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Its time for Conference Predictions

Pitt123

New Member
Nov 10, 2018
4
3
3
Predicted Champion
Most Overrated
Surprise Team

Since Im only allowed 1 post per month for whatever reason, I have to make it a good one. Here we go

ACC

Champion-Duke- This is a no brainer. They are so much more talented then every other team its silly. I thought the same thing last year though and Coach K had his worst coaching year ever with by far the most talented team last year. I cant see Duke choking again like last year. Zion Williamson is flat out unstoppable at the college level.

Most Overrated- Miami- Have completely fallen off the map and have the worst record in the ACC. They are basically down to 6 players with Gak injured. Good night, season is over

Surprise Team- Pitt. There is no way Pitt is going 0-19 in the ACC again. Freshmen guards are too good for it to happen and the ACC is overrated. The bottom of the ACC also stinks. Johnson is the most underrated player in the ACC and Pitt will surprise multiple teams

Big 12

Champion-Kansas- They've won the conference so many times in a row its gotten silly. Have wins against 3 ranked teams already and Azuibuki is injured. Same old, Same old Kansas

Most Overrated- West Virginia-They have weak guards and 2 great players. When the refs call actual fouls Konate fouls out in half the game. They will crumble in league play

Surprise Team- TCU Frogs- Took an early bad loss with Fisher still recovering from injury. They are starting to roll teams. And as Fisher's health improves, so does the team

SEC

Champion-Tennessee- Look like potentially the best team, but also have an easier SEC schedule only playing 4 ranked SEC teams and Kentucky is hanging on by a thread. Vols look good

Most Overrated-Kentucky and Vanderbilt- Kentucky has beaten no one. And has looked like crap most of the season. If they played Duke again they would get destroyed even worse. Also played an easy terrible schedule. Vanderbilt, shame Garland got injured. What looked like a very promising team now wont be

Surprise Team-Mississippi St Bulldogs. It seems many people have fallen completely asleep with them. They just got done winning at Dayton, beating Clemson, then beating up Cincinnati. Expect them to challenge Tennessee. Ben Howland loves this team and if you watched them play you can see why. They will stockpile wins and look tough

Big Ten

Champion-Michigan. By a very, very small hair. Their wins are grossly overrated to date with Purdue and Villanova, who are also grossly overrated. Awesome defense. Terrible free throw shooting team which will burn them in close games and they will choke in the NCAA Tournament because of it, especially on the road. Big Ten is the best conference in college basketball this year, easily.

Most overrated-Purdue-Losses are piling up with 5 already. This is the team that can challenge many teams but then chokes and continues to lose by 2 points. Rinse repeat, they cant win on the road

Surprise team- Wisconsin. Not much of a surprise by now. A 15 win season a year ago, they are going well beyond that this year. Happ is a beast and they look to be back

Pac-12

Champion- Arizona State- Very young team, very athletic, has big time upside this year. Starting point guard Martin back coming off nasty ankle injury, Rob Edwards still having back problems. Get these 2 healthy and with freshmen beast Dort, they can be real good. Don't be surprised if they stun Kansas

Most overrated- The whole league outside ASU. Arizona stinks this year and so does the rest of the league. USC and UCLA need new coaches as they can only recruit and not coach, and Arizona might need to start recruiting 6 star players, because the 5 stars just cant get it done. Award to Sean Miller for most overrated Coach in the country with big nasty losses to Baylor and Alabama. All those top recruits with nothing to show for it.

Surprise Team- Arizona State. This is a no brainer if you watch them play


Best Midmajor- Nevada. They have what, 7, 5th year seniors which is ridiculous. An offense ridiculously hard to stop. They are undefeated and should stay that way for a while. Jordan Caroline is the best player you never heard of and with outside firepower from 3, they are going to be a very, very tough out.

Most Overrated- Villanova and Uconn Why is Villanova even rated. Losses to Furman, the Penn Quakers, killed by Michigan. Nothing about this team looks Top 25. And UConn? Beat up scrubs and beat Syracuse without Cuse starting point guard playing. Lost to a terrible Arizona team, killed by Iowa, and schedule to date has been a joke with zero road games. UConn couldn't win on the road last year, and wont win on the road this year either. All hype.

Most Underrated- Tough one with Houston now on the radar, but Utah State looks very sneaky with their 7 foot athletic stud freshmen from Portugal looking better and better by game.


There you have it. Responses and predictions welcome. Maybe I can respond to other people in this thread instead of waiting another month to post again because of posting restrictions for whatever reason.
 
