College basketball fans: get your calendars out. Over the next five Wednesdays until opening night arrives on November 8, we’ll unveil a portion of our 68 Can’t-Miss Games of 2010-11, a countdown of the matchups that you need to make sure to see this season. From the early season headliners to the best rivalries conference play has to offer, this list has you covered with the game, date, time (ET), network and a brief synopsis of what to expect. Remember, folks: this list doesn’t even include another eight to ten must-see early-season tournament games, for which we’ll have a separate post later this month.  Without further ado, here is the second installment on the list — set your Tivos/DVRs now.

To see the #55-68 games on this list, click here.

#54. January 29 – Florida at Mississippi State, 1 pm (CBS)– This matchup just got even juicer with the NCAA ruling that Dee Bost can join Renardo Sidney after sitting out the first nine games of Mississippi State’s season. The inclusion of an experienced point guard and an ultra-talented center vaults the Bulldogs into clear SEC West preseason favorite status. One of the highlights of their conference slate is Florida visiting The Hump for a late January clash on national TV. The Gators return all five starters and add a dynamite recruiting class led by Patric Young and Casey Prather, so expectations couldn’t be higher for Billy Donovan’s squad.

#53. February 22 – Michigan State at Minnesota, 9 pm (Big Ten Network)– We already covered Purdue’s trip to Minneapolis earlier in the series, but this late-season clash could potentially determine the fate of the Gophers’ NCAA Tournament hopes. Tubby Smith’s team projects to be a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team that could be clawing for a tournament bid in late February. What better opportunity for a bid-clinching win than the Spartans rolling into town? The problem for Smith and Minnesota: Tom Izzo’s squads normally play their best basketball late in the season. Opposing teams on the Spartans’ schedule should also try to knock them down early before Kalin Lucas inches closer and closer to 100% health.

These MWC Battles Are Epic Must-Watch Hoops

#52. January 5 – BYU at UNLV, 10 pm (CBS College Sports)- One of many banner matchups in an intriguing Mountain West conference this season. Jimmer Fredette can single-handedly carry the Cougars at any point, giving BYU a fighting chance should he find his stroke from outside and/or start penetrating effectively in the lane. Sidekicks Jackson Emery, Noah Hartsock and Brandon Davies are also back for Dave Rose. With the news passed down a couple weeks ago that UNLV star Tre’Von Willis will only miss 10% of UNLV’s games following a plea deal in a domestic violence case, the Rebels can have realistic hopes of winning the MWC. It’ll be worth staying up late for any game involving UNLV, BYU, San Diego State and possibly New Mexico/Wyoming this winter.

#51. December 23 – Georgetown at Memphis, 8 pm (ESPN2)- The final delectable bite of the appetizer that is non-conference competition before conference play gets underway: a battle of two potential top-20 teams at FedEx Forum. The guards in this contest are tremendous — from the Hoyas’ three-headed monster of Austin Freeman, Chris Wright and Jason Clark to the Tigers fabulous freshmen Joe Jackson, Will Barton and Jelan Kendrick. It’s fairly clear this would be a huge resume-building triumph for the victor come seeding debates in March.

#50. December 18 – Gonzaga vs. Baylor, 4:30 pm (ESPN2)– In typical Mark Few fashion, Gonzaga’s pre-WCC slate is loaded with quality competition. He’s never been afraid to take his Zags on the road for marquee games on semi-neutral floors. This matchup at American Airlines Arena in Houston will prove a quasi-home game for the Bears, but Few has the talent at his disposal to pull off the victory. The versatile, inside/outside play of two potential lottery picks — Baylor’s stud freshman Perry Jones and Gonzaga’s German import Elias Harris — is reason enough to tune in.

