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Rank your conference teams

T

ThePhog08

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May 2, 2008
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Big 12

This is how I see things shaking out

1. Kansas , it's going to be a battle for first with Texas. But have top 4 ncaa talent. I expect the series to split. I think KU has the better defense and will win the conference by 1-2 games. I expect KU as a 1 or 2 seed in the ncaa tourney.

Starters Dave McCormack. Jalen Wilson, Ochai Agbaji, Joseph Yesufu, Remy Martin

2. Texas

Texas is going to have a scary good offense. They will have 6 or 7 players from last year who averaged 12 more PPG. Beard is a defensive coach and no player is really known for their D. I expect Texas as a 2 seed or 3 seed at worst. If they win the B12 they will be a 1 seed

Starters Marcus Carr, Courtney Ramey, Andrew Jones, Timmy Allen, Tre Mitchell

3. Oklahoma State

I think Baylor is a bit over rated to start the season. I really like Okstate roster. They added Bryce Thompson and Moussa Cisse to go along with Avery Anderson and Isaac Likekele. I think Okst has a postseason ban, but I think they would have gotten a 4-5 seed

4. Baylor

The talent is no where near where it was last year. They do have a lot of decent pieces and a couple good recruits coming in. I expect a 4-5 seed

5. West Virginia

West Virginia lost a lot but always seems to get enough new pieces to stay around the top 25. This may be 1 or 2 spots too high. I expect them to make the tournament as a 6-9 seed

6. Texas Tech

This one is quite the enigma. They bring back a couple good players and bring in lots of good transfers , but they were good on mid majors. Example Oral Roberts transfer Obanor. I expect them to make the tourney and be around a 7-10 seed.

7. Oklahoma

Oklahoma and new head coach Porter Moser added the Groves brothers who made the tourney from eastern washington , Jordan Goldwire from Duke and a decent big transfer from SMU. They added a 4 star SG from high school. I expect OU to make the tourney as the last B12 team in at around 8-12 seed.

8. Kansas State

9. Iowa state

10. TCU
 
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I’ll try my hand at it

1. Michigan, the top 4 in the Big Ten are very close to me, but I like the depth of this team over the depth of some others. #1 recruiting class, a good PG transfer in DeVante Jones, and they bring back 3 starters from their NCAA tournament run. They have bench guys like Kobe Bufkin and Moussa Diabite who would start for most teams.

2. Purdue, Jaden Ivey might be the best guard in the conference and one of the best in the country. Was just stellar at FIBA U19 and can score from all 3 levels. Their 5 duo of Trevion Williams/Zach Edey is terrifying for opponents, you essentially have to deal with an elite player there 100% of the time. This team was a 4 seed and brought everyone back, and they were pretty young last year. You have to expect Painter gets the most out of this group as well.

3. Illinois, this team has a chance to be better than last year. I’m terrified of what Kofi Cockburn will be able to do, he’s probably my favorite for Big Ten POY. Losing Ayo hurts but Andre Curbelo is a good player who could be great this year. Getting Trent Frazier back was huge. I believe a bit more in the “others” on the roster for the 2 above than I do for this team, but again it’s just so close. They’re #1 in many years undoubtedly.

4. Ohio State, I have them at 4 but truly 1-4 is so difficult to rank, they could easily be higher up in my eyes. They got EJ Liddell back who should have a monster year. This team has 545 starts of D1 basketball, that has to lead the country. I think guys like Justice Sueing and Seth Towns with another year in the program are posited to be better. They have a lot of talented, experienced transfers like Cedric Russell and Jamari Wheeler. I only don’t put them first because I think the others ahead of them have the top end talent I believe in a little more.

5. Maryland, they were projected a lot higher before the loss of Morsell and Wiggins, but this team is clearly still really talented and I don’t see much or an argument for them being ranked lower. Transfers Fatts Russell and Qudus Wahab will be instant impact high level players in the Big Ten. Eric Ayala coming back was big for them. I’m a huge Donta Scott fan, such a versatile weapon and I hope he gets more shots this year. This Maryland team has a lot of solid pieces and we’ll see how Turge brings them together.