Predicted Champion
Most Overrated
Surprise Team

Since Im only allowed 1 post per month for whatever reason, I have to make it a good one. Here we go

ACC

Champion-Duke- This is a no brainer. They are so much more talented then every other team its silly. I thought the same thing last year though and Coach K had his worst coaching year ever with by far the most talented team last year. I cant see Duke choking again like last year. Zion Williamson is flat out unstoppable at the college level.

Most Overrated- Miami- Have completely fallen off the map and have the worst record in the ACC. They are basically down to 6 players with Gak injured. Good night, season is over

Surprise Team- Pitt. There is no way Pitt is going 0-19 in the ACC again. Freshmen guards are too good for it to happen and the ACC is overrated. The bottom of the ACC also stinks. Johnson is the most underrated player in the ACC and Pitt will surprise multiple teams

Big 12

Champion-Kansas- They've won the conference so many times in a row its gotten silly. Have wins against 3 ranked teams already and Azuibuki is injured. Same old, Same old Kansas

Most Overrated- West Virginia-They have weak guards and 2 great players. When the refs call actual fouls Konate fouls out in half the game. They will crumble in league play

Surprise Team- TCU Frogs- Took an early bad loss with Fisher still recovering from injury. They are starting to roll teams. And as Fisher's health improves, so does the team

SEC

Champion-Tennessee- Look like potentially the best team, but also have an easier SEC schedule only playing 4 ranked SEC teams and Kentucky is hanging on by a thread. Vols look good

Most Overrated-Kentucky and Vanderbilt- Kentucky has beaten no one. And has looked like crap most of the season. If they played Duke again they would get destroyed even worse. Also played an easy terrible schedule. Vanderbilt, shame Garland got injured. What looked like a very promising team now wont be

Surprise Team-Mississippi St Bulldogs. It seems many people have fallen completely asleep with them. They just got done winning at Dayton, beating Clemson, then beating up Cincinnati. Expect them to challenge Tennessee. Ben Howland loves this team and if you watched them play you can see why. They will stockpile wins and look tough

Big Ten

Champion-Michigan. By a very, very small hair. Their wins are grossly overrated to date with Purdue and Villanova, who are also grossly overrated. Awesome defense. Terrible free throw shooting team which will burn them in close games and they will choke in the NCAA Tournament because of it, especially on the road. Big Ten is the best conference in college basketball this year, easily.

Most overrated-Purdue-Losses are piling up with 5 already. This is the team that can challenge many teams but then chokes and continues to lose by 2 points. Rinse repeat, they cant win on the road

Surprise team- Wisconsin. Not much of a surprise by now. A 15 win season a year ago, they are going well beyond that this year. Happ is a beast and they look to be back

Pac-12

Champion- Arizona State- Very young team, very athletic, has big time upside this year. Starting point guard Martin back coming off nasty ankle injury, Rob Edwards still having back problems. Get these 2 healthy and with freshmen beast Dort, they can be real good. Don't be surprised if they stun Kansas

Most overrated- The whole league outside ASU. Arizona stinks this year and so does the rest of the league. USC and UCLA need new coaches as they can only recruit and not coach, and Arizona might need to start recruiting 6 star players, because the 5 stars just cant get it done. Award to Sean Miller for most overrated Coach in the country with big nasty losses to Baylor and Alabama. All those top recruits with nothing to show for it.

Surprise Team- Arizona State. This is a no brainer if you watch them play


Best Midmajor- Nevada. They have what, 7, 5th year seniors which is ridiculous. An offense ridiculously hard to stop. They are undefeated and should stay that way for a while. Jordan Caroline is the best player you never heard of and with outside firepower from 3, they are going to be a very, very tough out.

Most Overrated- Villanova and Uconn Why is Villanova even rated. Losses to Furman, the Penn Quakers, killed by Michigan. Nothing about this team looks Top 25. And UConn? Beat up scrubs and beat Syracuse without Cuse starting point guard playing. Lost to a terrible Arizona team, killed by Iowa, and schedule to date has been a joke with zero road games. UConn couldn't win on the road last year, and wont win on the road this year either. All hype.

Most Underrated- Tough one with Houston now on the radar, but Utah State looks very sneaky with their 7 foot athletic stud freshmen from Portugal looking better and better by game.


There you have it. Responses and predictions welcome. Maybe I can respond to other people in this thread instead of waiting another month to post again because of posting restrictions for whatever reason.

You should have submitted this before Nova played neck and neck with Kansas and UNC beat Gonzaga.

Michigan's terrible FT shooting really sent them home early in the tournament last year.
 
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Miami was overrated coming into the season. Now they are rated about where they should be—low.
 
I think Duke wins it

Highly doubt Virginia Tech is as good as their ranking

Could Syracuse be a surprise if they’re Good > Bad > Good?
 