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It’s October.  The leaves are starting to turn colors.  Halloween candy is already in the stores.  There have been a few nights where you may have even turned on the heat.  Midnight Madness is less than two weeks away and RTC is ready to jump into the 2010-11 Season Preview materials headfirst, like a ten-foot stack of those leaves that you just raked into a giant pile.  For the second October in a row, we’re going to bring you our RTC Impact Players series.  The braintrust has gone back and forth on this throughout September and we’ve finally settled on a group of sixty players throughout ten geographic regions of the country (five starters plus a sixth man) to represent the who and where of players you should be watching this season.  Seriously, if you haven’t seen every one of these players ball at least once by the end of February, then you need to figure out a way to get a better television package.  As always in a subjective analysis such as this, some of our decisions were difficult; many others were quite easy.  What we can say without reservation is that there is great talent in every corner of this nation of ours, and we’ll do our best to excavate it over the next five weeks in this series that will publish on Mondays and Thursdays.  Each time, we’ll also provide a list of some of the near-misses as well as the players we considered in each region, but as always, we welcome you guys, our faithful and very knowledgeable readers, to critique us in the comments.

You can find all previous RTC 2010-11 Impact Players posts here.

Mid-Atlantic Region (NJ, PA, WV, DE, MD, DC)

• Austin Freeman – Sr, G – Georgetown. It’s hard to find a glaring weakness in Austin Freeman’s game. In a conference lacking the star power it normally touts, Freeman is the one player without a handful of flaws, concerns and question marks heading into 2010-11, a big reason why we believe he should be the preseason favorite to take home Big East Player of the Year honors next March. It’s obvious Freeman can shoot. Just ask Jim Calhoun about when the DeMatha HS product lit up his Huskies for 33 points on 5-9 from downtown in a comeback victory. Or just ask every coach in the Big East conference because it’s extremely likely Freeman made them pay on at least one occasion last season. The 6’3 junior shot a staggering 44% from three and 53% overall as a shooting guard who attempted 383 field goals last season. He also ranked in the top 100 in both effective FG% and offensive rating. Sure, plenty of the open looks were a result of opposing defenses keying on departed Hoya big man Greg Monroe, but GU still has enough playmakers on this year’s roster — Chris Wright, Jason Clark and Hollis Thompson to name a few — to free up shots for Freeman. While he may not be the most explosive athlete on the planet, Freeman makes up for that weakness with tremendous strength, especially fighting around screens and utilizing his quick release from deep. He also stays on John Thompson’s good side by limiting turnovers to around two per game. Off the court, Freeman has now had an entire summer to adjust to the news he received in February that he was diabetic. Reaching the charity stripe at a higher frequency should also be a point of emphasis for Freeman to improve on this season. In the Big East championship game loss to West Virginia and the embarrassing defeat at the hands of Ohio in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Freeman did not attempt a single free throw. In fact, he didn’t even shoot 100 FTs all season. Maintaining his efficient shooting totals and increasing the chances for free points is a combination that should combined to produce the most complete player in the Big East.

Freeman Will Keep Georgetown Near the Top of the Big East

• Talor Battle – Sr, G – Penn State. Talor Battle dabbled with the thought of entering the NBA Draft last spring, and who could blame the electrifying guard from central Pennsylvania?  After a tremendous sophomore season where his team went 27-11 and won the NIT title, he lost talented teammates Stanley Pringle and Jamelle Cornley to graduation, resulting in a severe free fall back to the bottom of the Big Ten (11-20, 3-15).  Still, Battle persevered through the mounting number of losses by playing heavy minutes (37.0 MPG) and continuing his march toward the very top of the Penn State basketball record books. Despite his diminutive 5’11, 160-lb frame, the two-time all-Big Ten guard (1st team in 2009; 2d team in 2010) who can do a little bit of everything is on pace to become Penn State’s all-time leading scorer and the best rebounding guard in the history of the program.  His season averages of 18.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG and 4.2 APG in 2009-10 were matched by only one other player in all of D1 basketball (NPOY Evan Turner) and he was also the only player among the 73 BCS programs who led his team in total points, rebounds, assists and steals.  Individual statistics are nice, but Battle would rather see more wins this season and there are some encouraging signs that his decision to return may be a good one.  Seven of PSU’s fifteen Big Ten losses last season were by six points or less, and the Nittany Lions were 3-3 in their last six regular season games with close losses to league leaders Purdue and Michigan State.  With all five starters returning for Ed DeChellis’ team, the hope for Battle is that some of those close games will break the other way with his senior leadership and shot-making abilities making the difference at the end.  It’s unlikely that PSU has an NCAA Tournament appearance in its immediate future (its last was a decade ago), especially in the brutal Big Ten, but an overall winning record and another trip to the NIT is a reasonable goal for Battle and friends to aspire toward.