6. Indiana, Woodson got a lot of guys to come back and added some stellar transfers. The talent on this team is comparable with some teams ranked higher, but I think placing them a bit lower for a coaches first year in college ball is fine. TJD is an all American. Parker Stewart averaged 19 a game last year. They added a 5 star wing in Tamar Bates. Miller Kopp from Northwestern is a nice addition and I think Race Thompson has a good year. Khristian Landers could take a big step and live up to his ranking. There’s talent all over this roster and this team could surprise some people, I’m just not entirely sold it’ll happen.

7. MSU, we had a rough year last year and think we’ll be better, but I’m just a bit skeptical on how much better. I’m a big believer in Max Christie, he’s looking strong when him being lean was a knock on him coming out of high school. Our coaches said him, Gabe Brown, and Marcus Bingham will be our 3 leading scorers. Bingham was a shocker, but apparently he’s been great this summer and he’s finally looking a bit stronger. I like the other freshman we added and Tyson Walker should be pretty good off the bat. I struggle to rank us higher because I think we have a lot of solid players who other teams would take but no player that I can see at this point that makes an all Big Ten team. Having Izzo as our coach is the main reason I even have us this high.

8. Rutgers, Ron Harper Jr. was unbelievable to start last year but sort of fell off to end. I think we see an improved version of him back and I am willing to bet he’s closer to the beginning of the year version of him for the whole year. Geo Baker has been around forever it feels like and adds experience and talent to this Rutgers team. I think we see a big jump from Cliff Omoruyi, if this conference had a Most Improved player of the year I would bet my money on him to take it. Just a physically imposing beast. I’m a big Paul Mulcahy guy as well. I see 6-8 as somewhat interchangeable as well.

9. Iowa, this team has major offensive shoes to fill and I don’t see a clear guy to do that, but I think this team has a lot of solid guys in my eyes. I like Keegan Murray, I like their 17 a game transfers from NDSU, and I think the McCaffrey brothers will both step up. I’m not a big fan of Bohannon’s, I think the more Joe Toussaint for them the better. If this team ends up finishing 6th or so it wouldn’t be shocking to me. I’m curious to see how they all play together without Garza and Wieskamp though.

10. Wisconsin, this is a wildly different looking team than the past few years and I’m a bit less knowledgeable on them, but getting Brad Davidson back for some sense of veteran leadership is good. They have the kind of freshman class that they always seem to bring in, a solid class that might need a year or 2 but turn into great players by the time they’re upperclassman, but Chucky Hepburn might make some noise early. Johnny Davis is poised for a jump. But they weren’t a great team last year and didn’t return a ton. This seems like a transition year to me.

11. Nebraska
12. PSU
13. Northwestern
14. Minnesota
 
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Alabama
Kentucky
Tennessee
awbrun
Arkansas
Florida
LSU
Mizzou
and the rest
 
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Alabama
Kentucky
Tennessee
awbrun
Arkansas
Florida
LSU
Mizzou
and the rest
 
boilerzz said:
Not a lot of time to deep dive but I'd go:

Tier 1:
1) Michigan
2) Purdue

Tier 2:
3) Illinois
4) OSU

Tier 3:
5) Maryland
6) Rutgers

Tier 4:
7) MSU
8) IU

Tier 5:
9) Iowa
10) Wisky

Tier 6:
No one cares
Click to expand...
We’re the exact same just flip IU and Rutgers. I’d want to say there is too much talent on IU for them to finish that low, but that has basically been every year the past few years for them.
 
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MGC_07 said:
We’re the exact same just flip IU and Rutgers. I’d want to say there is too much talent on IU for them to finish that low, but that has basically been every year the past few years for them.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm sure IU fans would give me grief for that and call me a Purdue homer/IU hater but I will believe they finish better than .500 in Big Ten play when I see it. They haven't since their Big Ten title in 2016.

And as much as they say otherwise, statistics say they haven't fixed their biggest issue (3P%). The guys they lost were better shooters statistically than their incoming transfers.
 
