The Scarlet and Gray Will Still Wear 'Brons

Not so, however, on the Ohio State University campus — at least within the men’s basketball program.  Since we’re talking about shoes, Doug Lesmerises (whose last name means “the wild cherries” in French, if we’re not mistaken), a writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, reported yesterday that Thad Matta and his Buckeyes harbor no anger against James, specifically meaning that the basketball Buckeyes will continue to wear the LeBron-style Nike shoes as they have for the past three seasons.  In Lesmerises’ report, you can see that Matta has chosen to take the high road.  “In my opinion, LeBron still loves Ohio, still loves Ohio State,” he explained, later adding, “It’s more who he is as a basketball player, not who he’s playing for.”  At the end of the article, though, Matta does indeed note that, “I do wish he would have stayed at Cleveland.”

We await Dan Gilbert’s response.  He’ll probably choose to withhold comment on this one.  But…let’s not be hasty.  Remember, as we learned during the Cavs’ pursuit of Tom Izzo, Gilbert is an alum of Big Ten rival Michigan State.

One of my favorite Twitter avatars

Then last season things came unraveled and the Utes finished 14-17, the team’s worst record in the past 25 years, which predates the Rick Majerus era. On top of that, Boylen struggled with the local media with the most notable example following the Utes loss to BYU, and after the season he lost several key players including highly touted guard Marshall Henderson. Since that time, Boylen has turned towards junior college players to fill the void, and, while they may have the talent, the question is how quickly will they learn to play together. For Boylen’s sake, hopefully the answer is in time to get the Utes back to the NCAA Tournament or the team may be making the jump to the Pac-10 without him.

A Spartan for life -- his words.

Spartan fans had reason to be nervous just before the reports began to surface that Izzo was staying;  his future still uncertain, he called a team meeting before confirming he was going to remain as the Michigan State coach, a sequence of events that one could have taken to mean that he was about to accept the job with the Cavs.  This now can only mean that he simply wanted to first alert his players to the good news as any responsible coach would do, and not have them receive it via television or tweet.

That’s why it’s good for college basketball that this man sticks in East Lansing.  Anyone who remembers how he struggled to keep his composure when asked in a post-game interview about the welfare of Kalin Lucas after Lucas tore his Achilles’ tendon knows how much he cares about his players off the court as much as on it (that’s just one example).  His players love him, he’s polite, affable, even self-effacing, as evidenced by the fact that he apologized for taking so long to come to a decision about this job offer.  Clevelanders certainly can’t be too mad at him, since he included in his statements an entreaty that LeBron hang around as a Cavalier.

It’s World Cup time.

Like the Olympics and the Fields Medal, this is an every-four-year event.  It pits nation against nation in the sport that still stirs up the most passion among its fans on a worldwide scale.  Imagine if we only got one NCAA Tournament every four years.  Well, this is the one summer in four that soccer (the word we’ll use for this article, though we’re aware that most of the world calls it football) lovers get to enjoy their chance to crown a champion.  If you follow RTC on Twitter (if you don’t, shame on you, and go click our logo at right), you’ve probably been impressed by our occasional tweet about other sports or even current events.  It’s not exactly a long limb we’d be going out on for us to assume that if you’re a college basketball fan, you’ve probably got an interest in other sports, too — though international soccer might not be one of them.

Want to talk to her? Know your World Cup. Yeah, we thought that'd keep you reading.

Worry not, our fellow college hoopheads.  We’ve got you covered.  We want you to be able to hang in those conversations at those sports pubs.  We want you to be able to approach that lovely blonde bespectacled German girl wearing her Deutschland jersey in the supermarket (this actually happened to us a week ago).  We want you to impress your friends with your world vision and increased overall sports knowledge.  You think those kids in the stands at Duke or Xavier or Utah State are both well-prepared and berserk?  Wait until you hear the crowd at a World Cup soccer match.  We want you to enjoy that vital aspect of it all, as well.  We’re by no means experts on the subject, but to those ends, we give you — trumpet flourish — Rush The Court’s College Basketball Fan’s Guide to Watching the World Cup.

If this England squad is like Kentucky, then Wayne Rooney is their John Wall.

THE TEAMS

First, let’s list some of the participating  teams and define those squads in terms familiar to college hoop fans.  As you’ll see, by the way, national soccer teams have some of the best nicknames you’ll ever hear.  The best?  Cameroon.  The Indomitable Lions.  I mean, COME ON…

South Africa. The host nation.  Not much is expected of them, but this is a sports-loving nation that’s becoming more soccer-savvy by the day.  They’ve improved in recent years and they’ll be better after this particular World Cup.  They don’t have the resources of the bigger national programs, but the chance to play history-making matches in front of their home fans may propel them farther in the tournament than a lot of people will pick them.  In terms of college basketball parallels, could this be anybody else but the Butler Bulldogs from last season?  We haven’t asked him, but we guarantee you, this is the side (soccer teams are often called “sides” by the way) for which Kyle Whelliston and the Mid-Majority are rooting.

Argentina. Here’s an interesting bunch.  This is a side with a proud history in the sport that’s also a sexy pick to win the whole thing.  It’s not just because they have the guy largely considered the best player in the world right now in Lionel Messi, but the supporting cast is high-quality as well, with a fiery finisher in Carlos Tevez and stable midfield presence of Javier Mascherano.  The biggest problem — their coach is kind of a boob.  He may be one of the great soccer personalities and players of all time, but Diego Maradona’s coaching ability has been questioned from the day he was hired, and for good reason.  So, we asked our guys here about a college basketball example of a team with possibly the best player in the game and a decent supporting cast, with sort of a boob of a coach whose talented players only made him look like slightly less of one.  At that moment, the Wake Forest grads here — without looking up — simultaneously raised their hands and said, “Wake Forest, 1995 to 1997.  Tim Duncan. Dave Odom. Take it to the bank.  You won’t find a better one.”  We’re going with it.  And we’re sorry, Winston-Salem.

Our Wake grads immediately likened the Deacon days of Tim Duncan to Argentina with Lionel Messi...and the coaching of Maradona to Dave Odom.

England. America’s first opponent reminds us a lot of the Kentucky program from the last couple of years.  England has a proud history, a crazed but phenomenal fan base, and some titles in their past, but have posted some disappointing results in recent World Cups while playing under coaches that might not have been good fits for such a high-pressure job.  Kentucky went through a similar phase from 2007-2009 under Billy Gillispie, but hope returned when a new coach of Italian descent arrived in the form of John Calipari (for England, it’s Fabio Capello) and loaded the team with exciting young stars and turned things around for them instantaneously.  Like Kentucky last season, England is one of the top teams in this tournament and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if they won it all.  Also like last year’s Wildcats, England are fielding a much more exciting team this time, with their version of John Wall being Wayne Rooney, a fierce competitor, great scorer, and exemplary teammate, not to mention a fellow who will gladly sacrifice his body to score, or assist on one.  Similar to Wall, Rooney might be considered the best player in the game…were it not for just that one other guy (the aforementioned Messi, in the role of Evan Turner).  And the recent English soccer infidelity scandal involving John Terry and Wayne Bridge makes this whole Eric Bledsoe nonsense look like a jaywalking  ticket.  Maybe we should have chosen Louisville.

Didier Drogba feels Kenyon Martin's pain. (AP)

Ivory Coast. I know…who?  Don’t kid yourself, the Elephants (niiiice) have been an emerging soccer nation for a while, now, and this was a World Cup in which they were expected to break through and do some real damage.  A lot of experts picked them to go as far as the Final Four, er, I mean, semifinals.  But you’ll note my use of the past tense, there.  That’s because they are the 2010 World Cup version of the Cincinnati Bearcats from the 1999-2000 season.  You recall that that UC team had Kenyon Martin, a fierce, physical specimen of a player who was thought to be the best player in the game at that time, expected to take his team pretty doggone far.  Then he broke his leg on the virtual eve of the NCAA Tournament.  Those who don’t consider Lionel Messi the best player in the world say that it’s either Wayne Rooney, or Ivory Coast’s Didier Drogba.  Unfortunately for the Ivorians, Drogba also suffered a bad fracture — to his elbow, in this case — a mere eleven days before his side’s first game.  And like Martin’s Bearcats from 2000, Drogba’s squad is now considered to be pretty much toast, their chances of advancing far into the tournament all but gone.  Incidentally, Drogba had emergency surgery and is actually going to try to play, but that experiment will unfortunately end with the first hit on that plates-and-pins rigged elbow.

Drogba (the one on the ground) right after the challenge to the elbow.

Spain. They’re currently the world #2, but they’re the team everyone’s picking to win it.  If you took last year’s Kansas and Syracuse teams and made an all-star team out of it, you got Spain.  Like both of those teams last season, Spain can get scoring from any position, except maybe from defender and captain Carles Puyol.  I wouldn’t leave Xavi, David Villa, Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas, or Andres Iniesta open past the midfield line.  The problem is, like Cole Aldrich, Wesley Johnson, and Sherron Collins, they’ll use their size and/or speed to create their own scoring space regardless of what you do, unless they allow you to bring a baseball bat, and even that might not do it.  Like our KU/SU all-star team parallel, there just aren’t any weaknesses, here — the second team would contain starters for most other squads.  Ridiculous athletes?  Check.  Gorgeous passing?  Check.  Scoring ability?  Double check.  Coaching?  Check.  Most experts feel you can go ahead and write the check for La Furia Roja (awesome, again).  Of course, that’s what we thought about Kansas last season…which is why we threw Syracuse in there.

Germany. Die Mannschaft (that’s the national team’s name…yeah, I know, right?!?) always exceeds expectations, no matter what they look like leading up to any World Cup.  Even if they look mediocre on paper, they’ll do better than that.  You can count on it.  For this cup, they’ve got a core group of three fine players — Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski up by the goal, and a midfielder with what we consider the best and likely most fear-inducing name in the tournament: Bastian Schweinsteiger — with some good role players surrounding them.  This brings to mind Tom Izzo of the Cleveland Cavaliers and his Michigan State program, a bunch that always seems to do better than people think they will even though they might look ordinary in the regular season and Big Ten Tournament.  Also, they lost the former Big Ten Player of the Year to injury when Kalin “Cool Hand” Lucas suffered that awful Achilles tendon rupture against Maryland in the Tournament last year; Germany also lost their most important player, Michael Ballack (nicknamed the “Little Kaiser”), to an ankle injury back in mid-May, and he won’t be playing in South Africa.  Still, like the Spartans in any NCAA Tournament, you’d be a doofus to ignore Germany.

Izzo's ability to push his Spartans past all pre-tournament expectations mirrors Germany's similar quality in World Cups.