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College basketball fans: get your calendars out. Over the next five Wednesdays until opening night arrives on November 8, we’ll unveil a portion of our 68 Can’t-Miss Games of 2010-11, a countdown of the matchups that you need to make sure to see this season. From the early season headliners to the best rivalries conference play has to offer, this list has you covered with the game, date, time (ET), network and a brief synopsis of what to expect. Remember, folks: this list doesn’t even include another eight to ten must-see early-season tournament games, for which we’ll have a separate post later this month.  Without further ado, here are the first 14 games on the list — set your Tivos/DVRs now.

#68. January 22 – Ohio State at Illinois, 12 pm (CBS) – Just prior to the stretch run in what should be the most competitive conference in the land this season, Ohio State travels to rowdy Champaign for a physical, rugged battle. Two of the best freshmen the Big Ten has to offer will be featured on national television in Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger and Illinois’ Jereme Richmond. Thad Matta should have an idea after this game whether last year’s supporting cast will take a step forward or instead fall on hard times without their former superstar Evan Turner.

#67. February 2 – Duke at Maryland, 9 pm (ESPN) – There’s only a small handful of games where the likely preseason #1 Blue Devils have a chance to fall. This is one of them. The Terrapins knocked off Duke in College Park last season. The difference: they had Grievis Vasquez, Eric Hayes and Landon Milbourne at their disposal. If the secondary players of a year ago — players like Sean Mosley, Cliff Tucker, Adrian Bowie and freshman Mychal Parker — can produce sufficiently alongside budding star Jordan Williams, Duke could be in for another dogfight against one of their bitter rivals.

Terp Fans Will Be Ready For Duke Again

#66. March 5 – Princeton at Harvard, 7 pm (TBA) – For those of you Ivy League fans out there, this is shaping up to be the best game of the entire slate and one that may decide the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. With Cornell’s three top seniors departing, most believe the conference crowd is Princeton’s to lose considering the Tigers return their top five scorers. Harvard, despite losing all-Ivy performer Jeremy Lin, returns the majority of his supporting cast and Lavietes Pavilion should be rocking on the last Saturday of the regular season.

#65. January 13 – Purdue at Minnesota, 7 pm (ESPN) – Purdue will be returning to the Barn on this January night for the first time since they saw their national title hopes crumble with Robbie Hummel’s devastating knee injury in 2010. More importantly, this is an early statement game for a Golden Gophers team that’s hard to peg in the preseason. They Gophers return some intriguing pieces from a team that made a late push to secure a bid in 2010, notably Devoe Joseph, Blake Hoffarber and Ralph Sampson III, and this shapes up to be a potential early season statement win for Tubby Smith.

#64. February 12 – Old Dominion at VCU, time TBA – Despite the defections of Gerald Lee as a senior and Larry Sanders to the NBA, both the Monarchs and Rams may find themselves atop the CAA standings once again. Shaka Smart brings in an impressive recruiting haul to go with experienced floor leader Joey Rodriguez and fellow guards Brandon Rozell and Bradford Burgess. It’s the same story for ODU’s Blaine Taylor — Lee is gone, but most of his sidekicks are back in the fold. This should be ODU’s stiffest test on the CAA slate.

#63. January 29 – Missouri at Texas, 9 pm (ESPNU) – There’s five teams that could legitimately challenge for the Big 12 title this season. Here’s two of them meeting in a late January battle. The jury’s out on the Longhorns given how the second half of last year played out, but the talent and depth that Rick Barnes assembled still makes a trip to Austin less than ideal for the visitor. Between Kim English, Marcus Denmon and incoming freshman Paul Pressey, it could be guard play and the Tigers’ patented full-court pressure that negates any Texas home court advantage.

#62. March 5 – Florida at Vanderbilt, 6 pm (ESPN) – With Billy Donovan dodging a Mareese Speights/Nick Calathes type unexpected loss this summer, it appears that the Gators and their returning five starters are the odds-on favorites to win the SEC (this could hinge on Enes Kanter’s eligibility for Kentucky). Their regular season finale shapes up to be a challenge at Vanderbilt’s wacky Memorial Gymnasium. Losing A.J. Ogilvy sent the Commodores down a few notches, but potential lottery pick Jeffery Taylor and sharpshooter John Jenkins could be enough to send a late-season punch Florida’s way.

