Hoop, Line And Sinker

A weekly column on men's college basketball.

Monday, November 14, 2016

16 Nov 7 -- Keep It Running (PRESEASON)

(With last week's election, one group now controls the Presidency, the Senate, the House, the bulk of the Governorships and even down to the County level. They get to decide who's allowed to vote; they get to draw up the districts to dilute the representative power of their opposition. When a state can rule that no City under its jurisdiction can enact specific laws [as North Carolina did in prohibiting any law allowing its citizens to sue for discrimination based on sexuality], you can't even get your case into the legal system in order to appeal the decision above the local bias that's oppresing you. Once they remake the Supreme Court, there will be no recourse for anyone anywhere to evade their subjugation.
     People in power rarely share it, except on their own terms.
     I'm not religious, so I can't even close with "Heaven help us all". -- Ron)

Volume XXI, No. 1 - 16 Nov 7: PRESEASON - [] Top 25 Ballot

Keep It Running

Last year, one rule change had a dramatic effect on the state of College Basketball while one new trend didn't quite make as big an impact as expected. The new 30-second clock did, unfortunately, did give us some hardly-worth-it runaway scores between juggernauts and patsies in the preseason (and some downright unwatchable run-and-chuck monstrosities when two bad teams kept hoisting three-pointers). Fortunately, when the postseason came around, it gave us an elevated quality of offensive-minded games when capable teams faced off, culminating in one of the greatest NCAA finals ever (and certainly the highest quality endplay as first North Carolina and then Villanova converted spectacular clutch three-pointers as the Wilcats prevailed).
     The top-heavy Mega-ACC placed 8 teams in the Sweet 16, and four in the Elite 8 (but it has still yet to have its own intramural NCAA final [like the BIG EAST, BIG 10 and the old BIG 8 have already done]). Individually, last year's Player Of The Year, xDenzel Washington(Michigan State), was treated to one of the biggest first-round upsets in NCAA history when his Spartans were bounced by Middle Tennessee. Meanwhile, the POY Runner-Up -- bBuddy Hield(Oklahoma), did lead his three-happy Sooners to the Final Four (but "Live by the Three" became "Die by the Three" in a soul-crushing Final Four collapse in the Semis). Meanwhile, Golden Child Of The Year, xBen Simmons(LSU), couldn't even lead his team to an NCAA bid. The increased use of immediately eligible Graduate Transfers didn't have quite as dramatic an impact as it might have (especially after Louisville [with GT Of The Year bDamion Lee] self-imposed a postseason ban).

Each of last year's Final Four teams lost a headline player, so none of them enters the preseason as the favorite. Instead, it's Elite 8 Oregon (with fDillon Brooks leading a deep roster) that is the most intact and starts out as the overall No.1. Both Villanova and North Carolina have GC newcomers (but, in both cases, the talent coming in doesn't cover the talent that went out). It's Duke (already with Preseason Player Of The Year bGrayson Allen at the helm) that has two GCs ready for the spotlight in 6-10 fHarry Giles and 6-8 fJayson Tatum. Kentucky's annual reload brings us a couple of GCs in 6-3 gDe'Aaron Fox and 6-10 fErice "Bam" Adebayo. Kansas' GC headliner is 6-8 tJosh Jackson. Michigan State needs a lot from GC 6-7 fMiles Bridges. Restocked UCLA hopes GC 6-6 fLonzo Ball can lead it back to relevance. (Standing pat against the conquering hordes, Wisconsin returns all five starters from last year's Sweet 16 team and figures to be a real Final Four contender all year long.)
     None of the GTs were program-changers last year, but some may be leading characters in this year's story. Florida expects much from (ex-College of Charleston) 6-6 tCanyon Barry (yet another son of NBA-legend fRick Barry). Xavier's front line hopes rest on (ex-Florida A&M) 6-6 fMalcolm Bernard
(as well as star undergrad transfer [ex-Norfolk State] 6-9 cRaShid Gaston). Gonzaga welcomes (ex-California) 6-4 gJordan Mathews (to complement star undergrad transfer [ex-Washington] pNigel Williams-Goss).