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My top 5 picks:

American:
1. Cincinnati 2. Houston 3. UCF 4. Tulsa 5. Temple

ACC:
1. Duke 2. Virginia 3. North Carolina 4. Florida State 5. NC State

Big East:
1. Marquette 2. Villanova 3. St.John's 4. Butler 5. Seton Hall

Big 12:
1. Kansas 2. Texas Tech 3. TCU 4. Kansas State 5. Iowa State

Big Ten:
1. Michigan 2. Michigan State 3. Nebraska 4. Wisconsin 5. Indiana

Pac-12:
1. Oregon 2. Arizona State 3. Washington 4. Arizona 5. UCLA

SEC:
1. Tennessee 2. Auburn 3. Mississippi State 4. Kentucky 5. Florida

Mid-Majors:
1. Gonzaga 2. Nevada 3. Buffalo 4. Belmont 5. San Francisco
 
My top 5 picks:

American:
1. Cincinnati 2. Houston 3. UCF 4. Tulsa 5. Temple

ACC:
1. Duke 2. Virginia 3. North Carolina 4. Florida State 5. NC State

Big East:
1. Marquette 2. Villanova 3. St.John's 4. Butler 5. Seton Hall

Big 12:
1. Kansas 2. Texas Tech 3. TCU 4. Kansas State 5. Iowa State

Big Ten:
1. Michigan 2. Michigan State 3. Nebraska 4. Wisconsin 5. Indiana

Pac-12:
1. Oregon 2. Arizona State 3. Washington 4. Arizona 5. UCLA

SEC:
1. Tennessee 2. Auburn 3. Mississippi State 4. Kentucky 5. Florida

Mid-Majors:
1. Gonzaga 2. Nevada 3. Buffalo 4. Belmont 5. San Francisco
I think IU will be in top 3, and will compete for the BIG championship. I do think Michigan is the better team right now, but this IU team is starting to get better on offense. Also, I just can't envision Nebraska finishing in the top 5.
 
Kansas State was the most overrated team in the B12. They are just what they were last year until they were the beneficiary of - literally- the biggest upset in the history of the Tournment: a bubble team.

Hopefully, they can be somewhat competitive without Dean Wade, though, so that Bruce remains firmly entrenched in Manhattan.
 
I think IU will be in top 3, and will compete for the BIG championship. I do think Michigan is the better team right now, but this IU team is starting to get better on offense. Also, I just can't envision Nebraska finishing in the top 5.
IU still has a long way to go to compete for the Big 10. Too many holes on this team, I doubt it happens this year.
 
IU still has a long way to go to compete for the Big 10. Too many holes on this team, I doubt it happens this year.
Yes, they do have holes, but I'm seeing some of those holes starting to get a little smaller. I'm not saying that anyone should go out and put money on them, but I definitely won't be surprised if their in the mix, up till the final week.

With that said, I also wouldn't be surprised if they have some major bumps and end up finishing 6th.
 
Yes, they do have holes, but I'm seeing some of those holes starting to get a little smaller. I'm not saying that anyone should go out and put money on them, but I definitely won't be surprised if their in the mix, up till the final week.

With that said, I also wouldn't be surprised if they have some major bumps and end up finishing 6th.
6th would be inexcusable, I see IU around 4th in the conference and 4-5 seed. With the right matchup maybe a sweet 16.
 
6th would be inexcusable, I see IU around 4th in the conference and 4-5 seed. With the right matchup maybe a sweet 16.
So we're basically thinking the same thing, I think. I'm guessing a window from 1st to 3rd with 3rd being most likely. Imo, whenever I do these type of things, I usually find a window of 2or 3 spots. That's why I said 1st to 3rd. I'm starting to think the floor for this team is 3rd. The only team I think might bump them would be Wisconsin. I really cant see any other team having a great shot at being better.

The ceiling would of course be 1st, but I'm thinking if they would end up 1st, it probably had more to do with Michigan having some issues pop up then IU improved that much.
 
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I think IU will be in top 3, and will compete for the BIG championship. I do think Michigan is the better team right now, but this IU team is starting to get better on offense. Also, I just can't envision Nebraska finishing in the top 5.

I like Indiana. They've been pretty solid, minus the one Duke game. Trouble is, it's hard to separate teams 3-10 in the Big Ten (Indiana, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Purdue, Maryland, Ohio State, Minnesota, Iowa) . Michigan and MSU appear to be 1-2. After that, it's a toss-up.

Nebraska finishing in the top 5 really shouldn't be that far-fetched. They tied for 4th in the Big Ten last year - and they brought back their top four players.
 