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MGC_07 said:
I’ll try my hand at it

1. Michigan, the top 4 in the Big Ten are very close to me, but I like the depth of this team over the depth of some others. #1 recruiting class, a good PG transfer in DeVante Jones, and they bring back 3 starters from their NCAA tournament run. They have bench guys like Kobe Bufkin and Moussa Diabite who would start for most teams.

2. Purdue, Jaden Ivey might be the best guard in the conference and one of the best in the country. Was just stellar at FIBA U19 and can score from all 3 levels. Their 5 duo of Trevion Williams/Zach Edey is terrifying for opponents, you essentially have to deal with an elite player there 100% of the time. This team was a 4 seed and brought everyone back, and they were pretty young last year. You have to expect Painter gets the most out of this group as well.

3. Illinois, this team has a chance to be better than last year. I’m terrified of what Kofi Cockburn will be able to do, he’s probably my favorite for Big Ten POY. Losing Ayo hurts but Andre Curbelo is a good player who could be great this year. Getting Trent Frazier back was huge. I believe a bit more in the “others” on the roster for the 2 above than I do for this team, but again it’s just so close. They’re #1 in many years.

4. Ohio State, I have them at 4 but truly 1-4 is so difficult to rank, they could easily be higher up in my eyes. They got EJ Liddell back who should have a monster year. This team has 545 starts of D1 basketball, that has to lead the country. I think guys like Justice Sueing and Seth Towns with another year in the program are posited to be better. They have a lot of talented, experienced transfers like Cedric Russell and Jamari Wheeler. I only don’t put them first because I think the others ahead of them have the top end talent I believe in a little more.

5. Maryland, they were projected a lot higher before the loss of Morsell and Wiggins, but this team is clearly still really talented and I don’t see much or an argument for them being ranked lower. Transfers Fatts Russell and Qudus Wahab will be instant impact high level players in the Big Ten. Eric Ayala coming back was big for them. I’m a huge Donta Scott fan, such a versatile weapon and I hope he gets more shots this year. This Maryland team has a lot of solid pieces and we’ll see how Turge brings them together.

6. Indiana, Woodson got a lot of guys to come back and added some stellar transfers. The talent on this team is comparable with some teams ranked higher, but I think placing them a bit lower for a coaches first year in college ball is fine. TJD is an all American. Parker Stewart averaged 19 a game last year. They added a 5 star wing in Tamar Bates. Miller Kopp from Northwestern is a nice addition and I think Race Thompson has a good year. Khristian Landers could take a big step and live up to his ranking. There’s talent all over this roster and this team could surprise some people, I’m just not entirely sold it’ll happen.

7. MSU, we had a rough year last year and think we’ll be better, but I’m just a bit skeptical on how much better. I’m a big believer in Max Christie, he’s looking strong when him being lean was a knock on him coming out of high school. Our coaches said him, Gabe Brown, and Marcus Bingham will be our 3 leading scorers. Bingham was a shocker, but apparently he’s been great this summer and he’s finally looking a bit stronger. I like the other freshman we added and Tyson Walker should be pretty good off the bat. I struggle to rank us higher because I think we have a lot of solid players who other teams would take but no player that I can see at this point that makes an all Big Ten team. Having Izzo as our coach is the main reason I even have us this high.

8. Rutgers, Ron Harper Jr. was unbelievable to start last year but sort of fell off to end. I think we see an improved version of him back and I am willing to bet he’s closer to the beginning of the year version of him for the whole year. Geo Baker has been around forever it feels like and adds experience and talent to this Rutgers team. I think we see a big jump from Cliff Omoruyi, if this conference had a Most Improved player of the year I would bet my money on him to take it. Just a physically imposing beast. I’m a big Paul Mulcahy guy as well. I see 6-8 as somewhat interchangeable as well.

9. Iowa, this team has major offensive shoes to fill and I don’t see a clear guy to do that, but I think this team has a lot of solid guys in my eyes. I like Keegan Murray, I like their 17 a game transfers from NDSU, and I think the McCaffrey brothers will both step up. I’m not a big fan of Bohannon’s, I think the more Joe Toussaint for them the better. If this team ends up finishing 6th or so it wouldn’t be shocking to me. I’m curious to see how they all play together without Garza and Wieskamp though.