The B-Majors once again hold the lion's share of the talent with the ACC leading the way this year with the PAC-12, BIG 12, BIG EAST, BIG 10 and SEC not far behind. On the upswing: ATLANTIC SUN, METRO ATLANTIC, MID-AMERICAN, IVY and PATRIOT; on the downswing: AMERICAN, CONFERENCE USA, MOUNTAIN WEST, MISSOURI VALLEY, BIG WEST and SUMMIT.
     12-TIME DEFENDING BIG 12 TITLE CHAMP Kansas is on a mission to make it 13 (and tie the all-time record set by UCLA from 1967-79 in the AAWU/PAC-8/PAC-10). No reason not to expect three-time defending BIG EAST title champ Villanova to stop now. "Batman and Robin" (pFred Van Vleet and bRon Baker) have exited the stage at Wichita State, so the three-year run of MISSOURI VALLEY titles may be done as well. Valparaiso should continue its run of HORIZON titles (FOUR OF THE PAST FIVE). Alas, the cupboard is bare now at Stephen F. Austin without its star player or coach, so the run of FOUR-STRAIGHT SOUTHLAND TITLES is likely over.
     The WEST COAST (where St. Mary's five returning starters will again push to make a dent in Gonzaga's FIFTEEN-OUT-OF-SIXTEEN WCC TITLE run) and ATLANTIC 10 (with VCU, Dayton and Rhode Island) both will again knock on the door of B-Major status rather than Mid-Major. The AMERICAN (with Cincinnati and Connecticut) will do well to stay a Mid-Major this year while the MOUNTAIN WEST and MISSOURI VALLEY may both be headed for 1BC pumpkinhood. Meanwhile, the IVY LEAGUE (with Princeton and Harvard) and CONFERENCE USA (UAB) both look to add to their 32-Splash runs (three-out-of-four) and the SUN BELT could well make it three-straight itself (thanks to Texas-Arlington [cKevin Hervey]).
     Spurned by the NCAA Selection Committee last year, but with the headliners back for another shot, St. Mary's, Monmouth (gJustin Robinson), Valpariaso (cAlec Powers) and Belmont (fEvan Bradds) should all be splashworthy (if not more in the case of StMary). True 1BCs with noteworthy stars include Lehigh (cTim Kempton) and Idaho State (pEthan Telfair).

Only one team changed conferences over the summer -- Coastal Carolina moved up from the BIG SOUTH to the SUN BELT. Northern Kentucky(HORIZON) is now fully eligible for the Division-I postseason. Hipper monikers have baked in at "Fort Wayne" (not IPFW) and "Eastern Shore" (not Maryland[Eastern Shore]). North Dakota finally settled on "The Fighting Hawks" as its official nickname (after going without one for some few years).
     With its new 4-team conference tournament (at The PALESTRA, no less), the IVY LEAGUE could even be in line for two bids. (To be in the Anti-Spoiler game, though, your league needs to be rated highly (or else any loss in conference play disqualifies you for an At-Large bid).
     In the coaching ranks: Larry Brown retired from SMU. Jamie Dixon left Pittsburgh for his alma mater, TCU; that let Kevin Stallings jump ship from Vanderbilt to Pitt; then, Bryce Drew left Valparaiso for Vandy. Johnny Dawkins' exit from Stanford (and eventually to UCF) let Jarrod Haase move up from UAB to Stanf. Jim Crews' exit from St. Louis gave Travis Ford somewhere to land after exiting Oklahoma State; meanwhile, Brad Underwood moved up from Stephen F. Austin to OkSt. Brian Gregory's exit from Georgia Tech let Josh Pastner leave Memphis; Tubby Smith left Texas Tech for Memph; Chris Beard left Arkansas-Little Rock (and was at UNLV briefly) and eventually wound up at TxT. Notable former players giving coaching a try include: NBA/Terry Porter(Portland), Damon Stoudamire(Pacific), Donyell Marshall(Central Connecticut State), Steve Henson(Texas-San Antonio) and Brian Earl(Cornell).
     The NCAA joined other sports leagues in revoking events from the state of North Carolina (in response to its anti-Gay/Lesbian/Transgender laws enacted in the past year). I have long wanted the kushy "ACC home Pod" removed because of its unfair advantage for the likes of Duke and North Carolina, year-in and year-out getting a two-round home court advantage into the Sweet 16 -- whatever the reason, at least it's gone. What was to be a Greensboro, NC Pod this year is now a Greenville, SC Pod. (If only Clemson or South Carolina,
[or even College of Charleston] could get a splashworthy run going this season!)

