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Originally posted by WuShock Reaper
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"2017-2018 NCAA Basketball Preseason Top 25" - How They Play
by dmrlowd
Updated on July 20, 2017
"Last season's NCAA Tournament was as competitive and enjoyable as it has ever been, but the gap between what can be referred to as college basketball's 7 power conferences and the other 25 appears to be getting larger, with the mass migration of high end graduate transfers to those power conferences being an emerging factor. Although a team from outside that group did play in the Championship game, that team, Gonzaga, was the only one from outside of the power conferences to advance as far as the Sweet 16, and the title was ultimately won by a blue blood. Overall, last year's Tournament saw only 3 teams from outside the power conferences receive at large berths; with Wichita St. moving to the AAC and the WCC being hit hard by graduation and NBA departures, that trend is likely to continue. Some proponents of the power conferences (Jay Bilas at ESPN, for example) have been against the presence of many of the smaller conferences in Division I and in the NCAA Tournament for years (there were 352 Division I teams last season including Grand Canyon, which admittedly might be a little out of control); as the competitive balance continues to degrade, they may eventually get their wish. With Gonzaga likely facing a down year (they should still be a NCAA Tournament team, just not a top 25 team), here's a quick glance at some of the teams to beat heading into the season, almost completely devoid of small conference representation....
1. Michigan State Spartans
2. Wichita State Shockers
2016-2017: 31-5, 17-1 in the MVC; lost to Kentucky in the NCAA Round of 32
Preseason Projection: National Runner-Up
Departures: Daishon Smith (4.8 ppg., 38.4% 3pt.)
Gregg Marshall's Shockers return every major contributor except backup point guard Daishon Smith, who should be capably replaced by a similar junior college recruit in Samajae Haynes-Jones. The most important development should come from sophomore point guard Landry Shamet, who seemingly came out of nowhere as a redshirt freshman to adequately and impressively replace Fred VanVleet. Shamet (11.4 ppg., 43.9% 3pt.) provides the team with a clutch shooter and he's tremendously efficient with the basketball (he posted a 3 to 1 assist to turnover ratio; the team finished 14th). The team will have plenty of shooting (8th in 3pt% last season) and size, and will of course play outstanding defense (4th in fg% defense, 19th in 3pt.% defense, and 2nd in rebounding margin). The Shockers should also benefit from the improved competition their move to the AAC will bring, which will make them that much more ready to compete by March. Marshall has taken Wichita St. to at least the second round and as far as the Final Four over the past five seasons, and this could be his best team to date.
3. USC Trojans
4. Virginia Cavaliers
5. Louisville Cardinals
6. Arizona Wildcats
7. Villanova Wildcats
8. Kentucky Wildcats
9. Texas A&M Aggies
10. Duke Blue Devils..."
by dmrlowd
Updated on July 20, 2017
"Last season's NCAA Tournament was as competitive and enjoyable as it has ever been, but the gap between what can be referred to as college basketball's 7 power conferences and the other 25 appears to be getting larger, with the mass migration of high end graduate transfers to those power conferences being an emerging factor. Although a team from outside that group did play in the Championship game, that team, Gonzaga, was the only one from outside of the power conferences to advance as far as the Sweet 16, and the title was ultimately won by a blue blood. Overall, last year's Tournament saw only 3 teams from outside the power conferences receive at large berths; with Wichita St. moving to the AAC and the WCC being hit hard by graduation and NBA departures, that trend is likely to continue. Some proponents of the power conferences (Jay Bilas at ESPN, for example) have been against the presence of many of the smaller conferences in Division I and in the NCAA Tournament for years (there were 352 Division I teams last season including Grand Canyon, which admittedly might be a little out of control); as the competitive balance continues to degrade, they may eventually get their wish. With Gonzaga likely facing a down year (they should still be a NCAA Tournament team, just not a top 25 team), here's a quick glance at some of the teams to beat heading into the season, almost completely devoid of small conference representation....
1. Michigan State Spartans
2. Wichita State Shockers
2016-2017: 31-5, 17-1 in the MVC; lost to Kentucky in the NCAA Round of 32
Preseason Projection: National Runner-Up
Departures: Daishon Smith (4.8 ppg., 38.4% 3pt.)
Gregg Marshall's Shockers return every major contributor except backup point guard Daishon Smith, who should be capably replaced by a similar junior college recruit in Samajae Haynes-Jones. The most important development should come from sophomore point guard Landry Shamet, who seemingly came out of nowhere as a redshirt freshman to adequately and impressively replace Fred VanVleet. Shamet (11.4 ppg., 43.9% 3pt.) provides the team with a clutch shooter and he's tremendously efficient with the basketball (he posted a 3 to 1 assist to turnover ratio; the team finished 14th). The team will have plenty of shooting (8th in 3pt% last season) and size, and will of course play outstanding defense (4th in fg% defense, 19th in 3pt.% defense, and 2nd in rebounding margin). The Shockers should also benefit from the improved competition their move to the AAC will bring, which will make them that much more ready to compete by March. Marshall has taken Wichita St. to at least the second round and as far as the Final Four over the past five seasons, and this could be his best team to date.
3. USC Trojans
4. Virginia Cavaliers
5. Louisville Cardinals
6. Arizona Wildcats
7. Villanova Wildcats
8. Kentucky Wildcats
9. Texas A&M Aggies
10. Duke Blue Devils..."
I'm not seeing the following sequence of letters in this list: "k-a-n-s-a-s"
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