Well, that seemed oddly familiar. Seven months after Gonzaga ended West Virginia‘s 2011-12 season in the most embarrassing of fashions in a 77-54 NCAA Tournament beatdown, the new-look Mountaineers hardly looked new at all. They unraveled in the first few minutes of their season opener — also the first game on ESPN’s 24-hour Tip-Off Marathon slate — and wallowed to an 84-50 loss Monday night (or was it Tuesday morning)?

Gonzaga Took It Right to the Mountaineers… Again (Jed Conklin — AP)

It was bad. Real bad, across the board. Before anybody hopped up on coffee and Five Hour Energy could blink an eye, Gonzaga led 17-2. That lead got to 27 at halftime, and, as Billy Packer once said a little bit prematurely in a certain Final Four game, “this game is ovah” at that point. Players were visibly frustrated, body language was poor and coach Bob Huggins seemed to have no answers. Offensively, his team was a mess. That’s understandable after losing Kevin Jones and, probably more evidently on Monday night, point guard Truck Bryant. Dayton transfer Juwan Staten and Jabarie Hinds combined for just two assists against five turnovers, and the team totaled only eight overall assists. Aaric Murray, a newcomer from La Salle with major pro potential, scored 14 points in his debut, but that hardly mattered. The Mountaineers couldn’t initiate any open looks, and they missed everything. We mean everything. Three-of-26 from three-point land is not very pretty to open the year. Boston College transfer Matt Humphrey, known for his perimeter shooting, finished 1-of-7. Hinds was 1-of-6. It didn’t help that the Bulldogs executed very well offensively after a rather sluggish start, as four Gonzaga starters finished in double figures.

And that’s all you really need to know about West Virginia’s season opener. Playing in unfamiliar territory in the state of Washington, the Mountaineers looked about as culturally shocked as humanly possible in The Kennel. The crowd was fierce, the place was amped and Huggins’ team did not respond well. It’s clear his reclamation project will take time. He has new guards to break in, a new centerpiece on offense in Murray and a lot of sophomores trying to adjust to new roles. You know Huggins will have this team in the hunt for the NCAA Tournament by February. Unfortunately, after this debacle, it’s fair to wonder whether Huggins’ program will ever get that swagger back on the defensive end and on the boards. It lost that identity a bit a year ago — especially against Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament — and it certainly did not return today.

In the past couple days, the wizards of college basketball statistics have waved their wands and conjured up some preseason predictions for ACC teams. Of course, describing the process as magic is a great dis-service to these fine folks. Instead of engaging in arcane processes only explained in a cryptic language, these bold souls have happily popped open the hood on their future predicting machines and offered to show us what exactly they did. Ken Pomeroy gladly explains his methodology on his website, while Dan Hanner lays out the logic and mechanisms behind his predictive system at Basketball Prospectus. So, with a theoretical understanding of what these two are doing, we can now look at the predictive rankings from Pomeroy and Hanner and see how these predictions differ from the results predicted by the ACC’s coaches and the ACC media.

Messrs. Pomeroy and Hanner in the Lab…

The calculated predictions do differ from the polls in some significant ways, notably both Hanner and Pomeroy’s system favor Duke to be the best team in the conference, while the coaches and media favor NC State. The reasons for this are fairly obvious and have everything to do with how excited people get over highly-touted freshmen.  While both of the calculated systems take into consideration new players, both systems take a fairly reasoned and cautious view of their impact. So while the conference’s coaches and reporters might be swept up in Rodney Purvis Mania,  the computers are more measured in their optimism. With that taken into consideration, it’s easy to see how such systems would favor Duke, a team that was very good last year and lost relatively little compared to other league contenders like North Carolina and Florida State.

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Throughout the preseason, the ACC microsite will release a preview for each of the 12 ACC teams. Today’s victim: Boston College.