The preseason favorite for Player Of The Year is undoubtedly Duke's bGrayson Allen (love him or hate him); fNigel Hayes(Wisconsin), fDillon Brooks(Oregon) and bJosh Hart(Villanova) should all be in the mix. (pMonte Morris[Iowa State] probably can't get his team highly ranked enough to get into the conversation.)
     Among the SuperFrosh, tJosh Jackson(Kansas), fMiles Bridges(Michigan State) and fLonzo Ball(UCLA) all figure to have solo spotlights as their teams' best player while Duke's fHarry Giles and fJayson Tatum as well as Kentucky's gDe'Aaron Fox and cErice "Bam" Adebayo will have to share the focus.
     The SuperGrads have yet to make their mark, but Florida's tCanyon Barry, California's gJordan Mathews and Xavier's fMalcolm Bernard all should be key figures.

- - - - - -

Friday starts things off with a couple of high-profile matchups as Kansas faces Indiana while Arizona meets Michigan State in the ARMED FORCES CLASSIC in Honolulu. In the VETERANS DAY CLASSIC at Annapolis, Marquette plays Vanderbilt while Navy hosts Ohio State. In the over-the-top PAC-12 CHINA GAME, it's Harvard "visiting" Stanford in Shangai. Elsewhere, St. Mary's hosts last year's CBI Champ, Nevada. All of the other big preseason tournaments start off with "Big Dog hosting Little Dog" WarmUp games this first weekend.
     (Don't forget ESPN's 24-hour(+) TIP-OFF MARATHON at the beginning of next week: Monday week overnight/all-day Tuesday week, including Gonzaga hosting San Diego State, BYU hosting Princeton, Oregon visiting Baylor and Dayton visiting Alabama concluding with the CHAMPIONS CLASSIC double-header [this year in New York] featuring Duke-Kansas and Kentucky-Michigan State. And the GAVITT GAMES [BIG EAST/BIG 10 CHALLENGE] run all next week (beginning Monday week with the best matchup as Purdue hosts Villanova) -- (no tie this year; look for the BIG 10 to win in a rout: 7-2).

This year, we're on the road to PHOENIX!!!

