We made it back to the best time of the year.
Whatever that’s for a different day, today is the day of hope.
Now it’s nearly impossible and frankly boring to go conference by conference, team by team, whatever.
So consider this more storylines and shit to watch all year.
The problem is none of them outside of Hurley have won yet, let alone make a Final Four.
Kansas is the clear No.
1 team in the country.
But it doesn’t mean shit to be the No.
1 team in the country heading into the year.
Every time we see some team get hot in November and immediately becoming the darlings of the world.
UConn did it last year, worked out.
UNC was the preseason No.
1 team and that truly didn’t mean shit.
The last time it mattered was Baylor when they won during the COVID year.
I’m not going to be surprised if they win a title again.
They have Bill Self.
They have this roster that makes sense.
I’m just not betting on them as a future bet (10/1) right now.
In fact he’s got the job of building up St. John’s to be a decent program agian.
He’s the best coach in the country.
I don’t think that’s a hot take or anything, pretty common statement.
But he’s doing it by bringing in a million transfers.
Not shocking with the way the sport is right now.
I always attempt to warn people about the up-transfers.
It’s rare that they look the same, especially off the jump.
I just hope we get Pitino in the white suits and doing his normal press conferences.
He’s a personality college basketball needs.
Calipari’s most important year yet
Here’s my one blurb on Kentucky.
It’s Calipari’s most important year yet.
He hasn’t made a Final Four since 2015.
The last 3 years have been a disaster, most notably in March.
This is a roster that’s his sort of team.
He went and got a loaded recruiting class.
He has multiple guards who can attack with DJ Wagner leading it there.
Now, the three bigs are still hurt/waiting for NCAA eligibility and that matters.
But he adapted and got some shooting.
He changed his staff.
The Purdue dilemma
Purdue is arguably the most fascinating team in the country for me.
They were the No.
1 team in the country last year.
They have reigning NPOY Zach Edey.
They have been a good team who just can’t make a Final Four.
Now you return a bunch of guys who lost to No.
16 FDU and they still have title expectations.
How do you recover from a loss like that?
We saw Virginia turn the UMBC loss into a title - also had Hunter healthy, which helped.
Now the Big 10 in general tends to have a big man problem.
They have dominant big men who don’t always translate to the NCAA Tournament.
They are, I don’t know why we act like they aren’t.
They have the titles, they’ve won under 3 coaches now.
They also found their guy in Hurley.
Perhaps the biggest news is that Donovan Clingan is playing.
He had an injury that some would think would keep him out of games.
That doesn’t seem to be the case and he’s a monster.
Not just because he’s big as shit, but because he’s good.
He’s a sneaky All-American candidate.
Houston’s new world
Yep conference realignment means we have Houston in the Big 12 now.
That league is fucking loaded.
Kelvin Sampson has done a ridiculous job with that program, getting money in it and winning.
They always win it.
Speaking of streaks
One of these have to end at some point, right?
Those are the two teams I’d pick to end the streak too.
Tommy Lloyd is a fucking awesome coach and sneaky think Oumar Ballo will be an All-American.
Bigs just play well under Lloyd.
I have no idea when the streak will end, but it’s gotta end at some point.
The Big East though is must watch.
You have three top-10ish teams in Marquette, UConn and Creighton.
You have Nova as a team who people think will get back right.
You have Xavier with Sean Miller who should just always be somewhere around the top-25.
You have Cooley vs Providence which is going to be AWESOME.
Those fans are fucking ruthless.
FAU’s dream run
The best mid-major is making a jump up.
They are rightfully a top-10 preseason team no matter what you think of them.
Now comes the question of if they can repeat it.
It also feels like the last run.
Dusty May is going to take a big time job at some point.
This is the year where they need to solidify the program.
Other top mid-majors
I’m talking true mid-majors here, not Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, etc.
Vermont is a team you always have to put there.
Gonzaga’s dominant run will not happen
Gonzaga is going to be just fine this year.
In fact on our sportsbook they are sitll heavily favored to win the WCC.
But St. Mary’s is the play for me at +130 to win the WCC.
I love their guard Adian Mahaney.
He was awesome as a freshman, who basically almost beat Gonzaga on his own.
They have enough power around him and Randy Bennett can coach his ass off.
Can’t wait to argue about dumb shit and get mad at charges again.