No Furman?

Furman is a nice team, They're certainly a top 10 mid-major. But, their two big-time wins to start the season don't appear to be as impressive as was once believed(Loyola Chicago is 6-5 and Villanova is good, but not great). And while they're still undefeated, they've struggled with some mediocre competition. Had to go to overtime to beat the likes of Gardner-Webb and Western Carolina.

I think Belmont and San Francisco are more complete teams. Belmont already has 3 top 50 wins and San Francisco's only loss came at the hands of an undefeated Buffalo team, by 4 points. USF is also rated higher in the KenPom and NCAA Net Rankings.
 
I like Indiana. They've been pretty solid, minus the one Duke game. Trouble is, it's hard to separate teams 3-10 in the Big Ten (Indiana, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Purdue, Maryland, Ohio State, Minnesota, Iowa) . Michigan and MSU appear to be 1-2. After that, it's a toss-up.

Nebraska finishing in the top 5 really shouldn't be that far-fetched. They tied for 4th in the Big Ten last year - and they brought back their top four players.
Talent wise, I completely understand why you would put them in the top 5. However, it's one of those "not going to believe it until I see it" type of things.

We've gone down this road before where they are expected to be really got, but end up finishing in the bottom half of the BIG.
 
6th would be inexcusable, I see IU around 4th in the conference and 4-5 seed. With the right matchup maybe a sweet 16.
WE are gonna find out rather soon, just where IU stands. After these next couple of cup-cakes, and a home game vs Illinois. THIngs get real tough. Back to back road games at Michigan and Maryland. Home vs a good Nebraska team. Thats a tough stretch. Then we go to Purdue. Get NW at home, then UM at home. Getting UM twice in a two week span? Plus games at Purdue and Maryland? Yeah, we gonna find out.
 
WE are gonna find out rather soon, just where IU stands. After these next couple of cup-cakes, and a home game vs Illinois. THIngs get real tough. Back to back road games at Michigan and Maryland. Home vs a good Nebraska team. Thats a tough stretch. Then we go to Purdue. Get NW at home, then UM at home. Getting UM twice in a two week span? Plus games at Purdue and Maryland? Yeah, we gonna find out.
I still feel like the team has a ton of room to improve, if they do it could be a great season. It's just soo tough on the road in the Big 10 with a true freshman backcourt.

Still there are a lot of winnable games in the Big 10, great nonconference resume and already 2-0. Then 2 games against Iowa, 1 apiece against Minnesota/Northwestern, 2 games against Rutgers, and Illinois twice. Those games are all winnable and IU can beat anyone at home. They will be fine.
 
Talent wise, I completely understand why you would put them in the top 5. However, it's one of those "not going to believe it until I see it" type of things.

We've gone down this road before where they are expected to be really got, but end up finishing in the bottom half of the BIG.

Not going to believe until you see it? They finished 4th in the Big Ten just last year.
 
So we're basically thinking the same thing, I think. I'm guessing a window from 1st to 3rd with 3rd being most likely. Imo, whenever I do these type of things, I usually find a window of 2or 3 spots. That's why I said 1st to 3rd. I'm starting to think the floor for this team is 3rd. The only team I think might bump them would be Wisconsin. I really cant see any other team having a great shot at being better.

The ceiling would of course be 1st, but I'm thinking if they would end up 1st, it probably had more to do with Michigan having some issues pop up then IU improved that much.
IU's not finishing first, 3rd or 4th is their ceiling. Anybody that expected this team to win the Big 10 wasn't being realistic. This is still not a great team, top 20-25 sure but not great.
 
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Talent wise, I completely understand why you would put them in the top 5. However, it's one of those "not going to believe it until I see it" type of things.

We've gone down this road before where they are expected to be really got, but end up finishing in the bottom half of the BIG.

One thing to consider about Nebraska is the development of their 5th starter Thomas Allen. Everyone was already aware of Palmer, Roby, Copeland, and Glynn Watson. Allen, a true Sophomore, former top 100 -4 Star who chose Nebraska over NC State, Xavier, Ohio State, and Cincinnati, is starting to develop into a legit scorer. In his last 5 games, all vs. High Major competition, he's averaging 12 points per game while adding terrific defense.

Last season, when you faced Nebraska, you only had to worry about really stopping two or three guys. If Allen keeps developing at this pace, its going to force opponents to defend the whole floor.

They still don't have the depth needed to win the league, but they are certainly better than a year ago. Im a fan and a homer, but will honestly be shocked if Nebraska doesn't win 23 to 25 games and finish top 4 or in the Big Ten.
 
