I left off with conference-by-conference team previews. In fact, look for a Georgetown preview in just a little bit.
There has been some more news over the weekend, such as a last-ditch effort by Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe to keep the Big 12 together, all while Texas A&M hitches up it's skirt to show a little more leg to the SEC, but we expect to know by Tuesday night at the latest whether the Pac-16 will be reality or whether it will be the Pac-12 with Utah joining up and the MWC basically just substituting Boise State for the Utes.
And, of course, we expect there to be a surprise or two along the way and more than a couple wild rumors.
As we head towards summer, we’re starting to get a good feel for some of the non-conference games we’ll see next season. Last week, we had a couple more tournament and special events announce their fields, or at least part of their fields.
The Las Vegas Invitational announced a field of Kansas, Arizona, Santa Clara and Ohio U. The headliner matchup is obviously the Kansas/Arizona matchup, which will be played on the evening of November 27 at the Orleans Arena.
And, speaking of Kansas, rough news for the Jayhawks the last couple of days. Aside from being an absolute afterthought in conference expansion/realignment talk, they reported last week that incoming freshman Josh Selby had broken an arm and would be out 4-6 weeks, then at the alumni basketball game, Marcus Morris bruised his back and had to be carried off the court, while minutes later Markieff Morris and Thomas Robinson collided with each other and came up bleeding, Robinson with a broken nose and Morris with a cut in his mouth that required three stitches.
Elsewhere, the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic announced the schools that will host the regional round of their “tournament”: Illinois, Maryland, Pittsburgh, and Texas. Each school will host two games against lesser schools before advancing to the semifinals (regardless of the outcomes of the regional round games) in Madison Square Garden on November 18 and 19. The matchups for the semifinals have not yet been announced, but it would seem that Pitt/Maryland and Illinois/Texas would make the most sense in the semis, as Pitt should be the highest ranked of those four teams and Maryland the lowest. A good set of games though, however.
The SEC-Big East Invitational announced its matchups as well, a couple of double-headers in December. The first set of doubleheaders will take place on December 8th in Louisville, with Arkansas and Seton Hall serving as the warm-up for Notre Dame and Kentucky. Pittsburgh will host the other doubleheader at its place, with Auburn and Rutgers squaring off in the preliminary bout and Tennessee taking on the Panthers for the nightcap on December 11th. Of the four games, the Pitt/Tennessee game looks to be by far the highlight.
The ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchups have already been announced. On Monday, November 29th, Virginia will travel to Minnesota for the opening game. On November 30th, North Carolina at Illinois will highlight a slate of five games, with Ohio State at Florida State, Michigan at Clemson, Georgia Tech at Northwestern and Iowa at Wake Forest filling out the night. The games for December 1st are highlighted by what figures to be the best non-conference game of the season, Michigan State (with or without Tom Izzo) traveling to Durham to face the reigning champion Duke Blue Devils. However, there are a couple of other really intriguing games that night, with Purdue traveling to Virginia Tech and Wisconsin hosting a young and hopeful N.C. State team. Indiana at Boston College and Maryland at Penn State round out the schedule. Miami will be the ACC team sitting out the challenge this year, but maybe they can schedule a matchup with Nebraska, just for fun.
The Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series matchups have also already been announced, and in the wake of the Pac-16 rumors, this series should have added significance this year. The UCLA/Kansas matchup on Thursday, December 2nd stands out as a matchup between two perennial powers, but UCLA will have to show some severe improvement to stand up to the Jayhawks this season. Other very interesting matchups include Arizona State at Baylor (on the 2nd as well) and Washington at Texas A&M on December 11th. The rest of the schedule includes USC/Nebraska (Nov. 27), Missouri/Oregon (Dec. 2), Kansas State/Washington State (Dec. 3), Oregon State/Colorado, Cal/Iowa State, Texas Tech/ Washington (all on Dec. 4), Texas/USC, Oklahoma/Arizona (both on Dec. 5) and Stanford/Oklahoma State on Dec. 21.
Other tournaments in the style of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic (run by the Gazelle Group, which has an apparent aversion to running fair win-and-advance tournaments, after the Kentucky/Gardner-Webb upset of a couple years back), in which four teams host regional round games at their places before advancing to a semifinal round (regardless of the outcomes of the early rounds) at a neutral site include the CBE Classic and the Legend’s Classic. While the format of the tournament is not ideal, they certainly get good fields (and why not, guaranteed gimme-games at home and guaranteed schedule-booster neutral site games). The CBE features Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas State and Marquette, while the Legend’s features Georgia Tech, Michigan, Syracuse and UTEP. Clearly the CBE is the better of those two fields, with a potential Duke/Kansas State final, although all four of those matchups figure to be intriguing. The Legend’s field lacks a really top-tier team (although, I’ve counted out Boeheim’s teams far too early in the past, and I wouldn’t doubt that I’m doing it again now), however the names on the unis will certainly look impressive.
