2018-19 Top 144 Previews Men's Basketball

[WuShock Reaper]

Charleston Classic Potential 2nd Round Opponent

#30 Purdue Men's Basketball 2018-2019 Preview

Purdue reached the NCAA Tournament for the tenth time under Coach Matt Painter last season. But once again the Boilermakers failed to make it past the Sweet Sixteen. This time it was partly due to an injury to Isaac Haas suffered earlier in the tournament. But now Haas and three other starters are gone. Haas, Vincent Edwards and Dakota Mathias all averaged at least a dozen points per game and now there is some reloading to be done. But the starter back is All-American Carsen Edwards and that is a great place to start. The junior guard led the Boilermakers with 18.5 points per game last year and connected on 40.6 percent of his 239 attempts from beyond the arc. With Edwards taking the big shots, Purdue will have some time to get their new playmakers acclimated to life in the Big Ten.

Conference Rank: #5 Big Ten

Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA

[WuShock Reaper]

#26 Cincinnati Men's Basketball 2018-2019 Preview

Cincinnati reached the NCAA Tournament for the eighth straight time under Coach Mick Cronin. Only once during that stretch though have the Bearcats reached the Sweet Sixteen. The 2018 tournament looked like a great opportunity for the program to make a deep tournament run after a 30 win regular season. However, the Bearcats were upset as a #2 seed in the second round by Nevada. With three starters gone, this group may need a little time to adjust, but there is enough talent to make a push towards the Sweet Sixteen.

Conference Rank: #1 American

Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA

[Aargh]

#26 Cincinnati Men's Basketball 2018-2019 Preview

Cincinnati reached the NCAA Tournament for the eighth straight time under Coach Mick Cronin. Only once during that stretch though have the Bearcats reached the Sweet Sixteen. The 2018 tournament looked like a great opportunity for the program to make a deep tournament run after a 30 win regular season. However, the Bearcats were upset as a #2 seed in the second round by Nevada. With three starters gone, this group may need a little time to adjust, but there is enough talent to make a push towards the Sweet Sixteen.

Conference Rank: #1 American

Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA

If these rankings hold up, the top teams in the conference will be listed under "Others Receiving Votes"

[Bluzrover]

I still hope we show the rest of the conference and NCAA that we're tournament worthy but after the reports from the scrimmage, I'm not so sure. Granted, it's just a scrimmage, but we have so many young athletes who have never had to play the kind of defense Gregg demands and we're no longer in the MVC. This is gonna be a ride this season methinks.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

Uh, the scrimmage hasn't happened yet. That's on October 21st.

Edit: Oh, I bet you're talking about the Black and Yellow scrimmage. Sorry, I thought you were talking about OSU.

[Aargh]

Defense looked pretty solid at the scrimmage. It was scoring that was hard to find.

[WuShock Reaper]

Charleston Classic Potential 2nd Round Opponent

#18 Virginia Tech Men's Basketball 2018-2019 Preview

Coach Buzz Williams has quickly brought some positive stability to the Virginia Tech program. After a tough debut campaign in 2014-2015, the Hokies have now won 20 or more games three times in a row and reached the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons. And, with four starters returning, this should be the best team Coach Williams has at Virginia Tech. That means this group could win their first NCAA Tournament game since 2007 and potentially win more than one tournament contest for the first time since 1967.

Conference Rank: #5 ACC

Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA (5-seed)