Boston College was bad last season. The Eagles lost nearly everything from 2010-11, getting left with mostly walk-ons and freshmen. The result was a team lacking in both talent and experience. Add in the ill-timed sickness of Patrick Heckmann, who to that point was Steve Donahue’s most polished player, and the recipe for a disastrous conference season was complete. Somehow the Eagles pulled out four ACC wins, including one over eventual conference champion Florida State. However, only seven of the Eagles’ 16 conference games were decided by less than 10 points. In those games Boston College was 4-3, winning the four games by a combined 12 points. This year should be significantly better for Donahue’s club, although the Eagles will still likely finish near the bottom of the conference.

Steve Donahue’s Team Will Be More Experienced This Season

Newcomers

Steve Donahue added two scholarship players to the roster this year, Joe Rahon and Olivier Hanlan. Notre Dame transfer Alex Dragicevich also joined the team but he won’t be eligible until 2013-14. Rahon and Hanlan should be able to contribute right away, sharing minutes with 5’10” sophomore Jordan Daniels at the point guard position. The two should provide much-needed depth in the backcourt. Both were consensus three-star recruits coming out of high school, meaning they have a ways to go before contributing positively at the power conference level. However, Boston College needs bodies, so look for both to see significant minutes.

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With two months remaining until Midnight Madness officially kicks off the 2012-13 season, there’s no telling how the rest of the summer will shake out in the Big 12. We’ll watch intently as the NCAA rules on the eligibility status of TCU’s Devonta Abron, Texas Tech’s Blake Nash and Oklahoma State’s J.P. Olukemi, and we’ll cross our fingers each day not to log online and read of a new injury, suspension or arrest. A lot can happen between now and mid-October, but it’s already been an eventful summer in the Big 12. The league added two programs in West Virginia and TCU, several teams picked up late signees from both the high school and junior college ranks, and the coaching carousel spit out the old and welcomed Bruce Weber and Trent Johnson to the fold. Here’s a look at the major happenings from around the Big 12 during the past four months, incorporating both the good and bad this summer (click through for the complete summary):

• Iowa State: Royce White made the unsurprising decision this spring to leave after a season for the NBA, but coach Fred Hoiberg signed an extension and Utah transfer Will Clyburn is tearing up summer league. The Mayor will be just fine.
• Kansas: So there’s a minor scandal involving an alleged drug dealer running around the 2010-11 Kansas basketball team. This could turn messy eventually, but for now, Bill Self is celebrating the late additions of freshmen Milton Doyle and Rio Adams, both deemed eligible by the NCAA to play this season.
• Kansas State: We’re still not exactly sure why Frank Martin left a rock-solid program for one of the worst jobs in the SEC, but it’s Bruce Weber’s team now. He assembled a staff of familiar faces this summer, including former Southern Illinois coach Chris Lowery, to lead a team returning almost every key piece from last year’s NCAA Tournament squad.
• Oklahoma: All is quiet in Norman. Thank God. After Kelvin Sampson and Jeff Capel dragged Oklahoma’s basketball program through enough scandal to last a lifetime, Lon Kruger dealt only with a transfer from reserve point guard Carl Blair. Besides that, he’s using the summer to mesh a team with several individually talented returners, a few stud freshmen and impact transfer Amath M’Baye.
• Baylor: Even amidst mass defections to the NBA, legal trouble from a former player, and an NCAA punishment/probation for impermissible phone calls and text messages, Scott Drew is still sitting pretty with a loaded roster for 2012-13. A few summer roadblocks won’t be enough to derail what he’s built in Waco.
• TCU: The Horned Frogs hired Trent Johnson to lead them during this time of conference transition, and he’s fighting an uphill battle in almost every respect. His facilities still lag behind the rest of his league, as does his overall fan support and, most importantly, his sheer level of talent on the roster. He’s still waiting to learn the NCAA’s ruling on Arkansas transfer Devonta Abron, who’s appealing to play immediately.
• West Virginia: Bob Huggins added a third major transfer last month in Boston College guard Matt Humphrey, who used the graduate school loophole to gain immediate eligibility. He’ll join Juwan Staten (Dayton) and Aaric Murray (La Salle), and together they must lead a group of fairly unproven but improving returners.
• Texas: J’Covan Brown left school a year early, meaning Rick Barnes must now rework his roster this summer without his do-it-all scoring guard. Good news is that point guard Myck Kabongo decided to stay in Austin, and everybody’s already raving about the early performances of freshmen big men Cameron Ridley and Prince Ibeh.
• Texas Tech: Six players transferred this offseason, allowing Billy Gillispie to ink nine newcomers for the Class of 2012. With questions still lingering about the scholarship situation, we’re not exactly sure who’s going to suit up for the Red Raiders in October. One freshman already left the team, and top recruit Wannah Bail’s academic issues forced him to briefly leave campus. Plus, South Florida transfer Blake Nash is waiting to hear about his hardship waiver, so this team is really a mystery right now.
• Oklahoma State: All other problems in this league seem trivial compared to Oklahoma State. A jury convicted former forward Darrell Williams of rape in front of a courtroom full of teammates and head coach Travis Ford, the latter of whom testified on Williams’ behalf. Adding to those woes, Ford suspended center Phillip Jurick after a marijuana arrest last weekend, so it’s been a difficult summer for the Cowboys. On the plus side, freshman Marcus Smart’s performance at the U-18 Championships this summer already has coaches buzzing about his potential.