10. Wisconsin, this is a wildly different looking team than the past few years and I’m a bit less knowledgeable on them, but getting Brad Davidson back for some sense of veteran leadership is good. They have the kind of freshman class that they always seem to bring in, a solid class that might need a year or 2 but turn into great players by the time they’re upperclassman, but Chucky Hepburn might make some noise early. Johnny Davis is poised for a jump. But they weren’t a great team last year and didn’t return a ton. This seems like a transition year to me.

11. Nebraska
12. PSU
13. Northwestern
14. Minnesota
Click to expand...
nice write up
 
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I’ll just share my previous write up:


Jaycg15 said:
Alright, who's everyone's overrated and underrated teams 3 months before the season starts?

Overrated: MSU
Underrated: Rutgers

My way too early, I reserve the right to change predictions with the disclaimer that I'm still learning about your teams:

  1. Full Homer: Illinois
  2. Michigan
  3. Purdue
  4. Maryland
  5. OSU
  6. Indiana
  7. Rutgers
  8. MSU
  9. Wisconsin
  10. Iowa
  11. Northwestern
  12. Nebraska
  13. PSU
  14. Minnesota

Reasoning:

Illinois: Of the top 3 teams, I like the balance of veterans and talent the best. Curbelo led the league in assist percentage, and Kofi led the league in times he caught the ball and put it through the rim like a man. I like that combo a lot. The rest of the team is pretty much shooters that will be ready to catch the ball if you help or double. Curbelo is a potential AA, but I'm not sure when or if that will happen. His stats at the end of the season showed what he's capable of, and with the team in his hands, I expect more of that.

There are some question marks on this team. Will Hutcherson step into the 3 position and fulfill the team's potential? Will Williams continue his elite marksmanship? Can Coleman Hawkins handle a larger role at the 4 position?

This lineup (minus Adam Miller), played together and was extremely successful last season. I see no reason for that to not continue this year. One thing that is notable, is that this team likely will not depend on freshman outside of its top 9. I like that.

Prognosis: 1st-4th

Michigan: Most talent in the league, but when so much of your team is dependent on freshman, that's a coin flip. Houstan, despite his low release, is a potential star to pair along with Dickinson. I have a hard time seeing him not succeed in the Big Ten. Outside of Dickinson, Eli Brooks is the best returning player on the team, and I know he's the key cog in that wheel, but he's an undersized wing that's just a decent shooter. He was much improved in that regard last season, but will he get the same looks he got last season in a more prominent role? Like Purdue, this team is heavy in the front court, and I think that's a recipe for some upsets. Caveat that DeVante Jones is/was really good. I'm curious to see if Howard can get some more transfer magic at the PG position.

Prognosis: 1st-4th

Purdue: While I think Painter is the best coach in the league, I don't think his guards are good outside of Ivey. Hunter is solid, but he's not a shooter and or a distributor. Think he potentially takes a step though. Stefanovic is one-dimensional. Newman is another guy that I think can make me eat my words, but his offense down the stretch was brutal. While Trevion is really good (my favorite player on the roster), he is consistently beaten H2H by the other top bigs in the league. Interested to see the freshman at the 4. In my opinion, they are the x-factor between between a 3/4 finish and a 1/2 finish.

Prognosis: 1st-4th

Maryland: While losing Wiggins to the draft hurts, keeping Ayala makes me feel really good if I'm a Maryland fan. The additions of Fatts and Wahab bolster a solid lineup. Donta Scott is a guy that isn't talked about nearly enough outside of Maryland circles. He has pro potential if he can improve his agility and his assertiveness. I'm hesitant to say Russell will translate well in the Big Ten. 5-10 is generous for his height, and last year was his first year shooting the ball decently. Excited to watch Wahab. While I think he's below Kofi and Dickinson, I wouldn't be surprised if he's in the next tier of bigs. I'd be surprised if they won the conference, but I could see them slipping into the top 3.

Prognosis: 3rd-6th.