Brazil. The current top-ranked team in the world.  Out of the 18 World Cups that have been played, only seven countries can claim to have ever won the title.  Brazil has five Cups, the most of anyone, and two of the last four.  They are constantly loaded with stars, on-the-ball magicians of the highest order.  We’ll go ahead and say that they’re “led” by midfielder Kaka, striker Luis Fabiano, and one of the top defenders in the world in Lucio, but the reality is there’s not one player on the Brazil side who can’t put it in the net.  Each one of them can kill you.  It would be easy to compare Brazil with UCLA, since each has the most titles in their respective sport.  But Brazilian coach Dunga couldn’t carry Ben Howland’s jock if he had a wheelbarrow.  And we won’t even mention him in the same sentence as John Wooden.  No, if we remove this past season, Brazil reminds us of North Carolina — rich in tradition, two recent titles, constantly talented at every position, always possessive of great depth, and an automatic first- or second-favorite to win any tournament in which they find themselves.  By the way, most Brazilian players are mononymic because Portuguese names can be pretty darn long (Kaka’s real name is Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite), so that’s what that’s about.

Tradition, titles, talent...is that UNC -- or Brazil?

Netherlands. A national side with a proud and illustrious history (but no World Cup titles), this year’s Netherlands team is loaded with goal scorers possessing laser-knife accuracy, namely Arjen Robben (who’s 26, looks 40, but plays with the passion and speed of 19), Wesley Sneijder, and that bully Dirk Kuyt.  And we think Robin van Persie still has some goals in him.  Despite the loads of skill at both ends, almost nobody’s talking about them, and they also have a pretty easy draw, all things considered.  The parallel may break down as far as the titles are concerned, but otherwise this sounds a lot like last year’s Duke Blue Devils — overflowing with talent, getting blamed for an easy draw, and ignored without good reason.  And, like some recent Blue Devil teams, the Netherlands has a little recent history of bowing out of the big tournament earlier than expected.  We saw what Coach K’s team thought about that last year, though, didn’t we?

USA. This is a tough one, because of the obvious bias.  We won’t expound on why soccer has yet to take off in the US as much as people seem to keep predicting it will; that’s for another time and another blog.  Soccer in America is still a work in progress, but this year’s side has got more talent than some of the international experts are letting on, and they’ll be one of the fitter teams in the competition.  Striker Jozy Altidore has something like -13% body fat, defender Oguchi Onyewu has a suspect knee but looks like he could go a few rounds with Floyd Mayweather, Landon Donovan is becoming one of the world’s finest midfielders (and was once married to Bianca Kajlich, so props, brother), the versatile Clint Dempsey tends to rise up and score right when you think he’s literally sleeping, and goalie Tim Howard is one of the world’s best at his position.  It’s tough to think of an analogous college basketball team, and people aren’t going to like this, but we’ll call them last year’s Northern Iowa squad.  Dangerous if they’re on, and capable of one big upset, but the best-case realistic scenario is the Sweet 16.  We hope we’re wrong.

The US side reminds us of Northern Iowa, in terms of its realistic chances...for now.

THE ANNOUNCERS

ESPN has brought in a cadre of Englishmen to call the games on TV (actually, Derek Rae is Scottish, not English…we saw Braveheart), a decision that has rankled some American fans. But it all depends on how you look at it.  If you’re someone who thinks America deserves the best, that’s what you’ve got here with this crew:

Martin Tyler — Named the Commentator of the Decade by the English Premier League.  In terms of where he stands in terms of the history of the game, we’d parallel him with Brent Musberger during the CBS days.  Dan Shulman also comes to mind, as he’s probably moved up to the level of the top announcer in college hoops in recent years.  He’ll be objective while doing USA vs England on Saturday, you can count on that.  His delivery is as soothing as morphine, and he won’t have a Dick Vitale to contend with in the booth.  We’d actually pay double to hear a Tyler/Vitale booth for UNC vs Duke.  Actually, we take that back.  No we wouldn’t.

Tyler -- the best there is.

Adrian Healey — Probably our favorite of the group.  He’s a tad younger, and he comes across less like a schoolteacher and more like a friend of yours who’s talking only to you and nobody else while calling a game.  Sounds like he’s genuinely surprised by any goal, as if he’s never seen one before, but it’s great.  If you were ever going to get a Bill Raftery-like call of  “Les Onions!” during, say, a France vs Mexico tilt, this would be the guy.  But that won’t happen.  You’ll still like him.

Derek Rae — Mr. Rae can be a puzzler.  At times it seems like he gets a little too comfy and when that happens, he can lapse into a monotone.  Even when a goal is scored, you’ll wonder if he’s rooting for the other team, since he never gets too excited about it.  When you listen to him, though, don’t sweat the intonation — concentrate on the content.  Nobody does their homework like this guy.  He even calls embassies to make sure he knows how to properly pronounce players’ names.  His knowledge of soccer is encyclopedic.  When he’s on the mic, you’ll enjoy the call despite the lack of variance in volume, and you’ll learn something.  In this way, he reminds us of Len Elmore.  Mr. Elmore isn’t an excitable guy when he does color commentary, but he’s probably the most insightful.  He’s one of the best college basketball announcers out there, and it’s because of what he says, not the volume with which he says it, even though he’s even better when he gets fired up about something.

Ian Darke — Here’s another man capable of giving us a Raftery moment.  Darke can bring you out of your seat with his excitability, so hold onto your chair if a particularly sweet goal is scored.  If you’ve ever watched an English League game, it’s probably his or Tyler’s voice that you’ve heard.  Understand, please, that these comparisons are relative, but Darke sometimes reminds us of Kevin Harlan and his crazy inflections and one-liners at big moments.  Like Harlan, he likes filling most of the space in a broadcast, and he has no problem yelling at you.

"He just sucked the gravity right out of the building!" Hey, it could happen with Darke.

Andres Cantor — You know him.  “GOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!” Yeah, that’s him.  Unfortunately, he’ll only be on the radio, and in Spanish.  If you can understand him, you’d be hearing the Gus Johnson of soccer.  Which would be phenomenal.

OUR PICKS

Keep in mind, this is a college basketball blog.  We don’t even know if what’s written above is coherent.  We just took what we know about these teams and personalities and made connections with what we really know, which is college roundball.  So don’t be making any special trips to the ATM after reading this, unless you’re betting opposite what we say.

So, disclaimer out of the way, here we go:  we’ll take England over Mexico in a seriously close quarterfinal, and the Netherlands surprising the holy living caipirinhas out of Brazil in the other quarter on that side.  On the other end, we’ll take Tim Duncan and Argentina over Tom Izzo’s Germany side, and Spain’s La Furia Roja over Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions in a battle of great nicknames (Cameroon wins that one if it were nicknames only, though).  That gives us Netherlands over England is the first Final Four matchup, and call us crazy, but we’re taking the Oranje (that’s Holland).  Then it’s Spain over Argentina in the other Final Four bout.

It would be the safe play to take Spain in the final…but where’s the fun in that?  We’re going with the Netherlands to pull the shocker.  It wasn’t a shock when Duke won in Indianapolis a few months ago, but as far as the tournament as a whole, the similarities are there.  They’re talented at every spot, deep, have scorers who can light up the scoreboard and defenders who can turn out your lights.  They’re well-coached.  The road in won’t be very difficult, and despite all that, nobody will really talk about them until they actually get close to winning it.  If they actually get there and knock off the Spaniards, it would be closer to Villanova over Georgetown, but what the hell.  The Netherlands will be singing “One Shining Moment” on July 11th — or some strange-sounding version thereof.

The Netherlands -- your RTC pick for World Cup 2010 champs.

And that pick has nothing to do with the fact that the administrative assistant here at the RTC Southern Compound is a knockout babe from Maastricht.

Enjoy the World Cup, fellow college basketball fans…now that you can.

Within the last hour, the AP released a report citing a source who claims that Michigan State’s legendary Tom Izzo has been in talks with the fine folks from the Cleveland Cavaliers — namely, owner Dan Gilbert, who’s a Michigan State alumnus — about the terms of a possible contract to coach the Cavs, if Izzo should feel so inclined.  The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported Monday that such talks centered around a five year deal worth $6 million a year.  Even the John Calipari-to-the-NBA rumors didn’t get this far.

If he's talking, Cavalier fans are smiling. (G. Shamus/Getty)

If this is true, Cavalier fans should take heart.  It’s doubtful that Izzo would even be involved in such a discussion if he wasn’t positive that LeBron James was returning to Cleveland.  Even if Izzo doesn’t sign on the dotted line, Cavs supporters are probably breathing a little easier (by the way, the LeBron-O-Meter on that above link is great), not to mention that the New York Post‘s Peter Vecsey is reporting that he has an insider with knowledge of a three-year contract being finalized for LeBron.

Of the squads taking part in the Final Four in Indianapolis this past March, three of them — Butler, Michigan State, and West Virginia — achieved Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores good enough to put them in the top 10% of all men’s college basketball teams, and therefore earn themselves an NCAA Public Recognition Award.  Yes, you read that right.  The only Final Four team not earning the award this time around:  Duke.

Da'Sean and his 'Eer teammates are in the Top 10% of the NCAA's APR scores, which should silence some of Huggins' detractors. (K. Binder/Blueandgoldnews.com)

At this moment, if you’re a Duke fan, you are probably positioning yourself at your computer, ready to fire off to us what’s sure to be a nasty e-mail or comment, indeed.  Well, sheathe your keyboards.  The APR is one of the tools used by the NCAA to monitor academic progress of each individual student-athlete, but keep in mind that it’s not perfect.  According to the linked AP article above from ESPN.com, each student-athlete earns a point for his program by simply staying at the school, and another point for doing well enough academically to stay eligible.  Each graduating player also earns a point.  The team loses a point for each player who transfers, and another for each player who leaves for the NBA, though we’re not sure what those things have to do with academic performance.  If a player isn’t in good academic standing when they leave/transfer, that’s another point lost.  All these points are then thrown into some mathematical formula, and every team in every sport is given a score.  A score of 1,000 is perfect, and 925 is considered the “minimum level of academic success.“  Fall below 925 for a semester or two, and you could be facing a slap from the NCAA’s pimp hand of sanctions.

These new scores (a full list, which should be fun to examine, is to be released later in the spring) are not just from this year; it’s a multi-year score that dates from 2005-06.  The AP article notes that Duke has had three recent transfers that counted against their score, as well as the fact that the Blue Devils have been in this “overachieving” category in the two seasons before this past one.  In fact, the only two national title-winning teams that earned the top-10% honor this year were the 2009 Division 1 championship football team from Villanova and the 2009 Farleigh Dickinson women’s bowling team.

This is, however, not meant to minimize the achievements of the other three Final Four teams, or any team specially honored with an NCAA Public Recognition Award.  But with a fan base that loudly and proudly touts itself as the ultimate blend of academics and athletics, and a head coach who does television commercials in which he advertises how he wants his players “prepared for life,” well…

To our Duke-supporting readers, we’re not saying those claims are necessarily wrong, so calm down.  Nobody’s challenging the academic standards of your school. But we are saying that you should probably prepare yourselves for a little, um, good-natured ribbing.  Especially if you happen to run into some Bulldogs, Mountaineers, or Spartans next season.