#61. December 11 – Tennessee vs. Pittsburgh, 3:15 pm (ESPN) – The stage is set for these two powerhouses to  battle at the Penguins brand new Consol Energy Center in downtown Pittsburgh, giving this “neutral site” game a significant pro-Panthers flavor. Despite losing three key seniors, the Volunteers re-loaded with freshman Tobias Harris and return the talented Scotty Hopson. Many folks think a Pitt team that overachieved tremendously last season has the chops to win a competitive Big East. This would be an early resume-building win for both squads.

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Andrew Murawa is the RTC correspondent for the Mountain West and Pac-10 Conferences and an occasional contributor.

Hooray! Today is the official end of the Great Sports Desert – you know, that period of time between the first Monday in April and the first weekend of the college football season. Beginning tonight, there are actual meaningful sporting events that I am interested in. Let’s be clear, I love college football. Easily my second favorite sport. But, I’m a college hoops junkie first and foremost, and part of the reason I love the start of college football season is because that means that the start of college basketball is within shouting distance from here. And, while looking over the slate of college football games this weekend, I couldn’t help but imagine some of these matchups as college basketball games. So, here I have, in reverse order, the ten most intriguing matchups of the college football weekend, provided they are re-imagined as season openers in basketball season.  (ed. note: yes, he is sick, but we love him for it)

College Sports is Back on the Calendar!

First, a nod to a handful of games which, being a junkie and all, definitely appeal to me, but were just a bit off of my top-10 list:

• Pittsburgh @ Utah – on Thursday night, with only six other games on. If this was basketball season, and there were only six other games on, you could bet I’d watch some of this. Sure, Utah isn’t going to be very good, but it would be interesting to see Pitt go on the road early into a hostile environment.
• Murray State @ Kent State – a very good mid-major matchup between one of last season’s Cinderellas and one of the MAC’s always competitive teams.
• Connecticut @ Michigan – this game just sounds really good, but in reality, UConn is down and Michigan is, well, I would say Michigan is down, but its been awhile since they’ve been up.
• Richmond @ Virginia – a big intrastate matchup between the A-10 and the ACC. If Virginia was just a little bit better, this may have made the cut, because UR will be very good again, but a road trip into the John Paul Jones Arena would be a good early test for Kevin Anderson and company.
• Northwestern @ Vanderbilt – as enticing as this Wildcat/Commodore matchup would be between two talented teams with NCAA Tournament hopes, this just misses the cut.

And on to the top 10:

• #10 – Washington State @ Oklahoma State – Klay Thompson, Reggie Moore and DeAngelo Casto invade the Gallagher-Iba Arena to provide a good early season test for a young Cowboy squad minus last season’s two leading scorers. While the young Cowboy guards Ray Penn and Keiton Page keep this close throughout, too much Thompson eventually does them in.

Predicted Football Score: Oklahoma State 31 Washington State 10

Predicted Basketball Score: Washington State 72 Oklahoma State 66

• #9 – UCLA @ Kansas State – Kansas State is one of the teams on the short list of national title contenders. UCLA is, well, honestly, not very good at least judging by last season’s performance. But, they’re still UCLA. And their frontline of Reeves Nelson, Josh Smith and Tyler Honeycutt will test Curtis Kelly, Wally Judge and company, perhaps even to a draw. We’ll also get a first chance to see if the Bruins have even remotely solved their problems at the point, an area of concern that will eventually be the deciding factor in this matchup as Jacob Pullen eventually gets over on Malcolm Lee and the Wildcats pull away in the second half.

Pullen is Back With Another Strong Team

Predicted Football Score: UCLA 23 Kansas State 17

Predicted Basketball Score: Kansas State 70 UCLA 60

• #8 – Syracuse @ Akron – Jim Boeheim taking his Orange on the road early against a Midwest mid-major? Sure, that’ll happen. But, if it did, I’d be thrilled to see my first glimpse of Syracuse freshman center Fab Melo battling the Zips own young center, sophomore seven-footer Zeke Marshall. Sure, the Orange’s talent would probably win out in the end with Akron not having an answer for Kris Joseph, but I’m pretty sure that we’d get at least 30 minutes of pretty compelling basketball here.