OSU: Another year of solid OSU basketball. EJ Liddell is a stud. Unfortunately, he'll be guarding 5's again. Joey Brunk will play spot minutes, and is definitely a step up in size from anything they had last season, but it's Joey Brunk. Sueing had a solid year last season, despite his interesting choice in passing mechanics in pivotal moments of games. He will need to take another step offensively for OSU to challenge for the top 3 in conference. Going to need more consistency from Kyle Young offensively as well. He had stretches last year where he sunk into the shadows. Losing Washington makes him that much more important.

Prognosis: 2nd-6th

Indiana: There's more talent on this team than last season, and at the least, I expect Woodson to get more buy in than Miller. He's probably a better coach too, but even for a guy coming from the NBA, there's an adjustment to the coaching in the Big Ten. TJD is the third or fourth best big in the league, but the physicality of the league's best bigs often holds them back against the top teams in conference. They add a solid PG in Xavier Johnson which will improve a position of weakness for them. While many are expecting Freshman Tamar Bates to be an impact this season, his slender build will likely relegate him to a role of a shooter this season. Miller Kopp is a decent addition after losing Armaan Franklin. There are just a few too many what ifs on this team for me to put them any higher. What does Lander look like? Does Phinisee finally put it together?

Prognosis: 5th-9th

Rutgers: Pikiell is too good of a coach for what happened. Rutgers lost Omoruyi 6 games into the season last year which killed their momentum. They were 15-8 with him in the lineup and 1-4 without him. I expect him to take a step this season, but I don't foresee him developing his offense yet. This team has seniors Ron Harper Jr and Geo Baker to go along with their junior tryhard, Mulcahy. While I'm higher on this team than most, their depth is nonexistent, and they can easily sink to the bottom. I more or less just want them to be good because I like most of their players and their coach.

Prognosis: 6th-10th

Michigan State: This is a team that, outside of Max Christie, there's just no star power on. When I look at the rest of the roster, it's just kinda woof. You have some decent pieces in Hauser, Hall, and Brown. I could see a step up from Marcus Bingham and/or Sissoko, but there's just not much to write home about in comparison to past MSU teams. Take out Christie, and this team is similar to some of the Illinois teams from the past 10 years that made me think "we should make the tournament this year". The difference is this team is coached by Izzo.

Prognosis: 6th-10th

Wisconsin: Is Brad Davison the headliner for this team? Maybe. Jonathan Davis showed a lot of promise last year, so he can potentially wear that crown. The rest of the guys on this team are either not ready or average. This team is a year or two out from being anything above a 7th place team.

Prognosis: 7th-10th

Iowa: Fran's your coach still. It's time for the bust after the disappointing boom. JBo will be back again to play the spectator position on defense. The McCaffery's will be there again. Connor is trash, but Patrick actually looks promising. He may have a shot as a pro. The team should run through Keegan Murray as he's undoubtedly the best player on the team. Despite having no quality bigs, there will be some length on the front line, and I could see Iowa playing improved defense now that they don't have to hide Garza.

Prognosis: 7th-11th

Nebraska/Northwestern/PSU: You won't be good, and you have no fans here. Therefore, not wasting my time.

Prognosis: dumpster

Minnesota: Where to start? Over new. That's where. Since Lil' Ricky was fired, your team just left. Jamison Battle is maybe your best player? I don't know who he is, but I'm googling. Looks like he's a 6-7 wing that can shoot some. Payton Willis was decent for you guys in 2020. Props to him for sticking it out. Maybe he'll be the best. Eric Curry is back from the dead. Is that exciting? Maybe. I hope he has a good time.

Prognosis: 14th




Tear me to shreds.
Click to expand...
 
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Ipartiedwithhopgood said:
Painter is the best coach in the league? I like him but....

Sorry to pull one thing there.

I do appreciate the dumpster reference, very solid. Great write up!
Click to expand...
No one coaches their guys up more, in my opinion. They’re always solid. If he wasn’t at Purdue, I think he’d get more players, success, and recognition.
 
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I really have no idea how the conference will look overall. The bammers really surprised me last year with their run. I would imagine Tennessee, UK, Arky and maybe Auburn and bama will figure into things. We will just have to see.
 