1. We covered this story at length in our West Virginia Summer update, but Bob Huggins learned last week he’ll have Matt Humphrey eligible for the 2012-13 season. After transferring — and graduating — from Boston College, he’ll enroll in graduate school at West Virginia and play one season for the Mountaineers. Unlike fellow transfers Juwan Staten (Dayton) and Aaric Murray (La Salle), Humphrey isn’t a potential star. He spent the first two years of his career as a role player at Oregon, and as a junior at Boston College, he averaged double figures in scoring but did not finish with very gaudy shooting percentages from the field. He probably wasn’t the best fit under three-point trigger happy Steve Donahue, but he was forced to take the majority of the shots on a bad team. Huggins likes his defensive potential with his 6’5” frame in the backcourt — with a different role at West Virginia, Humphrey could have his best season yet.
2. Hard to believe it’s August already, but that means teams’ non-conference schedules should leak out on a weekly basis now. Kansas State released its non-conference slate, which includes a date in the NIT Season Tip-Off (field not released yet), a road game at George Washington, and two neutral-site games against Gonzaga (in Seattle) and Florida (in Kansas City). It’s a solid schedule for a veteran team in Bruce Weber’s first season, and we’re especially looking forward to those showdowns with Gonzaga and Florida, both contenders in their respective leagues likely to begin the season in the Top 25.
3. It seems like players have transferred from Texas Tech all summer long, but finally, Billy Gillispie is getting a little good news on the opposite end. Reports are swirling that Blake Nash will transfer into the program from South Florida. The 6’1” point guard has been all over the place during his eccentric career. He hails from Arizona and played a season at Williston State in North Dakota. Then he went to junior college. Then he went to South Florida, where averaged 3.4 points per game and participated — albeit sparingly — in all three of last season’s NCAA Tournament games under Stan Heath. According to the article we linked to, the roster move hasn’t even been verified by Texas Tech yet. Nash apparently has transferred to Tech because his ailing father lives in nearby Plainview, so it’s likely he’d be able to play right away.
4. Mike DeCourcy from Sporting News caught up with Bill Self a few days ago and discussed his recruiting strategies at Kansas, which has taken him all over the nation during his tenure. DeCourcy gives an inside look at Self’s thought process as he chases players from Chicago, New York, Alaska, Russia and just about every other spot on the map. Lately, of course, Self has found a few home grown products, including Perry Ellis. So that’s cut down on drive time and gas money a little bit.
5. Speaking of travel, Kansas is heading to Europe next week to play in a few exotic places. The Jayhawks will go to Switzerland and France, leaving on August 5 and returning on August 14. These sorts of trips against professional teams are always a way for the coaching staff to gauge their team during the off-season, but if there’s any team that needs this kind of trip, it’s KU. Self welcomes eight freshmen to his program, so any minute he can spend with them during game competition will help.