Predicted Football Score: Syracuse 24, Akron 20

Predicted Basketball Score: Syracuse 67 Akron 55

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1. Looking for a kid to root for in two years (after a redshirt year)? Look no further than Jimmy McDonnell, now possessive of a spankin’ new basketball scholarship at Temple. Mike DeCourcy has a great summary of a young man who wasn’t even a college hoops prospect of any kind early in his high school hoops career, but became one through hard work and the help of a couple of coaches who saw something in him. He sounds like one of those first-to-arrive, last-to-leave kinds of players to us, and that’s something we can always get behind.
2. It would be tough to root against Deandre Daniels, too, a top prospect in the 2011 class (ESPNU #28, Rivals #10, Scout #8 PF) who might reclassify into the 2010 class within the next 24 hours. Daniels missed a lot of school two years ago to help care for a grandfather stricken with cancer, got moved to the 2011 class, but has caught up with his original 2010 class through night classes and summer school. After decommitting from Texas for 2011, he’s got several scholly offers for this season, and Kentucky appears to have a head in front, which should surprise nobody anymore.
3. Kansas lost a couple of players on Wednesday when C.J. Henry and Chase Buford both decided to put Lawrence in their rearview mirrors.  Buford averaged about two minutes a game over 11 appearances and decided that he wants his senior year of college to be that of a regular student. Henry, as you may recall, was a first-round draft pick of the Yankees back in 2005, received a $1.6 million bonus and had his tuition paid by the Yanks at Memphis. When brother Xavier committed to Kansas and John Calipari left for Kentucky, C.J. was released from his LOI and enrolled as a Jayhawk, redshirting his freshman year.  He’s out of baseball, and after averaging five minutes a game over 15 games last season for KU, he’s looking to continue his basketball career elsewhere.
4. Jay Vincent, a former teammate of Magic’s on the ’79 Michigan State championship team and a nine-year NBA veteran, was indicted yesterday in an online employment scam. He and a partner were pinched for allegedly fronting a company that prepared people to inspect bank-foreclosed homes, asking applicants for money in advance for liability insurance and background checks. Turns out, no policies were bought, and no background checks were performed. The total take? Close to $2 million.
5. After having jerseys retired in three sports in high school, Drew Shiller didn’t exactly see a college career filled with hip surgeries and long stretches on crutches and in physical therapy/rehab. After starting at San Francisco, he transferred to Stanford, but always felt limited because of his surgeries. He stuck with it, though, and in the process made two Pac-10 all-academic teams and just took his master’s degree from Stanford. Nice short profile by the San Jose Mercury News.

Joe Dzuback of Villanova by the Numbers is the RTC correspondent for the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Around the Atlantic 10

• The conference elected to continue with the tournament format developed for the 2010 championship, which excludes the two worst teams in the A-10.  CBS reported that last year’s A-10 championship game drew approximately two million viewers, which is unprecedented for the league. Subsequently, CBS will again carry the final in 2011 (more on that partnership later in this article).
• Jordan Crawford, Xavier’s sophomore wing, became the Atlantic 10’s first player since Temple’s Mardy Collins in 2006 to be taken in the first round of the NBA draft. Crawford, selected as the 27th pick by the New Jersey Nets, was a transfer who logged a single season with the Musketeers before jumping to the NBA. He was the 15th Xavier player drafted since 1990, and follows Derrick Brown, who was drafted in the second round in 2009.
• More player recognition came from the USA Basketball organization when they invited Dayton swingman Chris Wright and Temple power forward Lavoy Allen to join the Select team that served as the scout team for the US National squad during run-throughs in Las Vegas this summer. The Select team worked the National Team in a series of practices and exhibition games out in Las Vegas, Nevada, in late July. At least seven A-10 players from three conference teams have or will see playing time on international teams this summer.
• The conference’s facilities race continued this off season, as Duquesne and George Washington both improved their on-campus arenas. Duquesne replaced the seats in the Palumbo Center and added a center-hung Daktronics video scoreboard. George Washington has nearly completed a three-phase renovation of the Charles E. Smith Center. The last phase includes a makeover of the building’s exterior, the lobby, several other interior spaces and a new scoreboard. Temple announced a $48 million renovation project for Pearson/McGonigle Halls that will include a new practice facility for the men’s basketball program. The athletic department has launched a campaign to raise about a third of the money privately.