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della said:
I really have no idea how the conference will look overall. The bammers really surprised me last year with their run. I would imagine Tennessee, UK, Arky and maybe Auburn and bama will figure into things. We will just have to see.
Click to expand...

Mississippi State should be strong next year as well.
 
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Mississippi State has some nice players, for sure. They definitely have top 25 potential. They benefitted greatly from the transfer portal. These are most likely the top 7 players in minutes.

Shakeel Moore (NC State), Rocket Watts (Michigan State)
Iverson Molinar
DJ Jeffries (Memphis), Derek Fountain
Garrison Brooks (UNC)
Tolu Smith
 
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Looks like a ho-hum year for the ACC, unfortunately. Lots of decent teams, but rosters aren't exactly overwhelming. I think the top 12 teams all have realistic shots at the NCAAs, maybe get 7 teams in. Just not sure many ACC schools will advance very far this year. Duke and North Carolina should have the highest ceilings.

Kind of intrigued by Notre Dame. They return every meaningful player, minus Juwan Durham. But, Paul Atkinson is probably an upgrade over Durham anyway. The offense is definitely there. The defense, however, has been dreadful for years. If they can be halfway competent on the defensive end, they could win a game or two in the tournament.

ACC
1. Duke
2. North Carolina
3. Florida State
4. Virginia
5. Notre Dame
6. Virginia Tech
7. Louisville
8. Syracuse
9. NC State
10. Georgia Tech
11. Clemson
12. Miami
13. Wake Forest
14. Boston College
15. Pittsburgh
 
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PAC 12 won't be as strong this season. Oregon and UCLA should be good at the top but it's quite possible nobody else ends up in the KenPom top 25 (PAC 12 had 4 teams in the top 16 last year). UCLA returns everyone and brought in some size and athleticism to help them on defense. Oregon's ceiling is just as high as UCLA's but with a ton of new pieces, they have more questions. Washington State is the sleeper in the PAC, they may make a run at the NCAAT.

PAC 12:
1. UCLA
2. Oregon
3. USC
4. Arizona
5. Washington State
6. Arizona State
7. Colorado
8. Oregon State
9. Utah
10. Washington
11. Stanford
12. California
 
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First group of 3 teams are the main contenders in my eyes. Talented rosters, great coaching, plenty of experience. Would be disappointed if any of these 3 teams finished outside of the top 4 of the conference.
Purdue (Matt Painter 180-109 62%)/ Ohio State (Chris Holtmann (46-32 59%)/ Michigan (Juwan Howard 24-13 65%)

Next group of 3 are secondary contenders who just need to address an issue or two and I think they can compete for the league title. All 3 make up for flaws by having proven coaches either at this level or the NBA. Would be a disappointing finish for any of these teams to finish outside the top half of the conference.
Michigan State (Tom Izzo 302-135 69%)/ Indiana (Mike Woodson 0-0) / Maryland (Mark Turgeon 82-50 62%)

This next group of 3 teams are talented teams that have just enough or a couple of big enough flaws where I cant trust them to contend for the conference title, but I do expect them to be good teams. Would not be shocked if any of these teams surprised me and ended up higher due to all 3 having exciting talent, but I trust these coaches less than the 3 others in the group above them so they have landed here.
Rutgers (Steve Pikiell 34-62 35%) / Nebraska (Fred Hoiberg 5-34 13%) / Illinois (Brad Underwood 40-38 51%)

New rosters that lost a great deal of production. Greg Gard has a very solid track record so I could see Wisconsin surprising me. Mccafrey leaves a lot to be desired with his track record, would be more surprised to see Iowa finish in the top half of the league.
Wisconsin (Greg Gard 69-45 61%) / Iowa (Fran Mccafrey 103-101 50.4%)

Poor coach and roster is too unknown to move up any further
Northwestern (Chris Collins 49-100 33%)

new coach and new roster
Penn State
Minnesota
 
duckboy33 said:
PAC 12 won't be as strong this season. Oregon and UCLA should be good at the top but it's quite possible nobody else ends up in the KenPom top 25 (PAC 12 had 4 teams in the top 16 last year). UCLA returns everyone and brought in some size and athleticism to help them on defense. Oregon's ceiling is just as high as UCLA's but with a ton of new pieces, they have more questions. Washington State is the sleeper in the PAC, they may make a run at the NCAAT.

