2020-21 College Sports Madness Top 144 Countdown

[WuShock Reaper]

SMU Mustangs

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18737

2020-2021 Overall Rank: #52
Conference Rank: #3 American

"Coach Tim Jankovich finally had a full team on his hands last season after dealing with scholarship limitations brought on by his predecessor. The result was a decent 19-11 campaign. But last year was just building towards bigger and better things in the future. That was a young team. They lacked consistency at times during the 2019-2020 season, but they pulled off some nice wins too. With four starters and much of the bench returning, the Mustangs should be much more consistent this season and potentially even compete for an American Athletic Conference title....

Projection:
The backcourt duo of Tyson Jolly and Kendric Davis combined to average 28.7 points per game last season. Jolly led the way with 14.5 points and was the most consistent three-point shooter on the team. The 6-4 senior also added 6.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Davis proved to be a very efficient point guard, dishing out 6.7 assists per game with just 2.5 turnovers. Much of his 14.2 points per game will come from inside the arc, but Davis is at least a threat to shoot the ball. Emmanuel Bandoumel came in from the junior college ranks and stepped into a starting role. In the frontcourt, Feron Hunt will look to take on a larger role after averaging 11.0 points and 6.7 rebounds a season ago. Without Isiaha Mike, Hunt will be the main man in the paint. Ethan Chargois has the track record to fight for that title as well. He took a step back last season, but Chargois averaged 12.4 points and 6.2 rebounds back in 2018-2019. The addition of Yor Anei will add another dimension to the frontcourt. Anei is a superb shot blocker and did some scoring during his time at Oklahoma State too. Darius McNeill brings more experience to the roster. The junior guard spent two seasons at Cal where he was a regular starter and proved to be one of the best three-point shooters in the Pac-12. Having another consistent outside shooter will be huge for SMU. If McNeill and Anei can fit into those roles effectively, the Mustangs have all the pieces they need to seriously compete for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Projected Postseason Tournament: NIT..."

[swellafelon]

Northern Iowa #50
Loyola Chicago #61
Wichita State #84


Discuss.

[TheShocktocles]

Northern Iowa #50
Loyola Chicago #61
Wichita State #84


Discuss.

Ha . This is no big surprise. Where have you been? In addition to the above teams, Cincinnati, Houston, SMU, Memphis, USF, Oklahoma State, Mississippi, Western Kentucky, and some others will be ranked higher than the shocks in the pre-season. According to the media experts the Shocks do not even have a team this year because we had 6 players transfer after the season. And we have new freshmen players with little experience and returning players that can not shoot free throws. I am so sad.

Coach Marshall and the shocks will just have to take its whippings this year and acknowledge the greatness of all these other outstanding basketball programs. Thank you for reminding me about the wisdom of the media experts predictions.

[MikeKennedyRulZ]

Northern Iowa #50
Loyola Chicago #61
Wichita State #84


Discuss.

Looks like NIU and Loyola will be fighting it out for that ONE valley NCAA bid.

[ShockerFever]

Northern Iowa #50
Loyola Chicago #61
Wichita State #84


Discuss.

Well let's see, we're replacing an entire roster pretty much. To be even considered Top 90 with all of that turnover is pretty amazing. If LOLoyola turned over their entire roster, they wouldn't even be sniffing the Top 200.

Oh and also, College Sports Madness is gold when doing preseason rankings. Just look back over the years. lol

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy irrelevance.

[WuShock Reaper]

Memphis Tigers
https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18763
2020-2021 Overall Rank: #33
Conference Rank: #2 American

"Memphis has performed quite well during Coach Penny Hardaway’s first two seasons leading the program. However, the final results were a trip to the NIT in 2019 and what likely would have been another trip to the NIT in 2020. That is not good enough at Memphis and certainly not good enough for this season. The Tigers return four starters and bring in some great newcomers as well. This group could be special but even if they do not live up to their potential, they should still reach the NCAA Tournament....

Projection:
Even with losing Precious Achiuwa early to the NBA, this was a great offseason for the Tigers. They grabbed one of the hottest transfers of the season in Landers Nolley II. He averaged 15.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists during his freshman campaign at Virginia Tech. The news got better when his waiver was approved for immediate eligibility. Coach Hardaway also picked up five-star recruit Moussa Cisse, who should be an immediate replacement for Achiuwa in the paint. Florida transfer Isaiah Stokes heads to Memphis after seeing limited action with the Gators. D.J. Jeffries, Lance Thomas and Malcolm Dandridge are back to help Cisse and Stokes in the paint. Jeffries proved to be a very versatile forward during his freshman season, averaging 10.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks while stretching the defense with his outside shooting ability last season. Thomas was a regular starter last year and Dandridge should be ready to see more minutes after being slowed by a knee injury as a freshman. In the backcourt, Nolley may emerge as the star, but he is just one of many sophomore guards looking for a big year. Lester Quinones and Boogie Ellis are both quality outside shooters and were regular starters as freshmen. Damion Baugh earned 25 starts as well. He does not need to do much scoring, but he can handle the ball and set up his teammates. Alex Lomax, a junior veteran, is another point guard and he led the Tigers with 4.3 assists per game last year. This is still a young team, but the talent has been building under Coach Hardaway and this is the year for Memphis to make a tournament run and get back onto the national stage.

Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA..."

[WuShock Reaper]

Oklahoma State Cowboys
https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18766
2020-2021 Overall Rank: #32
Conference Rank: #6 Big 12

"This will be Coach Mike Boynton’s fourth season with Oklahoma State. The first three years have not gone great, but the expectations are getting much higher. However, the Cowboys are facing a postseason ban in 2020-2021 and, as things stand now, OSU will not be eligible for the postseason. By March though, their appeal could go through. The program did lose some players due to transfer and in all four starters are gone. That leaves some big holes to fill, but Oklahoma State should be able to fill them with their newcomers and some younger returning players....

Projection:
Isaac Likekele is the lone returning starter and the lone returning upperclassmen. The junior guard averaged 10.9 points and 5.6 rebounds and led the team with 4.5 assists and 1.9 steals. He is extremely dangerous when attacking the basket and, even if his three-point shooting remains pretty much non-existent, Likekele will do plenty of scoring. Avery Anderson III and Chris Harris both averaged around 15 minutes per game as freshmen and showed some promise in that limited playing time. Kalib and Keylan Boone saw fewer minutes as freshmen, but both have the talent to emerge as key contributors. Cade Cunningham is widely considered the best recruit in the class of 2020 and he will likely be around for just one year before heading off to the NBA. The 6-8 guard can do it all and he has the ability to carry this team to big things this season. Coach Boynton also has another very talented freshman guard headed to Stillwater in Rondel Walker. Transfers Ferron Flavors and Bryce Williams will add a bit of experience to the backcourt. Flavors was one of the more prolific three-point shooters in the country last season at Cal Baptist. Williams did not see too much playing time at Ole Miss, but he too should at least be a productive shooter off the bench. If all the youngsters live up to their potential, this is an Oklahoma State team that can beat anybody in the Big 12. Remaining consistent though could be a big concern for such a young team.

Projected Postseason Tournament: None (postseason ban)..."