How will the departure of Xavier's Jordan Crawford impact the A-10?

Power Rankings

Checking a given team’s returning minutes against their Pythagorean Winning Percentage (PWP) from the previous season (conference games only) is a good predictor of how that team will fare in the following season. Four teams (St. Louis, Richmond, Xavier and Rhode Island) had a  PWP above average, plus above-average returning minutes, which strongly suggests they will do no worse in 2011 than they did in 2010. In fact, teams in that boat will most likely improve their position in the conference the next year. Four others (Fordham, St. Bonaventure, La Salle and Saint Joseph‘s) had below-average PWPs and below-average returning minutes, which suggests that the team is more likely to regress.

1. Temple – The Owls may fall outside of the “above average” quadrant, but Temple returns +4.8% (above the conference average) of their points scored and +2.4% of their rebounding. Gone are glue guys Ryan Brooks and Luis Guzman, but Juan Fernandez, Lavoy Allen (who flirted briefly with the NBA draft before returning to school),  Michael Eric and A-10 Sixth Man of the Year Ramone Moore all return. Five Temple players have benefitted from a summer that included structured practices and staunch competition. Rising sophomore guard T.J. DiLeo logged time with the U20 German team in the FIBA U20 European Division A Championship. Incoming freshman Aaron Brown, a recent graduate of the famed St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, New Jersey, had an extended run with the Virgin Island team, first competing in the U18 Americas Cup in San Antonio, Texas, then with the Virgin Islands in the Centrobasket Championship in the Dominican Republic. Rising sophomore Carmel Bouchman logged time with the Israeli U20 team, which also competed in the U20 European Division B Championship. Allen was selected to the scout team which helped prepare Team USA for the upcoming FIBA World Championship in Turkey. Fernandez, who is competing in the same event for his native Argentina, will arrive on campus late this semester, as the tournament runs through September 12.
2. Richmond – The Spiders say goodbye to the streaky David Gonzalvez and Ryan Butler, but Coach Chris Mooney will have another season of A-10 Player of the Year Kevin Anderson. With returning numbers better than the conference average in minutes, points and rebounding, Richmond is positioned to challenge for the conference title. The one cloud in this picture is the style of play. Last season, Richmond’s inside/outside stat was -3.8, suggesting the Spiders leaned towards the perimeter. The inside/outside stat for the returning players is +7.88, indicating that the Spiders’ offense will move closer to the basket to score. To maintain the style of play installed by Coach Mooney, a variation on the Princeton Offense, the staff will have to find someone from the current roster or an incoming player like the promising Cedrick Lindsay, who can score more frequently from beyond the arc. Justin Harper and Kevin Anderson cannot fill that need alone. Wayne Sparrow, a 6-3 shooting guard out of Maryland and 6-9 combo forward/center Derrick Williams out of St. Anthony’s in New Jersey, round out the recruiting class. Read the rest of this entry »

Zach Hayes is a regular RTC writer and resident bracketologist. You can follow his sports-related thoughts at Twitter.

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.