The ACC/Big Ten Challenge is surely one of the highlights of the non-conference season. These two power conferences are perennially the most competitive and successful in college basketball, and the powers-that-be who determine the games routinely do a fantastic job of pitting the best teams from each respective conference against each other. The Challenge next winter is ratcheted up even another notch with Duke, Michigan State and Purdue likely rounding out the top three in the polls. Let’s delve into each game with a breakdown and prediction:

November 29- Virginia at Minnesota

The ugly Sylven Landesberg breakup was crushing for Virginia’s hopes of contending in the ACC this season. Trusting Tony Bennett and his system, most prognosticators would likely have pegged the Cavailers as a NCAA team with Landesberg around. Virginia still has returning talent in spite of his departure, but it won’t feature enough firepower to win at the Barn in Minneapolis. Replacing Lawrence Westbrook and Damian Johnson won’t be easy, but Tubby Smith still has a 47% three-point shooter in Blake Hoffarber, breakout candidate Devoe Joseph and the return of star guard Al Nolen at his disposal. Winner: Minnesota (Big Ten leads 1-0).

November 30- North Carolina at Illinois

One of the headlining matchups, this game should peg two top-25 teams that boast loads of young talent. Depending on how much of an impact freshmen Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall and Reggie Bullock can make immediately, and how much John Henson, Tyler Zeller and Larry Drew improve in the offseason, Carolina could make the leap from NIT participant to top-15 team. Illinois has their own heralded recruiting class entering Champaign to play alongside reigning assist kid Demetri McCamey and the twin towers of Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale. It’s a bit overzealous to expect a young UNC team to win such a difficult road game this early in the season. Winner: Illinois (Big Ten leads 2-0).

Mike Tisdale leads a talented Illinois squad against Carolina

These two teams faced off in last year’s Challenge and the Buckeyes were able to emerge victorious in Columbus. Now they travel to Tallahassee to take on a Seminole squad that may have lost Solomon Alabi, but they do return all-ACC candidate Chris Singleton and sophomore Michael Snaer, a much-ballyhooed recruit two years ago that could make an impact. The Buckeyes still out-man the ‘Noles at nearly every position, though. If Aaron Craft is able to run the point as a freshman, the sky’s the limit for Thad Matta’s team. Jared Sullinger is the most college-ready player of this year’s class. He teams with three-point marksman Jon Diebler, the super-talented William Buford, defensive stalwart David Lighty and shot-blocker extraordinaire Dallas Lauderdale. Buckeyes squeak one out on the road. Winner: Ohio State (Big Ten leads 3-0).

November 30- Michigan at Clemson

Clemson will be looking for redemption after last season’s Challenge collapse against Illinois. A new coach, Brad Brownell, leads the Tigers charge without Trevor Booker. They still have enough to knock out a rebuilding Michigan team on their home floor. Demontez Stitt, Andre Young and Tanner Smith lead a talented Clemson backcourt, while Jerai Grant can certainly contribute in the post. Without Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims, it’s going to be a long season for John Beilein. Look for incoming freshmen Tim Hardaway Jr. and Evan Smotrycz to get an opportunity right away. Winner: Clemson (Big Ten leads 3-1).

November 30- Georgia Tech at Northwestern

Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt opted to remain in Atlanta rather than further pursue the St. John’s job. This decision could pay long-term dividends, but in 2010-11 it will likely be NIT for Hewitt’s Tech squad. Gani Lawal, Derrick Favors and Zach Peacock, their top three frontcourt scorers, all depart. It’ll be a more backcourt-oriented approach next season with Iman Shumpert, Mfon Udofia and Glen Rice Jr. all playing leading roles. Northwestern has their best opportunity in years to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. Leading scorer and rebounder Kevin Coble returns from last season’s devastating injury. Their three double digit scorers from last season are also back. The Wildcats take this one at home fairly easily. Winner: Northwestern (Big Ten leads 4-1).

November 30- Iowa at Wake Forest

Losing Al-Farouq Aminu, Ish Smith, Chas McFarland and L.D. Williams is a hard hit for the Demon Deacons and new coach Jeff Bzdelik. Luckily for Wake, their opponent in this matchup would kill to be in their situation. Iowa and recently hired Fran McAffrey have a full-blown rebuilding project staring them in the face, one that will probably keep Iowa near the Big Ten cellar for a few more seasons. Wake Forest is hoping sophomores C.J. Harris and Ari Stewart can post more consistent campaigns. Former coach Dino Gaudio locked up four impressive recruits that will all compete for playing time. In front of their raucous home crowd, they should win this game in blowout fashion. Winner: Wake Forest (Big Ten leads 4-2).

December 1- Michigan State at Duke

This game could very well be the best regular season matchup of the 2010-11 season. #1 vs. #2. Tom Izzo vs. Coach K. Kalin Lucas vs. Kyrie Irving. Reigning Final Four participants. The final day of the Challenge. It doesn’t get any sweeter than this for a non-conference matchup, quite possibly the most hyped since #1 Duke battled #2 Texas in East Rutherford in 2005 (which ones am I forgetting?). You won’t see many prognosticators picking Duke to lose at home at any point next season. With Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith back along with Irving and Seth Curry joining the fray, it’s going to be close to impossible to knock off the Blue Devils in front of their fans. If any team can do it next season, though, it’s Michigan State. They’re used to big games. Winner: Duke (Big Ten leads 4-3).

Michigan State can beat Duke if Durrell Summers gets hot

While Purdue matching up with North Carolina would have been sexier, the Hokies could very well prove to be the second best ACC team when the season comes to an end. Malcolm Delaney returning to Blacksburg for a final season gives the team major credibility. He’s joined by fellow leading scorers Jeff Allen and Dorenzo Hudson. Purdue is the better team overall now that JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore are back, a group many will peg to cut down the nets in Houston (I can’t argue). Robbie Hummel will be 100% following his ACL injury and Lewis Jackson the same after a foot injury hindered his 2009-10 season. Purdue’s headstrong and experienced unit will know how to handle the raucous Hokie crowd, handing the Big Ten an enormous road win in the process. Winner: Purdue (Big Ten leads 5-3).

December 1- NC State at Wisconsin

Sidney Lowe’s Wolfpack are truly one of the more intriguing teams heading into the summer. C.J. Leslie was a major coup as was Tracy Smith opting to play another season in Raleigh. Throw in Ryan Harrow, Lorenzo Brown, Scott Wood and Javier Gonzalez, and NC State could be in serious business for the first time since Julius Hodge was adorning the red and white. But winning at the Kohl Center? In December? When eventual national champ Duke couldn’t even accomplish the feat? That’s too much to ask. Jon Leuer returns for Bo Ryan as an all-Big Ten candidate. Winner: Wisconsin (Big Ten clinches, leads 6-3).

December 1- Indiana at Boston College

Nobody is talking about the Eagles as a possible sleeper. While most of the recruiting class under Al Skinner has ditched, new coach Steve Donahue still has some serious talent returning. Joe Trapani, Corey Raji, Reggie Jackson, Josh Southern and Biko Paris is not a terrible situation by any means, although the rebuilding process after 2010-11 will be strenuous. If they become acquainted to a new offensive philosophy, BC could make an NCAA Tournament push. Indiana will have Maurice Creek back from injury and returns nearly everyone of note with the exception of Devan Dumes. The pesky Hoosiers should give BC a run for their money, but they’re just not quite at the point of winning road games against ACC competition. Winner: Boston College (Big Ten leads 6-4).

December 1- Maryland at Penn State

Talor Battle coming back to Happy Valley gives the Nittany Lions some hope. The fact remains that they’re a one-man team more often than not. Unless forwards David Jackson, Jeff Brooks or incoming guard Taran Buie improve significantly, it’ll be the same story for Penn State. Maryland looks depleted with the senior class losses of Greivis Vasquez, Eric Hayes and Landon Milbourne. It’s prudent for role players Adrian Bowie, Dino Gregory, Cliff Tucker and Jordan Williams to take the torch and become impact contributors for Gary Williams. Williams showed the most potential for stardom last season.  I expect him to lead the way in this confidence-building road victory. Winner: Maryland (Big Ten wins 6-5).

This past weekend, the NBA Draft early entry deadline came and went. With most of the incoming freshman having decided their destination next fall (looking at you Terrence Jones) and underclassmen making their final announcements about next year’s plans, we finally have a solid sense of how the rosters will shake out for the 2010-11 college basketball season. Sounds like a fantastic time for another top 25 to me. I did my best to project each team’s starting lineup (which of course could change with injuries, suspensions, academic ineligibility, etc. from now until November) and even strapped on some predictions at the end. Enjoy.

1. Duke

Starting Lineup: G Kyrie Irving, G Nolan Smith, F Kyle Singler, F Mason Plumlee, F Miles Plumlee

The Blue Devils established themselves as the near-consensus top team as soon as Kyle Singler opted to return to Durham for another campaign. The losses of big bodies Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek could leave them a bit thin up front and slightly vulnerable against sizable opponents like Kansas State (both will participate in the CBE Classic) or ACC foe Florida State, but Mason Plumlee is a tremendous candidate to break out in his sophomore season. Jon Scheyer is replaced at the point by who scouts are saying might be the best guard to ever come out of New Jersey in Kyrie Irving. Pair him with returnee Nolan Smith and the Blue Devils are a prime candidate to push the tempo this season. Singler and Smith are both definite ACC POY candidates and Irving is the biggest recruit for Coach K since Josh McRoberts. Seth Curry was a 20+ PPG scorer at Liberty in 2008-09 and should be the first guard off the bench, while Andre Dawkins gives Coach K a deadeye shooter for crunch time. This combination of talent plus a championship trophy from April equates to an easy #1 ranking in the preseason.

2. Michigan State

Starting Lineup: G Kalin Lucas, G Durrell Summers, F Draymond Green, F Delvon Roe, C Derrick Nix

The only contributing player missing from last year’s Final Four squad is Raymar Morgan, meaning Tom Izzo is primed for another run deep into March. There are question marks- the readiness of Lucas after his devastating Achilles injury, the focus of Summers for an entire season in a loaded conference and the health of Roe up front. If Lucas returns to form, he’s an All-America candidate, while wings Summers and Chris Allen can spring for six treys on any night. Draymond Green is a bulky point-forward with an improving mid-range jumper that makes him extremely difficult to guard. The bench should also be stellar with Allen, Korie Lucious- who garnered valuable experience in place of Lucas last March- and two highly regarded recruits in Adreian Payne and Keith Appling. As usual, Izzo chose to challenge his Spartans in the preseason. They’ll head to Maui, face Syracuse in the Jimmy V and also have the Big 10/ACC Challenge contest on the docket.

3. Purdue

Starting Lineup: G Lewis Jackson, G Kelsey Barlow, G E’Twaun Moore, F Robbie Hummel, C JaJuan Johnson

The most important announcement of this past weekend was the decision of both E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson to return for their final season in West Lafayette. Both players made the right call- Johnson isn’t strong or consistent enough for the NBA and Moore may have gone undrafted. Plus, the Boilers have a decent shot at bringing home a national title next April. Robbie Hummel is way ahead of schedule recovering from his knee injury and Lewis Jackson will have a full season to blossom without any foot injury hindrances. Matt Painter will miss the leadership and work of lockdown perimeter defender Chris Kramer, but there’s more than enough production on both ends to contemplate beating out Michigan State and Ohio State for a conference title. Look for Kelsey Barlow to step in at Keaton Grant’s spot in the lineup, but I also wouldn’t count out incoming freshman Terone Johnson earning substantial minutes.

