College Basketball Predictions
While the NIT season tip-off marathon and tournament start and end, and we get an idea of how good the teams are, we will simulate to March Madness. Who will make it. Who will play who? Who will play where. Let's see.
1 seeds: Duke, Michigan State, Kansas State. Ohio State
2 seeds. Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas, Syracuse
3 seeds: Baylor, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Villanova
4 seeds: Virginia Tech, Purdue, Michigan, Texas
5 seeds: Illinois, Wisconsin, Florida, Tennessee
6 seeds: Gonzaga. San Diego State, Memphis, West Virginia
7 seeds: Washington, Georgetown, Missouri, Temple
8 seeds: St. Mary's, Butler, Xavier, Marquette
9 seeds: Mississppi State, UCLA, Oklahoma, Miami FL
10 seeds: Texas A&M, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Minnesota
11 seeds: Arizona, Dayton, New Mexico, Virginia Commonwealth
12 seeds: Murray State, Creighton, New Mexico State, Missouri State
13 seeds: North Texas, Kent State, Richmond, Cleveland State
14 seeds: Pacific, Lipscomb, Appalachian State, Stephen F. Austin
15 seeds: Princeton, Weber State, Virginia Military, American
16 seeds: Fairfield, Jackson State, Quinnipiac, South Dakota State, Boston U
Last 3 in: East Carolina, UNLV, Indiana
Final Four: Lousville, Ohio State, Kansas State, Michigan State
Championship: Michigan State over Louisville
Surprise team: The Louisville Cardinals proved what they can do in beating Butler by 15, spreading the floor and getting 36 points off the bench. With Terrence Jennings doing the work in the paint, and with Kyle Kuric leading the way from beyond the work, if these Cardinals put the pieces together, they could be dominant. Preston Knowles scored 12 points against Butler and he leads the charge from the bench.
Biggest disappointment: Without Jon Scheyer, Brian Zoubek and others, Seth Curry and Kyle Singler have a lot of work to do. The Blue Devils blew out Miami Ohio on Tuesday, but Seth Curry is just a freshman and Kyle Singler isn't 5 players. Although these 2 will dominate some spots of the court, and I think the Blue Devils will be a number one seed, they won't be ready come March.
The UCLA Bruins should bounce back after a 14-18 year last year. Tyler Honeycutt and Reeves Nelson have added a year of experience, and freshman guard Lazeric Jones and center Josh Smith have both shown promise. The Bruins are 3-0 and they have got a great jumper from Honeycutt and the ability to rebound and score down low from Nelson. The Bruins will face #7 Villanova, so we will see how the Bruins fare.
The Washington Huskies have shown the ability to run the "In and out offense". Abdul Gaddy is able to attack the zone and then kick out for the 3 pointer. The zone won't work, and if opponents opt for man-to-man then Isiah Thomas and Abdul Gaddy have the ability to drive, while Justin Holiday and Matthew Bryan-Amaning can rebound and score down low. These Huskies have promise; and the ability to make a run in March.
The Illinois Fighting Illini have their team based around 2 players; PG Dimitri McCamey, and C Mike Tisdale. Tisdale, who is 7-1, averages 9.3 PPG and 7.7 RPG. The kid can rebound and put back shots because of his size. And McCamey can do it all. He can pass, he can drive to the hoop, and he can shoot. Zone D doesn't work against McCamey and the Illini, because he can simply draw a double team and pass outside for a wide open 3 pointer.
Top 25
1 Duke
2 Kansas State
3 Michigan State
4 Louisville
5 Ohio State
6 Kentucky
7 Syracuse
8 Pittsburgh
9 Kansas
10 Purdue
11 Villanova
12 Baylor
13 North Carolina
14 Washington
15 Illinois
16 West Virginia
17 Wisconsin
18 Florida
19 San Diego State
20 Gonzaga
21 Virginia Tech
22 Michigan
23 Memphis
24 Temple
25 Georgetown
Others
UCLA, Tennessee, Florida State, Missouri, Butler, Minnesota, Texas, Georgia, St. Mary's, Marquette, New Mexico, Kent State
Championship prediction: The one-two guard punch of Kalin Lucas and Korie Lucious will dominate with in-and out, shooting, and passing. Lucas can drive, shoot and pass, while Lucious is a great shooter and he can drive to the hoop and score. With these 2 at point and shooting guard, the Spartans have some great talent in the backcourt. With Durrell Summers being able to shoot and rebound, the Spartans have 3 guys who can lead Sparty to a championship. That's exactly what the 3rd ranked Spartans will do.