The strongest field of the traditional tournaments looks to be the Maui Invitational. Headlined by Kentucky and Michigan State, the field also includes the host Chaminade as well as Connecticut, Oklahoma, Virginia, Washington and Wichita State. While no bracket has been released a UConn/Kentucky, Michigan State/Washington set of semifinals looks pretty inviting.
Of the other ESPN-sponsored preseason tournaments, the best belongs to the second iteration of the Diamond Head Classic, to be held around Christmas. The event features two of last year’s Elite Eight in Butler and Baylor, with Florida State, Hawaii, Mississippi State, San Diego, Utah and Washington State rounding out the field.
The rest of the ESPN tourneys are good, not great. The Old Spice Classic features Boston College, California, Georgia, Manhattan, Notre Dame, Temple, Texas A&M and Wisconsin. We’ll get a first good look at Steve Donahue’s BC club, with likely two of Temple, Texas A&M or Wisconsin matching up in the final.
The 76 Classic field is Cal State Northridge, DePaul, Murray State, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Tulsa, UNLV and Virginia Tech make up the field, with Murray State having replaced Penn State, which withdrew due to scheduling concerns. UNLV, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma State look to be the strongest teams in the field, and it would make sense that those three and Murray State would be matched up to potentially play in the second round, with perhaps UNLV and Virginia Tech on opposite sides of the bracket for a potential final matchup.
The Puerto Rico Tip-Off has North Carolina as the highlight, but West Virginia, Vanderbilt and Minnesota will also bring some interest. Davidson, Hofstra, Nebraska and Western Kentucky round out that field.
The Charleston Classic is still in the process of building its field, but so far Charlotte, East Carolina, George Mason, Georgetown, N.C. State and Wofford make up the rest of the field with two teams still to be determined. The field is off to a good start however, with a Georgetown/NC State final being an intriguing possibility.
And finally for the ESPN-sponsored events, there will also be a new tournament this year, the Cancun Governor’s Cup,held between December 22-24 and featuring a field of Appalachian State, Colorado State, East Tennessee State, Ole Miss, Northeastern, Saint Louis, Southern Miss and Texas State.
In other tournaments, the NIT Season Tip-Off has not been officially announced, but it has been reported that Tennessee, UCLA and Villanova will be the headliners of the field. While the semifinals of this tournament will be played at Madison Square Garden, this is a traditional tournament in which the teams have to, you know, actually win their early round games to advance, so it remains to be seen if UCLA will even get to New York.
The Paradise Jam is made up of Alabama, Clemson, Iowa, Long Beach State, Old Dominion, Seton Hall, Saint Peters and Xavier, a decent field with the potential for a mid-major delight in the finals, with Xavier and Old Dominion perhaps the favorites there.
The Chicago Invitational will include Purdue, Richmond, Southern Illinois and Wright State, and could feature an interesting Purdue/Richmond final.
The Great Alaska Shooutout is a shadow of its former self, but at least was able to get eight teams for this season’s edition after a field of just six teams last year. Arizona State and St. John’s are the biggest names here, with host Alaska-Anchorage joining Ball State, Drake, Houston Baptist, Southern Utah and Weber State.
The Cancun Challenge has not completed their field yet, but have announced La Salle, Northern Iowa, North Florida, Providence and Wyoming so far with three more schools to come.
There will also be the South Padre Island Invitational, but all I can find on that so far is that Texas Tech will be in the field.
Me, I’ll be at the 76 Classic, but one of these year’s I’ve gotta do the Maui Invitational. Although, as much as I love college basketball, knowing I could be snorkeling in the Pacific after a quick trip through the gymnasium doors would be a distracting proposition. Maybe it would be best to save Maui for the offseason.
Obviously, things have been going crazy on the conference expansion front the last couple of days. I've got a couple of posts up in the last couple days at RTC on the issue, just never had a chance to post them over here. Consider that done now.
I'm hoping to have some time in the next couple of days to pick back up with my Big East previews (Georgetown is on deck), and some other stuff, including more draft profiles and some early looks at next season's pre-season schedules.
I've got another article up over at Rush the Court dealing with the rumors this week about the Pac-10 potentially inviting six Big 12 members to join up and create the first in a potential string of new NCAA superconferences.
And, while you're over there, maybe check out their series of draft profiles of last year's college stars. I've got a couple in there so far (Derrick Favors and Ekpe Udoh so far, Gani Lawal, Elliot Williams and others coming up soon), but all of the articles so far are really excellent.
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