4. Kansas State

Starting Lineup: G Jacob Pullen, G Rodney McGruder, F Dominique Sutton, F Curtis Kelly, F Jamar Samuels

I’m not trying to underestimate the value of Denis Clemente to the Wildcats, but Frank Martin’s team could be even better protecting the Octagon of Doom than last season. Nobody will be out-manning or out-working Kansas State on the boards this season. They feature an assembly line of big bodies that can dominate the backboards and score respectably with UConn transfer Curtis Kelly being the most skilled. Jacob Pullen enters his senior season as the frontrunner for Big 12 Player of the Year and could be a First Team All-American. Pullen has tremendous range on his jumper, but the blow-by-ability (h/t Clark Kellogg) is also sensational. Look for athletic freak Wally Judge to break out in a big way during his sophomore campaign.

5. Villanova

Starting Lineup: G Maalik Wayns, G Corey Fisher, G Corey Stokes, F Antonio Pena, F Mouphtaou Yarou

I started this Top 25 thinking Villanova would be right around the #10-#13 range. After all, they lost clutch extraordinaire and four-year team leader Scottie Reynolds. But they kept moving up my rankings, mostly because I loved what I saw from Maalik Wayns in short spurts last season. He’s the next great Villanova guard and a clone of former Wildcat Kyle Lowry with even better passing ability. Corey Fisher is more than capable of running the Nova offense and could lead the Big East in free throws attempted. No guard duo will get to the line more often than Wayns and Fisher, plus Stokes provides a kick-out dimension for open threes. The frontline should be respectable led by much-improved Antonio Pena and the bench is capable with Dominic Cheek, Taylor King and Isaiah Armwood all bringing different facets to the table. Villanova is the best team in the Big East.

6. Pittsburgh

Starting Lineup: G Ashton Gibbs, G Brad Wanamaker, F Gilbert Brown, F Nasir Robinson, C Gary McGhee

One of the steadiest programs in college basketball, Pittsburgh returns everyone but Jermaine Dixon from a team that shocked most prognosticators and earned a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers almost never lose at home and Jamie Dixon is easily one of the best coaches around. Ashton Gibbs is as good of a pick as any to win conference player of the year honors. Gibbs improved mightily from his freshman to sophomore campaigns and is the best free throw shooter in the nation. Defensive intensity has always been a staple of Pitt basketball, and while ace stopper Dixon has left, this core returning is more than capable of topping the Big East in opponents PPG. Gilbert Brown is an athletic wing that keeps improving and Brad Wanamaker acts as another outside shooter to go with Gibbs. The bench is boasted by speedy guard Travon Woodall and heralded recruit Dante Taylor.

7. Ohio State

Starting Lineup: G William Buford, G Jon Diebler, G/F David Lighty, F Dallas Lauderdale, F Jared Sullinger

The Buckeyes have the pure talent to earn this spot in the Top 25, but they could encounter some problems gelling as a unit, at least in the early going. Evan Turner did everything for this team- he was their go-to scorer, point guard, top rebounder and ran the offense. Two problems confronted Thad Matta last season: shaky point guard play (why Turner had to take on the role) and a consistent low post presence. The latter is solved by bringing in Jared Sullinger, a DeMarcus Cousins-type impact player who could be an All-American his freshman year. The former is still up in the air and could ultimately cost Ohio State when they have to face Kalin Lucas and Lewis Jackson. The pieces are exciting, though. Jon Diebler is a fantastic outside shooter and David Lighty is one of the best defenders in the nation. Look for William Buford to break out on a national level.

8. Butler

Starting Lineup: G Shelvin Mack, G Ronald Nored, G Shawn Vanzant, F Matt Howard, C Andrew Smith

I realize Gordon Hayward was their best player, but people are acting like Butler will fall off drastically in his absence. I’m not convinced; in fact, I think they’ll be a top ten team throughout the season. Shelvin Mack only gets better and better with his jump shot, improving by around 6% in both FG% and 3pt% last year. Now that Chris Kramer has left us, Ronald Nored may take on the role of best perimeter defender in the nation. Nored contained Andy Rautins, Jacob Pullen and Durrell Summers during their NCAA Tournament brigade. If he stays out of foul trouble, Matt Howard is a reliable low-post presence. Their success in March could depend on whether the role players- Vanzant, Smith, Butcher and incoming freshman Khyle Marshall- contribute in the absence of Hayward and Willie Veasley.

9. Baylor

Starting Lineup: G A.J. Walton, G LaceDarius Dunn, F Quincy Acy, F Perry Jones, F Anthony Jones

The athleticism of this team is off the charts, and that’s even with Ekpe Udoh and Tweety Carter departing. The big question mark will be whether sophomore A.J. Walton can replace Carter at the point. He has the task of finding LaceDarius Dunn off screens for open jumpers and also feeding both Quincy Acy and Perry Jones in the post. Jones is the most heralded recruit to ever come to Baylor and has the potential to surpass Udoh’s production in the low post; in fact, he could go in the top three in next year’s NBA Draft. The question with Jones has always been consistent effort and intensity. Acy is a dunk machine that dropped 24 (literally dropped, it was a dunkfest) on Texas last February and could blossom into a special player alongside Jones. This is a risky spot for Baylor given the loss of Udoh and, more importantly, their point guard Carter, but I trust Scott Drew to blend the pieces together effectively.

10. Georgetown

Starting Lineup: G Chris Wright, G Austin Freeman, G Jason Clark, F Hollis Thompson, F Julian Vaughn

Next year gives us an opportunity to see just how important Greg Monroe was to this team. I’m a big believer in their backcourt duo of Chris Wright and Austin Freeman. Wright is a steady, intelligent playmaker that really emerged down the stretch last season, while Freeman shot a remarkable 44% from deep and has an entire summer to manage his diabetes that seemed to hinder the junior sharpshooter late last season. Jason Clark improved tremendously last season and gives JTIII another shooting weapon. The question mark is obviously production from the post in the absence of Monroe. I saw enough from Thompson and Vaughn last season to not be super concerned. Incoming freshman Nate Lubick will also aid the cause.

11. Washington

Starting Lineup: G Isaiah Thomas, G Venoy Overton, F Justin Holiday, F Terrence Jones, F Matthew Bryan-Amaning

As long as Terrence Jones doesn’t go back on his word and switch allegiances to Kentucky, the Huskies will enter next season as the favorites to run away with the Pac-10. Jones immediately becomes their best player, a hybrid 4-man that many compare to Lamar Odom. He has the ability to beat you from the perimeter or in the low post. The backcourt is stellar with enigmatic point guard Isaiah Thomas back for another hurrah. He’s joined by defensive pest Venoy Overton and Abdul Gaddy, a hyped freshman that never found a niche last season in Seattle. Talented wing and Jones’ high school teammate Terrence Ross should make an impact immediately. Still, there’s no doubt Washington will struggle with offensive production in the paint without Quincy Pondexter.

12. Missouri

Starting Lineup: G Phil Pressey, G Kim English, G Marcus Denmon, F Laurence Bowers, F Justin Safford

Missouri may not be the 12^th best team in the nation, but I’m a huge fan of their system, coach and incoming recruiting class. Mike Anderson’s press always keeps his team in games regardless of the deficit and is an absolute nightmare for the opposition. Kim English is an all-Big 12 candidate and Anderson also should get big man Justin Safford back from an ACL injury. His height absence really killed them against Kansas last March and in their second round tournament loss to West Virginia. Missouri has three stud recruits coming to Columbia- Texas natives Tony Mitchell and Paul Pressey (who could run the show immediately with Michael Dixon) along with JC transfer Ricardo Ratcliffe. The Tigers will miss the leadership and defense of J.T. Tiller, but the talent is oozing here. Missouri is my Elite 8 sleeper.

13. Kentucky

Starting Lineup: G Brandon Knight, G Doron Lamb, G Darius Miller, F Josh Harrellson, C Enes Kanter

This seems like a good place for Kentucky. Twice in two years John Calipari will have an entirely new team at his disposal, another unit littered with high-profile recruits that could bolt after just a single season in Lexington. Brandon Knight and Enes Kanter are two of the top ten incoming freshmen in the nation. Knight isn’t quite John Wall in terms of passing ability and making his team better, but he’s much more likely to explode for 30 points. Kanter has advanced post moves for his age and can also step out to about 16 feet. The issue with Kentucky will be at the 4 spot where they currently have little-used Josh Harrellson as the projected starter after missing out on Terrence Jones and C.J. Leslie. I don’t think Calipari expected that to happen.

14. UNLV

Starting Lineup: G Oscar Bellfield, G Tre’Von Willis, G/F Chace Stanback, F Matt Shaw, C Brice Massamba

UNLV is my sleeper for the top-15. They return nearly everyone of note from a squad that beat both BYU and New Mexico last season and lost at the last second to Northern Iowa in the NCAA Tournament. Tre’Von Willis might be the most talented player in the conference, evident by his explosions (57 points in 2 games) against BYU last season. Oscar Bellfield stepped in at point guard and compiled a 2.5 A/T ratio, quite the impressive total for a sophomore. Kentucky transfer Derrick Jasper will be healthy after spraining his MCL last January. UNLV returns their top eight scorers and they all averaged 5 PPG or more. Plus, they boast a fantastic coach to boot. They won’t quite be the early-90s Runnin’ Rebels, but the makeup of this roster is exciting.

15. Gonzaga

Starting Lineup: G Demetri Goodson, G Stephen Gray, F Elias Harris, F Kelly Olynyk, C Robert Sacre

Matt Bouldin was fantastic last season, but I don’t foresee his absence derailing such a steady program. It’s scary to think how good Elias Harris will be with a summer to improve. Remember his 31/13 in a win at Saint Mary’s? You could be seeing plenty more performances at that level from the ultra-skilled German. It wouldn’t stun me if Harris is a lottery pick next summer. I’ll be honest, I expected a lot more from Demetri Goodson after bursting onto the scene with his game-winning floater against Western Kentucky last March. 1.8 APG and 14% from three is abominable for a starting point guard on a team with this much talent. Now he doesn’t have Bouldin as a crutch, either. Stephen Gray is so much more than a three-point specialist, but he needs to shoot better from outside this season. Robert Sacre emerging as a legitimate post presence takes a lot of pressure off Gray to produce.

16. Syracuse

Starting Lineup: G Brandon Triche, G Scoop Jardine, F Kris Joseph, F Rick Jackson, C Fab Melo

Syracuse loses quite possibly the first and third best players in a loaded Big East, yet they should still be more than respectable and will likely begin the season fourth in the conference pecking order (if they’re still a member). The backcourt is boosted by incoming freshman Dion Waiters. Scoop Jardine could have a monstrous year as playmaker, slasher and scorer for the Orange, while sophomore Brandon Triche will likely get the starting nod running the offense. Kris Joseph showed glimpses of future stardom, most notably at the end of their win at Georgetown. He’s fabulous at getting to the rim and can pop from mid-range. Fab Melo and Rick Jackson will take up plenty of space and score the basketball effectively down low. This is still a really good team, folks.