In an effort to remind you that college basketball does in fact exist during the summer, Big 12 microsite writer Danny Spewak (@dspewak) will roll out three summer updates per week during the next month. The goal is to compile every bit of news and information from the summer months for each team and package it into neat, easy-to-read capsules for your convenience. Next on the list — Big 12 newcomer West Virginia. 

2011-12 Record: 19-14, 9-9 Big East

It’s been four months since Gonzaga beat the pulp out of West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament, a debacle which prompted Bob Huggins to admonish his team as the “worst defensive team I’ve ever had in 30 years.” Much has changed since that fateful Thursday in March, however. For starters, the Mountaineers don’t even play in the same conference after making the official transition from the Big East to the Big 12 last month. More importantly, Huggins’ roster has changed significantly. Leading scorers Kevin Jones and Truck Bryant graduated, three other players transferred, and his top Class of 2012 recruit had to reclassify and enroll in prep school. After losing nine of its final 13 games a year ago, it’s a season of transition for Huggins and his Mountaineers. Headlined by three Division I transfers — a class which rivals Iowa State’s Korie Lucious and Will Clyburn as the best group of transfers in the Big 12 — Huggins must use this critical summer period to establish roles for not only his newcomers, but also a giant sophomore class ready to bear more responsibility on this team in 2012-13.

Huggins Was a Little Ticked Off After a Poor Finish Last Year

Summer Orientation: Let’s start with the most recent addition to West Virginia’s basketball program: Matt Humphrey. He’s not the most celebrated transfer on this squad (see below), but he joined the Mountaineers’ squad this summer after graduating from Boston College and using the graduate school loophole. Humphrey, who actually began his career by spending two years at Oregon, is somewhat of an enigma. Unlike Huggins’ other highly-coveted transfers, Humphrey brings a few question marks. Despite averaging double figures in scoring as a junior at Boston College, he was not an efficient offensive player, shooting 35 percent from the field and just 31 percent from three. Playing on a horrid team for a coach (Steve Donahue) who emphasizes the three-ball, Humphrey averaged more shot attempts than any other Eagle and did not appear to fit well with the offense. However, there’s a reason an established coach like Huggins saw something in Humphrey, and a closer look at his skill set reveals he may actually be a major coup for the Mountaineers as a late addition. That’s because he will not play the same role as he did at Boston College. He won’t need to lead the team in shot attempts — Huggins has plenty of other scoring options to lean on. All he needs to do is add depth and veteran savvy to a rather young group, and Huggins has already praised his ability to defend on the perimeter and disrupt opponents with his 6’5” frame. Matt Humphrey won’t need to be a savior, so all things considered, it’s a good pickup for Huggins.

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Over the next four weeks we’ll be taking a step back and looking at each team in the ACC to assess where each program — and the conference as a whole — stands before we totally turn our attention to the 2013-14 season later this fall. Today’s targe: Boston College.

Where They Stand Now

The bottom of the ACC was a dumpster fire last season. Think of an acclerant cocktail of mediocre coaching, inexperienced youth and genuine lack of talent to make it extra volatile. Somehow Boston College, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech all finished conference play with four wins. However, if forced to pick the team occupying the lowest point in the conference cellar, Boston College would steal the honor. It wasn’t entirely the Eagles’ fault: Steve Donahue was in his second year of coaching and saw his roster truly gutted, leaving a motley crew of freshmen, transfers and walk-ons. To make matters worse, Donahue’s best player — Patrick Heckmann — went down with mononucleosis in January. The good news is that Donahue is a very capable coach. He stole a win against the eventual ACC Champion Florida State Seminoles, and his team significantly improved over the course of the season.

Patrick Heckmann Led the Eagles During Nonconference Play Last Season (AP/A. Gallardo)

Who’s Leaving?

The Eagles lose six players, including transfers Matt Humphrey (who is transferring to West Virginia, the second transfer of his career) and Gabe Moton. While the losses won’t help the Eagles, Humphrey didn’t fit well with Donahue’s system and Moton managed less than 20 minutes of playing time for a team that should only get better. The four departing seniors combined to play just over 23 minutes a game, contributing a combined 2.6 points and 1.7 rebounds a game.