-- Ron
Key games this week:
Friday:
@Xavier-Lehigh, @StMarys-Nevada, @SetonHall-FairleighDickinson(NJ), @SanDiegoSt-SanDiego(SanDiegoCA), @Florida-@FLGulfCoast(FL)(@JacksonvilleFL), @Niagara-Buffalo(NY)(BIG4), @Northeastern-BostonU(BostonMA),
ARMED FORCES CLASSIC DblHdr @ HonoluluHI
-(Kansas-Indiana, Arizona-MichiganSt),
VETERANS DAY CLASSIC DblHdr @ AnnapolisMD/Navy/
-(Marquette-Vanderbilt, @Navy-OhioSt),
PAC-12 CHINA GAME 1Off @ ShanghaiCHINA
-(Harvard-@Stanford),
Friday-Sunday:
CABLE CAR CLASSIC RndRob3 @ SantaClaraCA/SantaClara/
-(@SantaClara, @UCDavis, TennesseeSt, NoArizona),
Friday-Monday week:
RAINBOW CLASSIC RndRob3 @ HonluluHI/Hawaii/
-(@Hawaii, SIUEdwardsville, FLAtlantic, Texas St),
Friday-Sunday week:
HALL OF FAME-A TIP-OFF 2x4 RndRob2 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ UncasvilleCT/MOHEGAN/
-(A: Duke, PennSt, {GrandCanyon}, Albany;
   RhodeIsland, Cincinnati, Brown, Marist),
Friday-Tue 22 Nov:
2K CLASSIC 2x4 WarmUp2 on-campus; Cons 3rd/Semis @ IndianapolisIN/IUPUI/; 3rd/Semis @ NewYorkNY/MSG/
-(A: Michigan, Marquette; @IUPUI, Howard;
   B: Pittsburgh, SMU; EaMichigan, GardnerWebb),
Friday-Wed 23 Nov:
MAUI INVITATIONAL 8Bracket WarmUp1 on-campus; Cons 3rd/Semis @ WestPointNY/ArmyWP/; 2nd/Qtrs @ LahainaHI/{Chaminade}/
-(Main: Oregon-Georgetown, Wisconsin-Tennessee, NCarolina-@{Chaminade}, Connecticut-OklahomaSt;
   Cons: Chattanooga-CArkansas; ArkansasSt-@ArmyWP),
LAS VEGAS-MAIN EVENT 2x4 RndRob2 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ LasVegasNV/MGM/
-(A: Valparaiso, Alabama, BallSt, CoppinSt;
   B: BYU, StLouis, CoCarolina, SoUtah),
Friday-Fri 25 Nov:
CBE CLASSIC 2x4 RndRob2,4 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ KansasCityMO
-(A: @Kansas, UAB, Furman, ARPineBluff;
   B: Georgia, GeoWashington, Siena, UNCAsheville),
Saturday:
CVC-NEO MAC[1-0]/HORIZON[0-1] CLASSIC DblHdr @ YoungstownOH/YoungstownSt/
-(@YoungstownSt-@Akron[OH][NEO], @KentSt-@ClevelandSt[OH][NEO]),
Saturday-Fri 25 Nov:
LEGENDS CLASSIC 2x4 WarmUp2 on-campus; Cons 3rd/Semis @ CheneyWA/EaWashington/; 3rd/Semis @ BrroklynNY/BARCLAYS/
-(A: NotreDame, Colorado; LAMonroe, Seattle;
   B: Texas, Northwestern, @EaWashington, Bryant),
Saturday-Sat 26 Nov:
GS SHOOTOUT RndRob4 on-campus
-(@OhioSt, Marshall, WeCarolina, JacksonSt, NCCentral),
Sunday-Fri 25 Nov:
BATTLE 4 ATLANTIS 8Bracket WarmUp1 on-campus; Cons RndRob2 @ FtMyersFL/FLGulfCoast/; 2nd/Qtrs @ ParadiseIslandBAHAMAS
-(Main: MichiganSt-StJohns, VCU-Baylor, Louisville-OldDominion, LSU-WichitaSt;
   Cons: LongBeachSt, SUNYB, @FLGulfCoast),
Sunday-Sat 26 Nov:
EMERALD COAST CLASSIC 2x4 RndRob2 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ DestinFL
-(A: Virginia, Iowa, TXRGValley, GramblingSt;
   B: Providence, Memphis, StFrancisNY, SavannahSt),
Sunday-Sun 27 Nov:
(new)BLUEGRASS SHOWCASE RndRob4 on-campus
-(@Kentucky, Duquesne, ClevelandSt, TNMartin, Canisius),
BROOKLYN-THANKSGIVING-A INVITATIONAL RndRob4 on-campus; Cons RndRob2 @ WorcesterMA/HolyCross/; Feature @ BrooklynNY/BARCLAYS/