17. Kansas

Starting Lineup: G Josh Selby, G Tyshawn Taylor, F Thomas Robinson, F Markieff Morris, F Marcus Morris

Kansas is quite possibly the hardest team to project. The situation is similar to when Bill Self lost nearly his entire team following their title in 2008 and the Jayhawks still managed a #3 seed and Big 12 title the following year. That happening again really depends on whether players like Thomas Robinson, Elijah Johnson and Jeff Withey can play in one of the toughest conferences in the nation. We just haven’t seen enough to know yet. Will Brady Morningstar and Tyrell Reed respond to being depended on more than as role players surrounded by elite talent? Can Josh Selby step in immediately and run the point and will Tyshawn Taylor play the season with his head on straight? Marcus Morris is the lone “sure thing” here. His improvement was remarkable last season to the point where he became their most dependable player. It would be foolish to think Kansas is in for a huge dropoff, but there’s so much yet to be determined.

18. Temple

Starting Lineup: G Ramone Moore, G Juan Fernandez, F Rahlir Jefferson, F Lavoy Allen, F Micheal Eric

I’ll give the Owls the slight edge over Xavier in my Atlantic 10 standings, primarily because they’re the defending champs and return both Juan Fernandez and Lavoy Allen. Fernandez burst onto the scene with his virtuoso performance against then-unblemished Villanova and shot 45% from deep last season. The loss of Ryan Brooks will sting, but Ramone Moore contributed in bursts last season (24 at St. Joe’s) and will develop. Allen’s decision to return was absolutely huge. He’s their best post scorer, rebounder and shot blocker. Question is: Will this be the year Fran Dunphy finally wins an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 1994?

19. Tennessee

Starting Lineup: G Melvin Goins, G Cameron Tatum, G Scotty Hopson, F Tobias Harris, F Brian Williams

Tennessee will go as far as Scotty Hopson will take them. He has all the talent in the world but fades in and out of games and has yet to show consistency. Case in point: In four of Tennessee’s last seven games, Hopson scored eight points or less, something that can never happen if the Vols want to contend for an SEC title this season. If he stays away from trouble, Brian Williams can be a force down low and 6’8 power forward Tobias Harris joining the squad should be a definite boost. Still, Bruce Pearl lost Wayne Chism, J.P Prince and Bobby Maze from last year’s Elite 8 squad and enters the summer with a big question mark at point guard.

20. Virginia Tech

Starting Lineup: G Malcolm Delaney, G Dorenzo Hudson, G/F Terrell Bell, F Jeff Allen, F J.T. Thompson

Other than Purdue, the team most excited with last weekend’s developments had to be Virginia Tech. The return of Malcolm Delaney boosts the Hokies to a surefire ACC contender.  Seth Greenberg won’t be sweating profusely on Selection Sunday this time around. Delaney might be the top pure scorer in the nation with the ability to shoot with accuracy from anywhere on the floor. He could average 22-23 PPG this season and forms quite the 1-2 backcourt punch with Dorenzo Hudson. Jeff Allen is outstanding in the post, but he’s undersized at 6’7 and Tech could run into difficulty against bigger teams that crash the boards. Luckily, nobody in the ACC other than Florida State really stands out in that category.

21. Illinois

Starting Lineup: G D.J. Richardson, G Demetri McCamey, F Jereme Richmond, F Mike Davis, C Mike Tisdale

Illinois is yet another talented team from the Big 10. We all saw the verbal spats between Demetri McCamey and Bruce Weber late last season, so chemistry is a legitimate concern. McCamey was probably reluctant to return to Champaign, but his presence makes the Illini light years better. After all, he did lead all of college basketball in assists. D.J. Richardson looks like the better player over Brandon Paul, and that’s not a diss at Paul’s ability. Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale also return for their senior campaigns. Davis is a fantastic rebounder but fell off a bit offensively last season. Tisdale, a 7’1 center with a sweet jumper, just keeps getting better.

22. BYU

Starting Lineup: G Jimmer Fredette, G Jackson Emery, G Kyle Collinsworth, F Noah Hartsock, F Brandon Davies

Jonathan Tavernari graduated, Michael Loyd didn’t mesh and Taylor Haws has a mission to complete, but BYU still has a solid club returning for another push in the Mountain West. The most obvious reason is the decision of one Jimmer Fredette to come back to Provo. Fredette is a First Team All-American contender that shot 46/89/44 as a junior and scored 133 points in his last four games last season. That’s not a typo. Backcourt mate Jackson Emery is also back and incoming freshman Kyle Collinsworth will get playing time right away. Davies and Hartsock should be able to hold their own in the frontcourt.

23. North Carolina

Starting Lineup: G Larry Drew, G Will Graves, F Harrison Barnes, F Tyler Zeller, F John Henson

The Heels won’t be reclaiming any glory in 2010-11, but they should be much better. The biggest reason is stud freshman Harrison Barnes, the best rookie to play college basketball next winter. Barnes is a 6’6 wing with a fantastic mid-range game, high basketball IQ and is very athletic. Last year’s players will be challenged by the loaded incoming class, whether it be Kendall Marshall at the point pushing Larry Drew and Dexter Strickland or Reggie Bullock at the 2 giving Will Graves some competition for playing time. The frontline got plenty thinner with the departure of Ed Davis and the Wear twins and Tyler Zeller likes to float to the perimeter. John Henson needs to get a lot tougher and a lot stronger this summer to make an impact.

24. Memphis

Starting Lineup: G Joe Jackson, G Will Barton, G/F Wesley Witherspoon, F Will Coleman, F Angel Garcia

A top-15 team with Elliot Williams, Memphis will have to settle for #24 and one of the more intriguing teams for next season. I’m going to assume the freshman duo of Joe Jackson and Will Barton form the backcourt immediately for Josh Pastner. There’s just way too much talent to think any differently, plus Williams and Willie Kemp are gone and Roburt Sallie is better suited as a three-point popper off the bench. Wesley Witherspoon had a stretch last season where he scored 55 points in two games against UAB and Gonzaga. Will Coleman finished the season with two double-doubles and Angel Garcia has skill through the roof. There’s so much potential here.

25. Utah State

Starting Lineup: G Tyler Newbold, G Pooh Williams, F Brady Jardine, F Tai Wesley, F Nate Bendall

One of the most successful mid-major programs in college basketball the last five years, Utah State might have their best team under Stew Morrill next season. The only loss is Jared Quayle from a team that once again dominated the WAC. Tai Wesley and Nate Bendall is a fearsome duo in the post and Tyler Newbold should hold his own replacing Quayle at the point with Pooh Williams as another option. The conference was hurt by the early departures of Nevada’s Luke Babbitt and New Mexico State’s Jahmar Young, meaning the Aggies could go all General Sherman on the conference. I just wish they’d play someone in November and December.

Just missed: Xavier, Florida, Texas, Richmond, NC State.

Sleepers: San Diego State, Georgia, Northwestern, Colorado, St. John’s.

Preseason Awards

National Player of the Year- Kyle Singler, Duke

National Freshman of the Year- Harrison Barnes, North Carolina

National Coach of the Year- Mike Anderson, Missouri

First Team All-America:

G- Kalin Lucas (Michigan State)

G- Jacob Pullen (Kansas State)

G- Jimmer Fredette (BYU)

F- Kyle Singler (Duke)

F- JaJuan Johnson (Purdue)

Here we go, folks: the first test run of the new 68-team bracket.

While we won’t know of the NCAA’s plans regarding teams #61-#68 until later in the summer, let’s compile this bracket under the assumption that, in order for the NCAA to garner interest in the Tuesday play-in fest, the final eight at-large berths will earn the honor of playing for the #12 seed lines. As far as most college basketball fans are concerned, this is the preferred route compared to the other alternative of having the weakest automatic bids battle it out to get creamed by Duke.

In this edition I opted to keep it simple and have the eight teams battle it out under the same seed. I could see the NCAA hierarchy, should they opt for this route, giving the committee next March more leeway in terms of where to place the play-in games. For example, I felt that Murray State would have been the ideal #12 seed in this bracket, but due to the #12 seeds being filled up by the final at-large berths, they had to be bumped up from a #13 seed directly to a #11 seed. I could envision the committee placing some play-in games on any of the 11, 12 or 13-seed lines depending on the strength of the automatic bids.

I also made some assumptions regarding early entries. I made the bracket assuming E’Twaun Moore (Purdue), JaJuan Johnson (Purdue), Gordon Hayward (Butler), Jimmer Fredette (BYU), Darington Hobson (New Mexico), Malcolm Delaney (Virginia Tech), Lavoy Allen (Temple), Tracy Smith (NC State), Dee Bost (Mississippi State) and Ravern Johnson (Mississippi State) are all coming back to school. I also assumed Eric Bledsoe (Kentucky), Daniel Orton (Kentucky) and Terrico White (Ole Miss) are all headed to the NBA.

Without further ado, here’s some bracket goodness in the beginning of a long offseason…

Last Four In: Arizona State, Louisville, Miami, UTEP

Last Four Out: Saint Mary’s, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Mississippi

Automatic bids: Stony Brook, Temple, Duke, East Tennessee State, Kansas State, Pittsburgh, Weber State, Winthrop, Michigan State, UC Santa Barbara, Old Dominion, Memphis, Butler, Princeton, Fairfield, Kent State, Morgan State, Wichita State, New Mexico, Quinnipiac, Murray State, Washington, Bucknell, Kentucky, Wofford, Stephen F. Austin, Jackson State, Wofford, North Texas, Gonzaga, Utah State.

Multiple bids per conference:

• Atlantic 10 (5) – Temple, Xavier, Richmond, Dayton, Saint Louis
• ACC (7) – Duke, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Florida State, NC State, Clemson, Miami
• Big 12 (5) – Kansas State, Baylor, Missouri, Kansas, Texas
• Big East (7) – Pittsburgh, Villanova, Georgetown, Syracuse, West Virginia, Marquette, Louisville
• Big 10 (6) – Michigan State, Purdue, Ohio State, Illinois, Wisconsin, Northwestern
• Conference USA (2) – Memphis, UTEP
• Mountain West (4) – New Mexico, BYU, UNLV, San Diego State
• Pac-10 (4) – Washington, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State
• SEC (6) – Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Georgia

1. Duke- Assuming Singler stays for his senior campaign, the defending champs are the clear preseason #1. Kyrie Irving and Seth Curry join the fun already started by Singler and Nolan Smith.

2. Butler- The Bulldogs should be a favorite to make another Final Four run. Hayward bolting while his stock is sky high would drop them a bit, but Matt Howard, Shelvin Mack and Ronald Nored all return.

3. Purdue- Losing Chris Kramer will hurt in the defense/leadership category, but the core should be back for another run in the loaded Big Ten: JaJuan Johnson, E’Twaun Moore and a healthy Robbie Hummel.