PAC 12:
1. UCLA
2. Oregon
3. USC
4. Arizona
5. Washington State
6. Arizona State
7. Colorado
8. Oregon State
9. Utah
10. Washington
11. Stanford
12. California
Click to expand...

UCLA and Oregon definitely have the pieces to make the Final Four.

I think Arizona is going to surprise a lot of people. Been a while since I've looked at rosters, but I think I had Arizona in my most recent top 25. Bennedict Mathurin was very productive at the U-19 World Championships, much more so than the highly touted Caleb Houstan. I think there's a good chance he'll be 1st Team All-Conference. Also really like Tubelis and Larsson. Both are highly skilled players that should be on the radar of most NBA scouts.

Biggest question mark will be Kerr Kriisa taking over at the point. I've heard good things about him, but not sure how exactly he'll transition into the starting role.
 
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dukedevilz said:
UCLA and Oregon definitely have the pieces to make the Final Four.

I think Arizona is going to surprise a lot of people. Been a while since I've looked at rosters, but I think I had Arizona in my most recent top 25. Bennedict Mathurin was very productive at the U-19 World Championships, much more so than the highly touted Caleb Houstan. I think there's a good chance he'll be 1st Team All-Conference. Also really like Tubelis and Larsson. Both are highly skilled players that should be on the radar of most NBA scouts.

Biggest question mark will be Kerr Kriisa taking over at the point. I've heard good things about him, but not sure how exactly he'll transition into the starting role.
Click to expand...

Arizona might surprise people, they certainly have top 25 potential. They just have so many moving pieces (even for college basketball). They are the hardest team to project in the PAC 12 IMO.
 
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duckboy33 said:
Arizona might surprise people, they certainly have top 25 potential. They just have some many moving pieces (even for college basketball). They are the hardest team to project in the PAC 12 IMO.
Click to expand...

I think that's fair. I just really like the dynamic duo of Mathurin and Tubelis. Point guard play and depth are the biggest unknowns.
 
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Ingersol said:
First group of 3 teams are the main contenders in my eyes. Talented rosters, great coaching, plenty of experience. Would be disappointed if any of these 3 teams finished outside of the top 4 of the conference.
Purdue (Matt Painter 180-109 62%)/ Ohio State (Chris Holtmann (46-32 59%)/ Michigan (Juwan Howard 24-13 65%)

Next group of 3 are secondary contenders who just need to address an issue or two and I think they can compete for the league title. All 3 make up for flaws by having proven coaches either at this level or the NBA. Would be a disappointing finish for any of these teams to finish outside the top half of the conference.
Michigan State (Tom Izzo 302-135 69%)/ Indiana (Mike Woodson 0-0) / Maryland (Mark Turgeon 82-50 62%)

This next group of 3 teams are talented teams that have just enough or a couple of big enough flaws where I cant trust them to contend for the conference title, but I do expect them to be good teams. Would not be shocked if any of these teams surprised me and ended up higher due to all 3 having exciting talent, but I trust these coaches less than the 3 others in the group above them so they have landed here.
Rutgers (Steve Pikiell 34-62 35%) / Nebraska (Fred Hoiberg 5-34 13%) / Illinois (Brad Underwood 40-38 51%)

New rosters that lost a great deal of production. Greg Gard has a very solid track record so I could see Wisconsin surprising me. Mccafrey leaves a lot to be desired with his track record, would be more surprised to see Iowa finish in the top half of the league.
Wisconsin (Greg Gard 69-45 61%) / Iowa (Fran Mccafrey 103-101 50.4%)

Poor coach and roster is too unknown to move up any further
Northwestern (Chris Collins 49-100 33%)

new coach and new roster
Penn State
Minnesota
Click to expand...
@Jaycg15 @Archetype19
 
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