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1. It may be the slowest of slow times in the college basketball year, but there’s always at least something going on. This week, Utah was fairly busy, adding to its staff and adding its second commitment for the 2013 class. First, on the recruiting front, head coach Larry Krystkowiak got good news when Salt Lake City’s own Parker Van Dyke, a combo guard who averaged 25 points per game as a junior on his way to the Utah Class 4A Most Valuable Player award (as named by The Salt Lake City Tribune), committed to the program on Monday, joining point guard Julian Jacobs in the 2013 class. However, there is something of some bad news mixed in with this signing, as Van Dyke expects to serve an LDS mission following his high school graduation, meaning he won’t actually put on a Ute uniform until 2015. Chalk it up to doing business in the state of Utah.
2. The other change in the Utah program is with the addition of a couple new staff members. First, former Ute player Phil Cullen is returning to campus to become the new director of player development and camps for Krystkowiak. Cullen played for the Utes between 1998 and 2002 and was most recently an assistant coach at Grand Canyon University. The other hire is Charles Stephenson, who will be the program’s first-ever strength and conditioning coach. In the past, the basketball program shared strength and conditioning coach Greg Argust with the football team, but now Stephenson’s responsibility will be entirely with the men’s basketball program.
3. Oregon State also scored a commitment this week as 7’1” center Cheikh N’Diaye out of Carlsbad, California, announced his attention to attend the Corvallis campus. He’s now the second 2013 recruit to commit to the Beavers, joining point guard L.J. Westbrook, who committed last summer. The big man is a work in progress offensively, but is a monster blocking shots on the defensive end. A native of Senegal, N’Diaye is no relation to Washington center Aziz N’Diaye.
4. Washington State sophomore forward Patrick Simon announced his decision to transfer out of the program last week. It was a disappointing stay with the Cougs for the sharpshooter, playing just over 400 total minutes in his career and tallying only 152 points. He got off to a rousing start, scoring 27 points in 39 minutes over his first three games (including 5-of-10 shooting from deep), but by the end of the season as his jumper left him, he was getting spot minutes at best. Simon will be better off sliding down the ladder a bit, perhaps winding up at a Big Sky school, or even dropping down to Division II and becoming eligible next year.
5. Then there’s Oregon, who learned this week that top-100 recruit Chris Obekpa, who the Ducks had been in hot pursuit of, had chosen St. John’s over them. As a result, barring last minute developments, Oregon will have two open scholarships for next season. Also of some note to Oregon fans, former Duck Matt Humphrey, who transferred out of the program in the Ernie Kent-to-Dana Altman transition and played with Boston College last year, is on the move again, on his way to finish up his college career in West Virginia.