1 seeds: Duke, Michigan State, Kansas State. Ohio State
2 seeds. Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas, Syracuse
3 seeds: Baylor, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Villanova
4 seeds: Virginia Tech, Purdue, Michigan, Texas
5 seeds: Illinois, Wisconsin, Florida, Tennessee
6 seeds: Gonzaga. San Diego State, Memphis, West Virginia
7 seeds: Washington, Georgetown, Missouri, Temple
8 seeds: St. Mary's, Butler, Xavier, Marquette
9 seeds: Mississppi State, UCLA, Oklahoma, Miami FL
10 seeds: Texas A&M, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Minnesota
11 seeds: Arizona, Dayton, New Mexico, Virginia Commonwealth
12 seeds: Murray State, Creighton, New Mexico State, Missouri State
13 seeds: North Texas, Kent State, Richmond, Cleveland State
14 seeds: Pacific, Lipscomb, Appalachian State, Stephen F. Austin
15 seeds: Princeton, Weber State, Virginia Military, American
16 seeds: Fairfield, Jackson State, Quinnipiac, South Dakota State, Boston U
Last 3 in: East Carolina, UNLV, Indiana
Final Four: Lousville, Ohio State, Kansas State, Michigan State
Championship: Michigan State over Louisville
Surprise team: The Louisville Cardinals proved what they can do in beating Butler by 15, spreading the floor and getting 36 points off the bench. With Terrence Jennings doing the work in the paint, and with Kyle Kuric leading the way from beyond the work, if these Cardinals put the pieces together, they could be dominant. Preston Knowles scored 12 points against Butler and he leads the charge from the bench.
Biggest disappointment: Without Jon Scheyer, Brian Zoubek and others, Seth Curry and Kyle Singler have a lot of work to do. The Blue Devils blew out Miami Ohio on Tuesday, but Seth Curry is just a freshman and Kyle Singler isn't 5 players. Although these 2 will dominate some spots of the court, and I think the Blue Devils will be a number one seed, they won't be ready come March.
The UCLA Bruins should bounce back after a 14-18 year last year. Tyler Honeycutt and Reeves Nelson have added a year of experience, and freshman guard Lazeric Jones and center Josh Smith have both shown promise. The Bruins are 3-0 and they have got a great jumper from Honeycutt and the ability to rebound and score down low from Nelson. The Bruins will face #7 Villanova, so we will see how the Bruins fare.
The Washington Huskies have shown the ability to run the "In and out offense". Abdul Gaddy is able to attack the zone and then kick out for the 3 pointer. The zone won't work, and if opponents opt for man-to-man then Isiah Thomas and Abdul Gaddy have the ability to drive, while Justin Holiday and Matthew Bryan-Amaning can rebound and score down low. These Huskies have promise; and the ability to make a run in March.
The Illinois Fighting Illini have their team based around 2 players; PG Dimitri McCamey, and C Mike Tisdale. Tisdale, who is 7-1, averages 9.3 PPG and 7.7 RPG. The kid can rebound and put back shots because of his size. And McCamey can do it all. He can pass, he can drive to the hoop, and he can shoot. Zone D doesn't work against McCamey and the Illini, because he can simply draw a double team and pass outside for a wide open 3 pointer.
Top 25
1 Duke
2 Kansas State
3 Michigan State
4 Louisville
5 Ohio State
6 Kentucky
7 Syracuse
8 Pittsburgh
9 Kansas
10 Purdue
11 Villanova
12 Baylor
13 North Carolina
14 Washington
15 Illinois
16 West Virginia
17 Wisconsin
18 Florida
19 San Diego State
20 Gonzaga
21 Virginia Tech
22 Michigan
23 Memphis
24 Temple
25 Georgetown
Others
UCLA, Tennessee, Florida State, Missouri, Butler, Minnesota, Texas, Georgia, St. Mary's, Marquette, New Mexico, Kent State
Championship prediction: The one-two guard punch of Kalin Lucas and Korie Lucious will dominate with in-and out, shooting, and passing. Lucas can drive, shoot and pass, while Lucious is a great shooter and he can drive to the hoop and score. With these 2 at point and shooting guard, the Spartans have some great talent in the backcourt. With Durrell Summers being able to shoot and rebound, the Spartans have 3 guys who can lead Sparty to a championship. That's exactly what the 3rd ranked Spartans will do.
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