4. Michigan State- Lucas’ injury likely means he’s back for a senior season. Raymar Morgan is the only subtraction of note. Big years for Draymond Green and Durrell Summers should be expected.

5. Georgetown- Assuming Monroe goes into the lottery, the Hoyas should still be loaded. The other four starters return and it wouldn’t shock us if Chris Wright and Austin Freeman both contended for Big East Player of the Year.

6. Kansas State- The Wildcats will miss Denis Clemente, but nearly every other important piece is back, including Jacob Pullen. Curtis Kelly, Dominique Sutton and Jamar Samuels boost the frontcourt.

7. Ohio State-Evan Turner was Mr. Everything for the Buckeyes, but Thad Matta’s program won’t miss a beat. William Buford could be primed to break out and Jared Sullinger will contend for freshman of the year honors.

8. Tennessee- Bruce Pearl certainly lost some important pieces, but we also like their returning weapons, led by Scotty Hopson, Melvin Goins and Brian Williams and stud frosh Tobias Harris.

9. West Virginia- Their jump shooting issues could be even more pronounced without Da’Sean Butler, but Devin Ebanks, Kevin Jones and a healthier point guard duo is enough for a top ten ranking.

10. Kentucky- As presently constituted, the Wildcats are not a top ten team or anywhere close. But this is John Calipari we’re talking about. He should nab Brandon Knight and either C.J. Leslie or Josh Selby.

11. Gonzaga- Matt Bouldin is the only departure, meaning it’s German sophomore Elias Harris’ chance to shine. He teams up with sharp shooter Stephen Gray and big man Robert Sacre.

12. Memphis- The Tigers could really burst onto the scene in Josh Pastner’s second season. Wesley Witherspoon and Elliot Williams are stars in the making. The #1 ranked recruiting class doesn’t hurt.

13. Xavier- Assuming Jordan Crawford spends another year in Cincinnati, Chris Mack’s entire Sweet 16 team returns with the exception of Jason Love inside. Crawford and Terrell Holloway are the best guard duo in the Atlantic 10.

14. Illinois- Quite a jump for the Illini, but we feel it’s deserved. Bruce Weber’s strongest class since the national runner up core enters the fray with Mike Tisdale, Mike Davis and Demetri McCamey. Plus, guards D.J. Richardson and Brandon Paul could really mature.

15. Kansas- Marcus Morris should contend for Big 12 Player of the Year if his improvement in 2009-10 meant anything. It’s also prudent that Tyshawn Taylor steps up. Bill Self will likely nab two big recruits in the next couple months.

16. Syracuse- It’ll be difficult to overcome the departures of Wes Johnson and Andy Rautins, but enough returns to be a ranked team. Fab Melo is a fab frosh joining Rick Jackson, Scoop Jardine and potential breakout star Kris Joseph for the Orange.

17. Virginia Tech- Seth Greenberg shouldn’t have to panic on Selection Sunday this time around. Jeff Allen, Dorenzo Hudson and Malcolm Delaney are all back as seniors for one last push.

18. Washington- Pondexter is a huge loss, but Isaiah Thomas returns to team with Venoy Overton and Abdul Gaddy in the backcourt. Terrence Jones could also be involved.

19. BYU- The Jimmer returns to wow us all for another season. The supporting cast is also in the fold, including Jackson Emery, Tyler Haws and breakout candidate Michael Loyd Jr.

20. Villanova- It’s now Corey Fisher’s team on the Main Line. Jay Wright will also need his sophomores to step up and contribute, especially Mouph Yarou inside and Maalik Wayns on the perimeter.

21. UNLV- Lon Kruger has his top six scorers back in the fold. Tre’Von Willis, Oscar Bellfield and Chace Stanback round out quite a trio.

22. Temple- The Owls and their stalwart defense should make another A-10 run. Lavoy Allen and Juan Fernandez will be the centerpiece of a capable offensive attack, as well.

23. Baylor- Given that Ekpe Udoh bolts to the lottery, it’ll be LaceDarius Dunn’s team in Waco. Watch out for super-hyped freshman Perry Jones making an instant impact.

24. Vanderbilt- Only Jermaine Beal departs for Kevin Stallings. Jeffery Taylor and A.J. Ogilvy will team with breakout candidate John Jenkins atop the SEC.

25. San Diego State- The Mountain West will be even better next season. The Aztecs are the fourth ranked team from this conference. Billy White, D.J. Gay and Kawhi Leonard are all back.

Just missed: Missouri, Wisconsin, Texas, North Carolina, Richmond, Utah State, Mississippi, Florida, Minnesota, Louisville, NC State, Northwestern, Utah State, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Arizona, UAB.

6:07 pm – #5 Michigan State vs. #5 Butler The winner of this game will have a built-in motivational mechanism, since this game is popularly considered the “Who will lose to West Virginia or Duke on Monday?” game.  Best be careful, because as we know, there’s almost no better way to get your guys ready to play than to tell them that it’s them against the world.  That nobody respects them.  That everyone expects them to lose and lose big.  In the case of Butler, I know I wouldn’t want to face a team playing in their home city and with that motivational tool.  A lot is being made of the home crowd advantage that Butler supposed to enjoy this weekend, but I ask you: because people love the storyline of a mid-major getting to the Final Four, in what city could you play this thing where Butler wouldn’t have most of the fans in the arena rooting for them?  I’ll tell you — East Lansing, Durham, and Morgantown (or anywhere else in West Virginia).  Well, we’re not in any of those towns.  Let me just add this…walking around this downtown area, I see mostly Butler fans, which is understandable.  But it’s not like the Duke, Michigan State, and West Virginia fans stayed home.  It’s Lucas Oil Stadium, people.  It seats over 70,000 (it must, to qualify to host this thing).  The freakin’ Colts play here.  The Butler cheers might be loud, but the other squads will have their supporters, too.  As to what’s going to happen on the floor, watch the boards.  This will be a rebounding battle for the ages, because it’s the biggest disparity between the two teams.  It’s not something Butler does particularly well, and it’s Michigan State’s greatest strength.  Brad Stevens knows his boys have to swarm the glass to have a chance.  They’ve done everything else he’s asked of them in each tournament game, not to mention the rest of the season, and I wouldn’t doubt that you’ll see them turn in their biggest effort on the boards this whole year on Saturday evening. Can Butler do it but still stay out of foul trouble?

We only picked against you three times, Coach Izzo. And we're sorry. (AP/Al Goldis)

What you’ll also see in this game are two of the most efficient basketball teams in the country.  Butler might be a little more famous for it, but the Spartans can match them.  It’s a strange delight to watch two teams that excel at that aspect of the game; you’ve got perfect offensive sets, multiple players moving without the basketball, screens, rolls, back door cuts, great interior passing, scores on almost every possession, and exemplary shooting…and yet you’ll look at the scoreboard and be flummoxed to find that both teams have combined for only about 80 points with five minutes left.  This game gives us two of the best at this.  Butler will not back down from a physical battle.  Of any ranked team this year, the ‘Dawgs are one of the most bullying — they’re just really sneaky about it (except Matt Howard).  They don’t just turn and look at the rim; they box out, hard.  They don’t just give up position down low; they’re right at home in wrestling with you on the block; they don’t just let guys cut through the lane without letting the cutters feel it.  And most impressively, they don’t stand on defense; they — gasp! — get down in a defensive stance and play guys tight in the backcourt.  The individual matchups are even remarkably appealing on paper — Korie Lucious and Durrell Summers vs Shelvin Mack and Willie Veasley, Matt Howard and Gordon Hayward vs Raymar Morgan and Draymond Green (and Delvon Roe).  It’s going to be a pleasure to watch.

The Skinny:  To make a prediction seems like an insult to one of these teams, and that’s tough to do, having enjoyed them both all season.  We’ve picked against Tom Izzo and his Spartans in all but one of their tournament games this time around, and look where that’s gotten us.  Our readers in the MSU camp probably wish we’d do it again, but we can’t do that.  High-scoring, low-scoring…who cares?  What fun it will be.  If we have to go on the record, though, we’ve learned our lesson, Spartan fans.  Trusting Butler doesn’t go on a three-point barrage early behind Mack, Hayward, and Zach Hahn, we’ll take Michigan State to pull away with about three minutes left as the Bulldogs’ foul trouble takes its toll.  Now you know why we’re not telling any of these Indianapolis people where we’re staying.

Will they remember? We think...yes.

8:37 pm – #1 Duke vs. #2 West Virginia.  This semifinal has been touted as the de facto national title game by some media members. While we don’t agree with that assessment we do agree that the winner will be a pretty heavy favorite heading into Monday night. The Mountaineers come into this game as slight underdogs, but after their performance against Kentucky last weekend most analysts would probably consider this game a toss-up. Even though West Virginia comes into this game as the lower seed and underdog, they will not be the ones with chips on their shoulders. That distinction belongs to the Duke Blue Devils, who lost to West Virginia two years ago and then were mocked in the post-game comments by several Mountaineer players. It was one thing for the Blue Devils to be mocked by the Mountaineers star Joe Alexander (now with a career 4.2 PPG and 1.8 RPG average as the #8 overall pick in 2008) who, when told by a reporter that eight Duke players had been McDonald’s all-Americans, responded by asking, “Who?”  It was quite another thing to be shown up by little-used (at the time) Mountaineer guard Joe Mazzulla who entered the game by mocking the Duke floor-slap, then proceeded to torch the Blue Devils for 13 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists prompting Coach K to refer to him as a “mini-Jason Kidd” after the game. And then there was Cam Thoroughman (averaging 1 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 0.5 APG, and 1.4 fouls per game) who, when told that Greg Paulus had been a McDonald’s all-American, replied  ”Oh, my God. Are you kidding?”  While it may seem like a distant memory with all of Duke’s recent NCAA Tournament failures, and while Krzyzewski has downplayed the significance of those comments leading up to this game, we guarantee you that several of Duke’s upperclassmen who played in that game — that is, Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith, Jon Scheyer, Brian Zoubek, and Lance Thomas – are well-aware of those barbs.