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One thing to consider about Nebraska is the development of their 5th starter Thomas Allen. Everyone was already aware of Palmer, Roby, Copeland, and Glynn Watson. Allen, a true Sophomore, former top 100 -4 Star who chose Nebraska over NC State, Xavier, Ohio State, and Cincinnati, is starting to develop into a legit scorer. In his last 5 games, all vs. High Major competition, he's averaging 12 points per game while adding terrific defense.

Last season, when you faced Nebraska, you only had to worry about really stopping two or three guys. If Allen keeps developing at this pace, its going to force opponents to defend the whole floor.

They still don't have the depth needed to win the league, but they are certainly better than a year ago. Im a fan and a homer, but will honestly be shocked if Nebraska doesn't win 23 to 25 games and finish top 4 or in the Big Ten.

Maybe this will be the year Nebraska actually wins an NCAAT game?

Crazy how Creighton can be so good but Nebraska has been so bad.
 
Since Im only allowed 1 post per month for whatever reason, I have to make it a good one.
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Maybe this will be the year Nebraska actually wins an NCAAT game?

Crazy how Creighton can be so good but Nebraska has been so bad.

Facilities and coaching. Nebraska had the worst facilities in the country until about 5 years ago. They also never hired a real coach who could actually recruit. Creighton has had good coaches for years.
 
Too bad Nebraska lost Xavier Johnson, who decommitted from Nebraska last spring. Kid is killing it at Pittsburgh.
 
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Facilities and coaching. Nebraska had the worst facilities in the country until about 5 years ago. They also never hired a real coach who could actually recruit. Creighton has had good coaches for years.

I get that. FSU has atrocious facilities and also had a terrible coach with Steve Robinson. (Fortunately, Leonard Hamilton has been a miracle worker).

Still just seems like y'all would have lucked into at least 1 NCAAT win at some point in history.
 
Lunardi's Bracketology for the Pac-12:

Arizona State- 8 seed
Arizona- 10 seed
Oregon- 11 seed
UCLA- 11 seed
Washington- First Four Out

Essentially every Pac-12 contender is a bubble team. Not a good look. Arizona State desperately needs to beat Kansas on Saturday. For the sake of their own team - but also for the strength of the conference. If you beat a bunch of bubble teams/NIT teams, you can't really build much of a resume... UCLA has upcoming games against Ohio State and Cincinnati. Those would also be quality wins.

Wouldn't be terribly surprising if Pac-12 had just 2 teams in the tournament.
 
Lunardi's Bracketology for the Pac-12:

Arizona State- 8 seed
Arizona- 10 seed
Oregon- 11 seed
UCLA- 11 seed
Washington- First Four Out

Essentially every Pac-12 contender is a bubble team. Not a good look. Arizona State desperately needs to beat Kansas on Saturday. For the sake of their own team - but also for the strength of the conference. If you beat a bunch of bubble teams/NIT teams, you can't really build much of a resume... UCLA has upcoming games against Ohio State and Cincinnati. Those would also be quality wins.

Wouldn't be terribly surprising if Pac-12 had just 2 teams in the tournament.

During halftime of the Duke game yesterday, both Jay and Seth predicted the PAC 12 to be a 2 team league, and the only way they'd get another is an upset in the conference tournament.
 
During halftime of the Duke game yesterday, both Jay and Seth predicted the PAC 12 to be a 2 team league, and the only way they'd get another is an upset in the conference tournament.

Can't say I disagree. The conference just is not very good. There's only a very small handful of significant OOC wins. Can't build your resume if you don't have top 25/top 50 wins. The same thing happened last year. USC, for example, failed to make it to the NCAAs last year after finishing 2nd in the Pac-12 at 12-6, and advancing to the Pac-12 Title game.
 
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People doubted Ohio State last year with new HC Holtmann. Finished 15-3 and tied for 2nd in the B1G. I think this team is better than last years team. Time will tell.
 
Lunardi's Bracketology for the Pac-12:

Arizona State- 8 seed
Arizona- 10 seed
Oregon- 11 seed
UCLA- 11 seed
Washington- First Four Out

Essentially every Pac-12 contender is a bubble team. Not a good look. Arizona State desperately needs to beat Kansas on Saturday. For the sake of their own team - but also for the strength of the conference. If you beat a bunch of bubble teams/NIT teams, you can't really build much of a resume... UCLA has upcoming games against Ohio State and Cincinnati. Those would also be quality wins.

Wouldn't be terribly surprising if Pac-12 had just 2 teams in the tournament.

If the Sun Devils beat Kansas, I'd say their bid is basically locked up. Because it's going to be difficult for them to finish with fewer than 11 wins in league play--Pac 12 is just so so bad.
 
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