-(Sat 26 Nov/Feature: @Syracuse-SCarolina;
   Cons: Monmouth, @HolyCross, SCState),
WOODEN LEGACY/ANAHEIM CLASSIC 8Bracket WarmUp1 on-campus; 2nd/Qtrs @ FullertonCA/CalStFullerton/, AnaheimCA/HONDA/
-(Main: Dayton-Nebraska, @UCLA-Portland, VirginiaTech-NewMexico, TexasA&M-@CalStFullerton;
   Warm: CalStNorthridge),
(new)SCARLET KNIGHT SHOWCASE RndRob4 on-campus
-(@Rutgers, Drexel, NTexas, Niagara, Hartford),
- - - - - -
Monday week:
@Gonzaga-SanDiegoSt, @BYU-Princeton,
Monday week-Tuesday week:
    (TIP-OFF MARATHON)
  • Monday
  • (6Pet): @ {wFlorida St} v {wConnecticut}
  • (7Pet): @ Cincinnati v Albany (HALL OF FAME-A TIP-OFF)
  • (8Pet): @ {wStanford} v {wTexas}
  • (9Pet): @ Ohio St v NC Central (GS SHOOTOUT)
  • (10Pet): @ BYU v Princeton
  • (12Met): @ Gonzaga v San Diego St
  • (2Aet): @ Pacific v Green Bay
  • (4.15Aet): @ Hawaii v FL Atlantic (RAINBOW CLASSIC)
  • Tuesday
  • (6.30Aet): @ Hartford v Niagara
  • (8.45Aet): @ Manhattan v Winthrop (NIT SEASON TIP-OFF)
  • (11Aet): @ Stephen F Austin v Longwood
  • (1.15Pet): @ Alabama v Dayton
  • (3.30Pet): @ Baylor v Oregon
  • (7Pet): @Kentucky v @Michigan St (CHAMPIONS CLASSIC)
  • (9.30Pet): @Duke v @Kansas (CHAMPIONS CLASSIC)
Monday week-Friday week:
GAVITT TIP-OFF GAMES - BIG EAST[0-0;1]/BIG 10[0-0;1] on-campus
[Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Nebraska and Penn State all do not play.;
  Xavier does not play.]
-(Mon week: @Purdue-Villanova;
   Tue week: @Creighton-Wisconsin, @Georgetown-Maryland[DC/MD];
   Wed week: @Butler-Northwestern;
   Thu week: Michigan-Marquette[@NewYorkNY/MSG/], @Iowa-SetonHall, @OhioSt-Providence, @DePaul-Rutgers;
   Fri week: @Minnesota-StJohns),
Monday week-Sat 26 Nov:
CANCUN CHALLENGE 2x4 WarmUp/CoolDown2 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ CancunMEXICO
-(A: Purdue, UtahSt, GeorgiaSt, NJIT;
   B: TexasTech, Auburn, EaKentucky, IdahoSt),
Monday week-Sun 27 Nov:
NIT SEASON TIP-OFF 2x4 RndRob2,4 on-campus; 3rd/Semis @ BrooklynNY/BARCLAYS/
-(A: WVirginia, Illinois; Manhattan, NewHampshire;
   B: FloridaSt, Temple; Detroit, Winthrop),
Tuesday week:
@Baylor-Oregon, @NCarolina-LongBeachSt, @Alabama-Dayton, @Vanderbilt-Belmont(NashvilleTN), MorganSt-Towson(BaltimoreMD),
CHAMPIONS CLASSIC DblHdr @ NewYorkNY/MSG/
-(@Duke-@Kansas, @Kentucky-@MichiganSt).
Top 25 - 16 Nov 7: PRESEASON - [] Column
  1. Oregon
  2. Duke
  3. North Carolina
  4. Kentucky
  5. Villanova
  6. Xavier
  7. Wisconsin
  8. Kansas
  9. St. Mary's
  10. Gonzaga
  11. Arizona
  12. Michigan State
  13. VCU
  14. Notre Dame
  15. Purdue
  16. Indiana
  17. Michigan
  18. Seton Hall
  19. Texas-Arlington
  20. Virginia
  21. Syracuse
  22. Texas Tech
  23. Monmouth
  24. Dayton
  25. Rhode Island
Worth keeping an eye on:
BYU, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Florida, Harvard, Illinois State, Iowa State, Marquette, Nevada, Princeton, San Diego State, Texas, UAB, UCLA, USC, Valparaiso.

posted by Ron @ Monday, November 14, 2016