Mazzulla hopes he and his boys have one more upset in them. (Getty/Win McNamee)

This time, West Virginia is more of a known entity, but it still has a defined superstar in Da’Sean Butler and Mazzulla can still fill up a box score (just ask any Kentucky fan about that), and Duke still has a bevy of McDonald’s all-Americans. However that is where the similarities stop. In 2008, Duke was a talented team that was either unwilling or unable to compete on the boards against the Mountaineers getting out-rebounded 45-19 (that’s not a typo). That will not be the case on Saturday night with this Duke team that works as hard in the paint as any team in the country, to which Scott Drew, Ekpe Udoh, and the rest of the Baylor Bears can attest. This time Devin Ebanks, Kevin Jones, and Butler will have their hands full underneath the basket with Zoubek, Singler, Thomas, and the Plumlees. While Duke won’t dominate them offensively under the basket like DeMarcus Cousins did, they certainly will compete with the Mountaineers for every rebound and might even hold the rebounding advantage. On the perimeter the game will probably come down to a few key factors: Duke’s shooting from the outside, whether or not Truck Bryant will play, and Duke’s ability to defend Butler. While much of the attention following the Mountaineers’ win was focused on Mazzulla and their great 3-point shooting, the real key to the game was Kentucky’s atrocious shooting from beyond the arc (4-32). Even though Duke lacks the long-range bomber in the mold of Trajan Langdon, Jason Williams, and J.J. Redick, they still manage to shoot 38.5% from 3-point range as a team, so we highly doubt that the Mountaineers will be able to accumulate such a big advantage from the perimeter. On the other end, Duke will need to find a way to contain Butler and quite frankly they don’t have an individual defender who can match-up with him, so they will need to utilize a team-oriented approach to defending him — or hope that Bob Huggins forgets to utilize him for large stretches of the game like Scott Drew did with LaceDarius Dunn in the Elite 8.  Even with Butler’s brilliance, the Mountaineers will need another player to step-up and provide Butler with some support offensively. The question is, which Mountaineer will it be?  Jones, the almost forgotten man on this team?  Ebanks, the potential lottery pick? Mazzulla, the one who has shown up in big games again and again? If the Mountaineers are able to find that secondary scorer, they just might be able to push Coach K’s “title-less” streak to nearly a decade. If they don’t, the Yankees of college basketball could be playing for yet another title on Monday night.

The Skinny:  In the Elite Eight, Kentucky couldn’t hit a shot from outside to save their season. West Virginia won’t be so fortunate on Saturday, as Singler, Scheyer, and Smith will find a way to hit from the outside. Even if one of them has an off night, the other two should be enough to push Duke over the top and Coach K will return to the title game for the first time in nearly a decade.

Here are the basic ground rules:

1. We are following the BCS Football guidelines as closely as possible. Obviously there are some differences. A college basketball team is expected to win more than 9 games (we kept a cut-off at a 75% winning percentage). We replaced the Notre Dame rule with the Duke rule since they both have sketchy TV contracts (Notre Dame with NBC and Duke with ESPN).
2. I used the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls as the human polls and ESPN.com’s InsiderRPI, KenPom.com, and Sagarin’s ratings as the computer polls. The computer polls include data from the NCAA Tournament, but as you will see it didn’t affect the results that significantly.
3. We used the traditional BCS calculations for determining each team’s score weighing the two human polls and the combined computer poll average as 1/3 of a team’s total score each.

Here are the results:

We will let you digest that for a minute and will provide more information/analysis and the BCS Bowls after the jump.

Some interesting pieces from the rankings:

• Kansas and Kentucky remain #1 and #2 despite losing in the NCAA Tournament. Their ranking is surely bolstered by the human polls, which have not been updated since the start of the NCAA Tournament, but Kansas still holds a slim lead over Duke in the computers even though the former has been eliminated while the latter is still playing.
• The ESPN Inside RPI system really hates the Big 10. Not only did Final Four participant Michigan State get left out of the Top 25 (understandable as the Spartans came in as a #5 seed), but it also left #2 seed and Big 10 regular season and tournament champ Ohio State out of the Top 25.
• The human polls and ESPN Inside RPI really like New Mexico. Sagarin and Ken Pomeroy? Not so much.
• Conversely, the computers sort of like California, but the human voters had no faith in the Bears and didn’t even give them a single Top 25 vote on any of the 96 ballots cast by humans.

Now for some analysis before we announce our BCS match-ups.

• Automatics bids: Kansas (#1 overall and Big 12 champ), Kentucky (#2 overall and SEC champ), Duke (ACC champ), West Virginia (Big East champ), Ohio State (Big 10 champ), Washington (Pac-10 champ), and Syracuse (under paragraph 6 of the automatic qualification guidelines as the #4 overall)
• Other potential teams in the top 14 for at-large spots: Kansas State, Butler, Purdue, New Mexico, Temple, and Baylor
• Butler doesn’t qualify under the top 12 automatic bid as a conference champ because the Horizon League isn’t recognized as a potential automatic qualifier (partly because it does not play football — ok, that has a big effect) under the top 12 rule
• New Mexico does not qualify automatically out of the Mountain West because it won the regular season title not the tournament title (San Diego State won that)
• Villanova and Georgetown are ineligible because two Big East teams are already in the BCS and neither is in the National Championship Game

Now onto the games:

Rose Bowl

Washington (Pac-10 champ) vs. #7 Ohio State (Big 10 champ): For the second year, the Pac-10 regular season champ (California) loses in its conference tournament leaving the Rose Bowl with an unranked team in the “Granddaddy of Them All”. Fortunately for the Rose Bowl, this is probably a more compelling match-up as the NCAA Tournament demonstrated. To show you just how poorly the Pac-10 was viewed this year take a look at California’s line in the rankings graphic above. The Bears did not have a single vote in the AP or ESPN/USA Today poll. They couldn’t even find a homer in Berkeley or San Francisco to throw them a bone. Getting back to the game at hand, this could actually be an entertaining game with what could be amazing individual match-up between Evan Turner and Quincy Pondexter. Turner has the edge in that match-up, but Thad Matta will have his work cut out for him having to come up with a scheme to defend Isaiah Thomas with the roster available to him. We’re guessing Isaiah will get his points, but Turner and the Buckeyes superior depth (especially David Lighty‘s excellent all-around play) should be enough to let Mark Titus walk out of the stadium with a rose in his mouth.

Sugar Bowl

#5 West Virginia (Big East champ) vs. #9 Purdue (At-large)
Yikes. Another less-than-appealing match-up for the BCS, but instead of Tempe this one happens in New Orleans. West Virginia earns the invitation as the Big East champion and it has been legitimized after the fact with their run to the Final Four knocking. The big question here is Purdue, which is a team that fell all the way to a #4 seed, which would imply an overall ranking between #13 and #16, but in the BCS they qualify as an at-large team and the Sugar Bowl/BCS is faced with a difficult dilemma:

1. Select Syracuse with the 2nd at-large. Great match-up, but the teams are from the same conference and already played this year. Even though it was an excellent game decided by one point the BCS won’t pair these teams.
2. Select Butler, New Mexico, or Temple. In the words of Dana Carvey/George Bush: “Nah guh do it.”
3. Select Purdue.

• No Robbie Hummel? Ouch.
• Coming off an embarrassing loss to Minnesota? Is there anybody else available?
• They are a Big 12 school with a big fan base that will travel? We’re sold.

Welcome inside the mind of the BCS Selection Committee. The game will be interesting for about a half and we’ll enjoy watching Chris Kramer getting under the skin of Da’Sean Butler, but this game should be over with plenty of time remaining given the way the Mountaineers and the Boilermakers finished the season.

Fiesta Bowl

#6 Kansas State (At-large) vs. #11 New Mexico (At-large)
I know what you’re saying because we were saying the same things when the BCS Committee announced the pairing as a stunned Greg Anthony and Seth Davis stared at the screen blankly as Greg Gumbel tried valiantly to bring them back to the show. Let’s take you through the Fiesta Bowl’s thought process here. With the first at-large pick they take a Big 12 replacement in Kansas State which would appear to make sense since they are a solid team. After the Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl get their selections, the Fiesta Bowl is left to pick between Butler, New Mexico, and Temple because all of the other possibilities were eliminated by prior BCS bowl selections taking a second team from a conference. The selection of Kansas State eliminated Baylor and the automatic bids for West Virginia and Syracuse eliminated Villanova and Georgetown. Scared by the possibility of having a half-full stadium of people wearing purple shirts featuring either a poorly drawn octagon or an angry man in a poorly-tailored suit, the Fiesta Bowl selects the relatively local team in New Mexico with the hope that the Lobo locals will make the drive out to Tempe to watch their team take on the Wildcats. Unfortunately for the Lobo fans, this game could turn ugly real quick as Frank Martin focuses on limiting Darington Hobson‘s touches. The combination of Jacob Pullen, Denis Clemente, and Curtis Kelly proves to be too much for Hobson, Dairese Gary, and Roman Martinez. After the game, which is played in front of a 75% capacity crowd and draws the lowest TV rating in BCS history, several members of the Fiesta Bowl organizing committee are overheard talking loudly with John Feinstein over a speaker phone in a luxury box about Feinstein’s new book about Greg Shaheen’s time at the NCAA.

Orange Bowl

#3 Duke (ACC champ) vs. #4 Syracuse (At-large): The BCS gets its one non-title game that it gets to showcase when trying to prove that one right outweighs a hundred wrongs. The media loves this one from the moment it is announced. The obvious media angle here is Coach K versus Jim Boeheim for just the third time (tied 1-1) with the last meeting occurring in the 1998 Sweet 16 when Coach K led a ridiculously talented group of freshman into Saint Petersburg, Florida and knocked off a good but by no means great Syracuse squad before blowing a late lead against Kentucky in the Elite Eight. This time the game has great match-ups all over the place. The marquee match-up is between potential lottery picks Kyle Singler and Wesley Johnson, but Jon Scheyer versus Andy Rautins, Nolan Smith versus Scoop Jardine, Brian Zoubek and the Plumlees versus Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson, and of course Boeheim’s famed 2-3 zone against Duke’s perimeter shooters. Needless to say CBS will have no problem hyping this game and it should be a fantastic game which the BCS head honchos will be sure to remind you of whenever you bring up the Fiesta Bowl.

BCS Championship Game

#1 Kansas (Big 12 champ) vs. #2 Kentucky (SEC champ)
And here is your payoff. The title game nearly everyone had in their office pool bracket comes to fruition. There isn’t much to not like about this game. You have your youth with a little experience (Kentucky) against your experience with a little youth (Kansas). You also have the two winningest programs in NCAA history with the coaches (Bill Self and John Calipari) from what might be the most memorable NCAA title game of the past 20 years. There are match-ups all over, but the big ones are John Wall versus Sherron Collins, Patrick Patterson against Xavier Henry, and DeMarcus Cousins against Cole Aldrich. This game could feature the most NBA talent on a college basketball floor since the early 1990s and even a NBA homer like Bill Simmons would be sucked in. This game would be so big that SportsCenter would ignore Tiger’s initial Masters press conference (OK, maybe not). We could go on and on about this match-up, but we are already starting to twitch. It’s almost enough to make you wish there was a BCS.

So there are your BCS bowl match-ups. What do you think? Is leaving Butler out worth it to get Kansas versus Kentucky and Duke versus Syracuse? We can already hear the cries from the talking heads on CBS and ESPN, but we are sure that the talking heads and some less egalitarian sportswriters would prefer to have the big boys still around. What about Tom Izzo‘s Spartans? They barely missed the top 14 cut-off to be included in the at-large pool and now they find themselves in yet another Final Four. Should they be excluded from the BCS action?