1. It has been a while since we have checked in with some recent news from everybody’s favorite basketball conference that is slowly falling apart, and for that we apologize. We have real jobs (womp womp) and occasionally it can be difficult to find time to recap the week’s Big East news. That said, we recognize our recent shortcomings and will make amends starting now. Weekly Fives will come out on Tuesday morning, and barring some minor catastrophe, they will become a regular staple again. So rejoice, and enjoy some much belated news.
2. Maybe Villanova isn’t going to lose center Markus Kennedy after all. The rising sophomore made the understandable announcement that he was transferring two weeks ago, presumably because there weren’t a lot of minutes to go around next season. Well now he appears to be reconsidering that decision, although it is still unknown whether coach Jay Wright would even take him back. Kennedy had an unremarkable freshman campaign, but did look like someone who could develop into a quality contributor down the road. The question now becomes whether he is good enough to continue to take up a scholarship Wright could give to a more talented recruit in the next year or two.
3. The frontcourt that Rick Pitino has assembled at Louisville for next season will be very talented and very deep, but that didn’t stop the Cardinals from adding to the mix as they landed one of the last 2012 Top 100 recruits left unsigned in Montrezl Harrell. Harrell asked for his release from Virginia Tech when the Hokies fired Seth Greenberg, and now the undersized but rugged power forward — who also was recently named to the US Men’s U-18 national team — will be headed to the Bluegrass State. Considering the depth the Cardinals already boast in the paint, it will be tough for Harrell to crack the rotation and find consistent minutes as a freshman, and the addition also forces Louisville to play the always fun game of musical scholarships, but the late signing is still quite a coup.
4. Like so many others who cover the conference, we were guilty of doubting Steve Lavin’s ability to recruit talent to St. John’s given the doubts about his long term future with the Red Storm. Well, consider us properly shamed, as not only has Lavin continued to make progress health-wise, but the program’s recruiting continues to flourish under the leadership of their charismatic coach. First, Lavin convinced Jakarr Sampson to recommit, and most recently, Top 100 big man Christopher Obekpa committed too, giving the Red Storm another talented class highlighted by big men. Given the well-publicized transfers, recruiting defeats, and early departures that marked the Red Storm’s season, this recruiting class is huge from a momentum standpoint. With Lavin’s health improving, he is set to return to the bench next season, and it looks like St. John’s has successfully avoided a catastrophe and continues to move in the right direction.
5. Two Big East teams made news this week thanks to transfer decisions, although the teams made news for opposite reasons. First, former Providence combo guard Gerard Coleman is officially transferring to Gonzaga, where his ability to score and rebound will make a huge impact in Spokane once he sits out a year. It is never a good thing to lose a player of Coleman’s caliber, but the Friars’ backcourt is already so crowded, it at least gives coach Ed Cooley one less headache to worry about. The second transfer involves Huggy Bear and his West Virginia squad, who landed well-traveled forward Matt Humphrey. The 6-foot-5 forward has already made stops at Oregon and Boston College and will be eligible to play immediately because he earned his degree from BC last year. He will have one year of eligibility remaining and after an impact season in Chestnut Hill, Humphrey should give Huggins an experienced and multi-faceted swing player who can step out and knock down the three-pointer as well as defend multiple positions. At the very least it should help the Mountaineers recover from the loss of its Mr. Everything, Kevin Jones.

1. Orlando Sentinel: Remember that whole thing about Florida State‘s athletic department operating at a loss, creating a clear-cut reason to try to join a conference where they received more money? Forget it. Florida State is now apparently operating in the black. How did this happen? Well, it turns out the ACC actually generated more money than expected and that all of the member schools are receiving windfalls of extra cash. Instead of getting the budgeted $14 million, Florida State got nearly $16 million. Of course, the situation is a little more complicated than that, but the long story cut short is that the Seminoles are not operating at a deficit.
2. Washington Post: Of course, for some schools, the extra money isn’t enough. Maryland‘s athletic director Kevin Anderson had the unfortunate task of having to explain why the windfall won’t be enough to save some of the athletic programs that have been on the chopping block since the Terrapin athletic department found itself overextended. Some better news? Maryland seems to definitely be in the running to land a pair of five-star recruiting prospects in the Harrison twins.
3. Daily Mail: In a classic case of bad news/good news, former Boston College player Matt Humphrey has transferred to West Virginia. Humphrey was a big scorer for Boston College. He was also a terrible shooter and something of an offensive black hole who probably hurt his team more than helped it. It’s a rare opportunity to celebrate when the second-leading scorer on your team transfers, but that’s exactly what should be happening in this case. Less celebration-worthy? BC Interruption‘s quick analysis of the Eagles’ likely schedule for next season.
4. Chapelboro: Pete Brennan, the legendary 1958 ACC Player of the Year and member of the 1957 North Carolina NCAA champions, has died. Collected and embedded in this article are a lovely collection of stories and anecdotes  by Brennan recorded in 2010 on the radio program “Who’s Talking?” It’s a wonderful look at one of the great ACC players of all-time in his own words.
5. Fox Sports South: In more sad news, former Clemson center Bill Ross died in a car accident. Ross is a Clemson basketball legend, a member of the Tigers team that went to the Elite Eight in 1980, which is still a school best. Ross also played a pivotal role in a one-point victory over an Indiana team the next season that would go on to win the 1981 NCAA tournament.