Championship Contenders
Arkansas
John Calipari absolutely nailed it this year on the recruiting trail, bringing in 2 of the best freshmen in the country in Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas, while also adding one of the biggest impact transfers in former Florida State big man Malique Ewin. Thomas and Acuff Jr. will form what might be the best backcourt in college basketball, and they’ll be joined by a deep supporting cast more than capable of cutting down the nets in Indianapolis this season.
The Razorbacks already appear to be in post-season form, and I’m looking for them to start the year quickly and explosively to reach their December 20th matchup against Houston still undefeated. That would mean they’d already collected a big statement-win on the road at Michigan State, as well as victories over three top-11 teams in Duke, Louisville, and Texas Tech.
If Arkansas can avoid any major injuries and Coach Calipari can manage his lineups correctly, this team has a great chance to deliver the 2nd National Championship for both program and coach. This is one of the biggest and most athletic rosters in the country, and the young freshmen guards bring the energy and leadership that may have been lacking from last year’s team.
Florida
While everyone is talking about how good Florida’s frontcourt is, and rightly so, it seems like the rest of the team is equally as motivated to win back-to-back championships this season. Thomas Haugh looks like one of the best players in the country, and although I’ve only gotten a brief glimpse of this team in practice, they looked much more skilled and organized than I expected. An exhibition win against a very good Illinois team is impressive, and I look for the Gators to roll into a December 9th matchup with UCONN undefeated. That would mean they got early wins against Arizona and on the road at Duke, and I expect them to battle Arkansas for supremacy in a stacked SEC conference.
Gonzaga
Gonzaga is coming off a couple of down years according to their lofty standards, but this might be the year that Mark Few gets back to another Final 4. Tyon Grant-Foster has been cleared to play and makes them a much more explosive team, giving them the elite athleticism they haven’t traditionally had. The veteran frontcourt of Braden Huff and Graham Ike should dominate down low, and they’re surrounded by a deep and versatile group of guards with great size and a good mix of shooters and slashers. This team has the talent to compete for a National Championship this season, and it looks like their offense is already clicking on all cylinders before the season officially begins.
Houston
Houston looks about the same as they usually do. They’re extremely tough defensively once again, and although they lost a couple very important pieces from last year’s runner-up team in LJ Cryer and J’Wan Roberts, they reloaded with elite freshmen Kingston Flemings and Chris Cenac Jr. Flemings is a complete pest with a relentless motor on both ends of the floor, and Chris Cenac Jr gives them a more skilled big than has been typical in the past. Houston will once again be extremely tough to beat, but their depth is a question mark, and they’ll need a few of the other freshmen to contribute if they hope to win it all come April.
UCONN
Danny Hurley will have his team back in the championship conversation this season after deciding to give someone else a chance last year. The Huskies are a veteran squad with tons of big-game experience, and the additions of Georgia transfer Silas Demery Jr. and freshman Eric Reibe will make this UCONN team very difficult to defend. Solo Ball and Alex Karaban return to make another run at it, with Karaban looking to close out his collegiate career with 3 National Titles.
Illinois
Coach Brad Underwood looks to have built a recruiting pipeline to Serbia and Croatia. Freshman David Mirkovic might be the best player in college basketball that almost no one has heard of, while transfer Andrej Stojakovic, son of NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic, will also bring his complete offensive game to Champaign. They’ll join 2 centers with the last name Ivisic, Tomislav who returns from last year and will almost certainly play in the NBA, while Zvonimir transfers in from Arkansas to join his 3rd team in 3 years.
Kylan Boswell and Ben Humrichous return in the backcourt to give this team solid continuity, balance, leadership, and big-game experience. Is this the year Coach Underwood finally takes his team to a Final 4?
Under the Radar Sleepers
Washington
Washington has one of the most skilled centers I’ve seen come in to college basketball in awhile, Hannes Steinbach. He nearly always makes the right play, and there’s no doubt he’ll make the rest of the team much better if they play through him. Fellow freshman JJ Mandaquit is a great leader and competitor who also makes really good decisions, and the Huskies offense has operated with great ball-movement at times with him at the helm.
The freshman are joined by talented USC transfers Desmond Claude and Wesley Yates III, as well as Bryson Tucker from Indiana and Jacob Ognacevic from Lipscomb. Coach Danny Sprinkle has done a masterful job at both Montana St. and Utah St., and I look for him to turn things around in a big way at Washington this season.
Creighton
Creighton has been a consistently good program under Coach Greg McDermott since he arrived in 2010, and this year’s team is probably a little underappreciated at #23 in the preseason polls. Despite losing their top 3 players from last season, including Ryan Kalkbrenner who is now the starting center for the Charlotte Hornets, it looks like Jasen Green and transfer Austin Swartz are ready to step up and take their place.
The Blue Jays are a great passing team with shooters all over the floor. Their offense is already operating with free-flowing movement that creates open shots for everyone, so this squad will likely be ahead of most other teams on that end of the floor to start the season.
Most Overrated
Purdue
It’s a little confusing that Purdue is the preseason #1. I get it that they’re returning the core of the team, but they lack the athleticism of other top teams, and while they’re certainly tough to beat, especially at home, I don’t even have them in the top 10 to start the year.
St. John’s
St. John’s lost a lot from a team that earned a 2-seed and nearly made the Elite 8 last season. They’re expecting big contributions from a lot of new faces, but it could take them awhile to gel together. Right now they look pretty sloppy and out of sync, so it could take this group a little longer to find their identity and play to their potential.
Top Players to Watch
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