Michigan State (Tom Hager)

• ESPN’s Jemele Hill has never been one to shy away from controversy, but she caused quite a stir when she said that head coach Tom Izzo was the best coach in the history of the state.
• According to guard Korie Lucious, although the Spartans are anticipating a hostile environment, they are used to big crowds cheering against them.
• Ryan Fagan of The Sporting News says that MSU’s experience is what will set them apart, and that the only players who treat the Final Four like an ordinary game have never played at that level before.
• USA Today points out that Michigan State’s win margin of 13 total points in their first four games is the lowest total since the field expanded to 64 teams.
• If the Spartans win on Saturday, East Lansing police can expect some rioting, even before the national championship game.

Butler (Andrew Murawa)

• In the basketball-mad state of Indiana, Butler has now vaulted Indiana University and other stalwarts to the head of the class, if only temporarily.
• The Bulldog roster features 10 players from the state of Indiana, including such key contributors as Gordon Hayward, Matt Howard, Zach Hahn and Andrew Smith.
• But while the Bulldogs may be riding high, they aren’t so famous that head coach Brad Stevens doesn’t get mistaken as a player on the team by a Lucas Oil Field security guard.
• While, thankfully, the Butler/”Hoosiers” comparison has tired out some, it is pretty cool to note that Bobby Plump, the Milan High star upon whom the Jimmy Chitwood character in the movie was based, actually went on to star at Butler.
• Speaking of the movies, Butler junior forward Howard has earned a reputation as quite the actor when trying to draw a charge.

Duke

• Thirty years ago, Nolan Smith’s now-deceased father, Derek, helped Louisville win a national championship in downtown Indy; his son honors his dad’s memory and hopes to replicate the achievement this weekend.
• Duke’s senior class, particularly Jon Scheyer, have come a long way since three years ago when VCU’s Eric Maynor sent them packing in the first round in Buffalo.
• The Huffington Post discusses how the Duke players learn how to deal with being a target of derision and hatred throughout their careers in Durham.
• Ben Cohen at Deadspin argues that Duke really isn’t all that unlikeable this year, and we should all give them a chance.  What say you, readers?

West Virginia

• It’s looking less and less likely that Truck Bryant is going to be able to play this weekend vs. Duke.  He’s still yet to practice and Coach Bob Huggins said on Thursday that it’s highly unlikely we’ll see him on the floor this weekend.
• Apparently 53% of West Virginians want to see Huggins wearing his trademark black track suit on the sidelines on Saturday.  The scientific validity of this poll is probably in question.
• “Do What We Do” is the WVU team motto this year, and the coach had navy blue shirts made up with that written on it.
• The Logo Jerry West talked to Dan Patrick today about how the 1959 national title game (which WVU lost to California) still haunts him to this day.

It's Mr. Izzo's time of year

Advantage Area: Coaching can often be overstated. After all, it’s ultimately the players on the floor and their individual decision making and skill level that decide games. Yet there’s something about Tom Izzo and his ability to construct a basketball team that peaks when the stakes are at the highest level. A Spartan team mired with chemistry issues, injuries and suspensions for most of the season has rallied around a single goal and are somehow playing into April. Everyone gives Izzo, aptly nicknamed Mr. March, full credit for the turnaround and the program’s annual success. Everyone except Izzo, of course. There are three other great coaches in Indianapolis this year, though, and the games are determined on the floor. Where the Spartans hold an advantage is their ability to run effective sets in the halfcourt, overall athleticism, capability of functioning at different speeds and the versatility of players like Raymar Morgan and Draymond Green. The second half they played against Northern Iowa on the offensive end was a thing of beauty.

Potential Downfall: There are two areas of great importance that the Spartans lack and both could prove their ultimate downfall- steady, experienced point guard play and reliable low-post scoring. Korie Lucious has done a commendable job replacing the Spartans floor leader Kalin Lucas thus far, but often surrendered careless turnovers to the heavy ball pressure of Tennessee’s Bobby Maze and Melvin Goins. No team defends as physically in the halfcourt as Butler. Both Shelvin Mack and Ronald Nored are pests that force turnovers at a decent rate. Lucious shouldn’t worry about wowing anyone under the bright lights of Lucas Oil Stadium; instead, focus on taking care of the basketball and running sets, finding Durrell Summers off screens, locating Draymond Green for open mid-range shots and controlling the pace of the game. Michigan State also lacks a true low post scorer that can go toe-to-toe with Matt Howard. Delvon Roe is playing with a torn meniscus and Derrick Nix is a freshman without much experience. Should they advance, neither West Virginia or Duke possesses a consistent scoring threat on the low block.

X-Factor: Raymar Morgan is the ultimate x-factor in college basketball. When Morgan plays up to his talent level, the Spartans are a team to be reckoned with. Durrell Summers shooting stroke is also a major x-factor in Saturday’s game. Summers has been Izzo’s most valuable offensive cog in the last three games: 25-39 FG, 14-22 3pt and 66 points. The Spartans were able to knock off Northern Iowa largely because the Panthers defense dares opponents to make long jump shots and Summers delivered. He exploded onto the scene as a sophomore last March and will look to do the same this year coming off screens and hitting jumpers. With Chris Allen hobbled and Lucious worried about running the offense, it’ll be up to Summers to bail Michigan State out on more than one occasion late in the shot clock when the Butler defense imposes their will in the halfcourt.

Key Semifinal Matchup: Shelvin Mack vs. Korie Lucious. As it does so often in the Final Four, this game could come down to point guard play. The entire world will be judging Lucious on how he steps up in the absence of Kalin Lucas. It is Mack’s job to annoy Lucious as much as possible, much like Bobby Maze and Melvin Goins gave him as little room as possible to operate. It’s not just about defense for Mack, though. His game on the offensive end has made leaps and bounds from his freshman to sophomore seasons, likely due to his experience playing for the Under-19 U.S. team this summer. Mack drained 39% of his threes this season and also has a strong, built body that acts like a bulldozer attacking the basket. It’s up to the defensively challenged Lucious to contain Mack and force more of the scoring load on Gordon Hayward.

Crunch Time Performer: Tom Izzo doesn’t have one main option down the stretch like West Virginia with Da’Sean Butler or Butler with Gordon Hayward. He could diagram a play to get Durrell Summers an open look from deep, isolate Draymond Green and let him operate (ran this play late in the Maryland game), or even clear out for Lucious if he has confidence in him (ran this play late in the Northern Iowa game). And it was Raymar Morgan who found himself open down the floor against Tennessee. Rather than one player the opposing defense can focus on, Izzo has the luxury known as unpredictability. There’s nobody better in college basketball following a timeout than Izzo.

Experience: The experience factor is clearly advantage: Spartans in this Final Four. Nearly everyone that sees regular minutes played on last year’s runner up squad with the exception of Derrick Nix and Garrick Sherman. Even Lucious hit two threes in the semifinal win against Connecticut. Not to mention Tom Izzo will be coaching in his sixth Final Four, a mark only Coach K can replicate. Raymar Morgan is the Spartans team captain and will need to step up leadership-wise on the floor should Michigan State fall into a deficit against Butler.

Forecast: Many casual fans are labeling Michigan State as “lucky” they received a mid-major 5-seed in the Final Four rather than Syracuse or Kansas State, a point I respectfully dispute. Butler beat both of those aforementioned teams and will be playing in front of a plethora of navy blue-clad Bulldog fans in their backyard, much like Michigan State experienced last year in Detroit. Butler is an extremely fundamentally-sound, well-coached team with talented players that are operating at their best at the most opportune time. All of those factors also apply to Sparty, though. Should they eclipse Butler, West Virginia or Duke will pose a tremendous threat in the title game. Both the Mountaineers and Blue Devils have more talent across the board than the Spartans, especially without Lucas in the fold.

Prediction: I foolishly doubted Tom Izzo and picked Maryland, Northern Iowa and Tennessee all to beat Michigan State. I figured the shaky Spartans I watched the entire month of February would rear its ugly head at some point in the tournament and it still hasn’t happened. Michigan State simply makes winning plays in March and Izzo is the best in the business this time of year. Spartans advance to the final.

Michigan State (Tom Hager)

• Big Surprise: Tom Izzo will not be leaving Michigan State for an Oregon team that finished 7-11 in the Pac-10.
• Butler may have the advantage of the home crowd in Indianapolis, but Bulldogs coach Brad Stevens believes that MSU may have a large portion of the crowd pulling for the Spartans as well.
• According to the New York Times, the harder Durrell Summers worked on his defensive game, the easier his offensive production has come by.
• Seth Davis says that toughness, a category that MSU excels in given their rebounding ability, is the most important asset to have on a team at this time of the season.
• Delvon Roe is expected to be in the starting lineup despite a knee injury.  According to the team trainer, Roe has an unbelievable pain tolerance.

West Virginia (Ryan Restivo of SienaSaintsBlog)

• West Virginia, the Wall Street Journal noted, overcame a slow start to make the Final Four.
• Are there any stars in this year’s Final Four?
• Bob Huggins is not sure if Truck Bryant will be ready to go on Saturday. “I don’t have any idea,” Huggins said. “We’re not going to go today and we really won’t know until we see what he can do (Tuesday) and Wednesday and how he progresses.” However, Huggins told USA Today that they will explore every opportunity to play Bryant.
• West Virginia’s odds are interesting for this year’s Final Four.
• Mike DeCourcy writes that John Beilein’s holdovers and Huggins’ players combined to take this team to the next level.

Duke (Patrick Sellars)

• The Charlotte Observer argues why Duke will probably be in a few more Final Fours this decade. I agree, I think Duke will probably be ranked preseason #1 in 2010-11 if all the players that are supposed to come back to school actually do so.
• Here is an interesting piece on Duke guard Nolan Smith and his connection to Louisville.   It still surprises me that he didn’t go to U of L, but I guess he just didn’t feel he would be able to handle playing in his father’s shadow.
• Duke’s MVP through the first three games of the tournament was probably Kyle Singler, however in the Elite Eight game against Baylor Singler missed every shot. That really speaks to the depth of this Duke team and why they have a great chance at coming home with a national title.
• The article title speaks for itself “Six Reasons Ya Gotta Love These Blue Devils (Even If You Hate Them..)” See if you can find a couple.

Butler (Andrew Murawa)

• Today’s obligatory Butler/”Hoosiers” reference comes courtesy of ESPN’s Page 2. But this one is actually marginally funny.  Okay, at least the Bob Huggins as a Norman Dale/Shooter hybrid is funny. How about Gordon Hayward as Jimmy Chitwood? NBCSports’ Mike Miller wonders what the over/under on Hoosiers references is; whatever it is, take the over.
• One question though: do articles that dismiss the comparison still count against the total? And does the fact that this Butler program did not just appear on the scene yesterday and will not be disappearing tomorrow negate the comparison altogether?
• The Butler team is full of great stories, but the rapid rise of 33-year old head coach Brad Stevens to the pinnacle of his profession has to be right up there with the best of them. It’s not enough that he’s gone from pharmaceutical sales rep to Final Four head coach in just ten years, but the New York Times claims he is the “brightest star” in a Final Four with Hall-of-Fame types like Mike Krzyzewski, Tom Izzo and Huggins.
• One angle that is going to be interesting to check out on Saturday is just how many fans the Bulldogs will bring along, and how quickly Duke and West Virginia fans will come down on their side against Michigan State.