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1. Butler will have to deal with the ghoulish specter of Expectations next year without star forward Gordon Hayward, who has decided to remain in the NBA Draft pool.  The Bulldogs should still be very good in 2010-11, but it’s unlikely to expect another run at the national title without the versatile Hayward back on campus.  Ole Miss guard Terrico White has also decided to stay in the draft, forgoing his final two years of eligibility.  This is a questionable decision, as some prognosticators think White may sneak into the bottom of the first round, while others think he’ll be lucky to be drafted.  With the withdrawal deadline looming on Saturday, there will be a number of these over the next few days (we hope) and Northern Arizona’s Cam Jones is one of the first to announce a return to school.
2. Some coaching news from yesterday as Temple’s Fran Dunphy was rewarded for another NCAA campaign with an extension that will keep him secure through the 2018 season.  At Kentucky, John Calipari responded to the Chicago Bull rumors with an audio tweet stating that he’s only interested in an extension at UK, not a raise.  After the Tim Welsh debacle at Hofstra, the university wasted no time in hiring Mo Cassara, an assistant that Welsh had hired from Boston College, for the top spot.  A month ago he didn’t even have a job — now he’s the head coach.
3. How about some transfer news today to round out things?  Memphis added New Orleans transfer Charles Carmouche, a scoring guard who will be eligible immediately for his final two seasons as a result of UNO’s self-demotion to Division 3.  Alabama is restricting rising senior Justin Knox’s transfer bid to UAB as a result of what they think is tampering.  Bizarre situation for the 2008-09 SEC men’s basketball scholar-athlete of the year who will have already graduated from the school this year.
4. Oklahoma State forward Matt Pilgrim has been served with a protective order by a woman who is claiming that he raped her on April 12.  Pilgrim was an integral part of the inside game for the Pokes last season (8/7) and undoubtedly was expected to be even more prominent next year.  He posted this on his Facebook page on Wednesday afternoon: “I can’t take it no more… I always play the victim. (All) I’ve done was work hard to prove people wrong… People lie and every one that know(s) me know(s) my passion to become somebody, but Satan is working overtime on me…. But I’m (going to) let God handle this… I will still work hard to provide for me and the ones I love. Please do (not believe what’s) going on. I just want peace… Sorry to everyone that is affected by this.”  You never know what the details will show in situations like these, so let’s just hope that justice (whatever its form) is served in the end.
5. Testing the waters is a sham now that the NCAA caved in to several prominent whiners coaches and gives prospective NBA players a mere two weeks during  many schools’ exam period to gauge their stock.  We have a piece up on this today, and Gary Parrish chimed in as well with some of his own research from the NBA side of the ledger (result: most NBA teams aren’t interested in this right now).  If the NCAA has any interest in actually helping its student-athletes make educated decisions, then they’ll admit they flubbed this one and create a more realistic window for kids to get evaluated.  Well, at least they got the important stuff, y’know, like throwing ‘bows, figured out.

1. As of Midnight ET last night, the NBA Draft early entry deadline had passed.  Most of the big names had already thrown their hats into the ring, but there were a few last-minute additions over the weekend.  Most notably, Florida State’s Solomon Alabi entered his name on Friday, representing the last likely first rounder who had remained on the fence.  Temple center Lavoy Allen has decided to test the waters, choosing to not sign with an agent while gauging what he needs to work on next year.  These two and all 758 of the others will now have fourteen days (until May 8) to make a final determination as to whether they’re staying or leaving, which is great for us but a little tight during exam time for them to get reliable information.
2. Oregon fans are coming to terms with the arrival of Dana Altman in Eugene and his high-intensity, pressing style of play.  As we said on Saturday, we believe this is a good hire for the next seven years for the Nike Duck program, even if not everyone was initially thrilled with this decision.  Altman may get an early shot to build good will with a win over visiting #1 Duke at the Rose Garden in the pre-conference schedule, it turns out.
3. And this is yet another example of why we shouldn’t allow people who don’t understand the game of basketball (and college basketball in particular) anywhere near our game (see: Malcolm Gladwell).  We love March Madness because it’s like American Idol?  Just.  Stop.
4. We hope to have something more substantial up about all the potential conference realignment spurred by the Big Ten’s rapacity soon, but for now many others have plenty to say on the matter.  One commentator points out that the league has been the butt of jokes in recent years, but nobody is laughing at it now, while another points out that four sixteen-teams conferences from sea to shining sea could result in a football Final Four for the ages.  Speaking of the gridiron, one thing is crystal clear to everyone — whatever happens, basketball tradition and rivalries will be an afterthought, a real shame given how hoops powers with little to no football tradition are being forced into decisions based on a sport that matters less to them.  Meanwhile, to really cap off your Monday morning, how about discussing a future doomsday scenario where those four super-conferences break off and hold their own version of March Madness someday.  Honestly, we’re not even sure we could continue RTC if that were to happen.
5. Michigan State is breaking out new unis starting next year.  The “State” we’ve all become accustomed to on the front has now been replaced with “Spartans.”  What do you think?

We Always Thought That "State" Thing Was Presumptuous Anyway

The 2009-10 college basketball season has just ended. Rather than dwell on the past, let’s look towards the future. That’s right, folks, hot off the presses: the first 2010-11 Top 25. Our assumptions on who is staying/leaving are within the team breakdowns.

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.

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