The madness of college hoops begins this month, which means it’s time to peek into our crystal balls. Some experts have already made their predictions, and if you’re planning to make a bet or two on NCAA basketball futures, you might as well read on for our short list of the favorites, high-value teams, and the longshots.
[sc:MultiSportArticles ]NCAA Basketball Season Predictions
Favorites: Kentucky, Arizona, Wisconsin
Last season, the Kentucky Wildcats went from a team that lost to Robert Morris in the opening round of the NIT – where they were exiled after missing the National Tournament – to being the preseason No. 1 program.The formula then for John Calipari in order to return to the big show was simple and that was to recruit a squadron of elite freshmen.
Wash, rinse, repeat. Calipari merely replaced Julius Randle and James Young – both left for the NBA over the offseason – with another terrific class of freshmen.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]The frontcourt remains loaded for the Wildcats as newcomers power forward Trey Lyles and center Karl Towns Jr. are set to join key returnee Willie Cauley-Stein. Then there’s the backcourt tandem of Aaron Harrison and Andrew Harrison, who should come into the new season more mature and experienced thanks to the team’s deep run in the previous March Madness. Kentucky is a team with a deep roster and a good recruiter coach in Calipari. They are priced +175 to win it all next April.
Tailing Kentucky in the odds are the Arizona Wildcats and the Wisconsin Badgers. Sean Miller’s Wildcats are easily the alpha males in the Pac-12, which features a bunch of other teams with rosters that simply could not hold a candle to that of Arizona’s lineup. A sweep of the conference isn’t a crazy idea, at least for now.
Even with the departures of key players Aaron Gordon and Nick Johnson, the talent left behind in the Wildcats bench (T.J. McConnell, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Brandon Ashley) and an incoming top five recruiting class (Stanley Johnson, Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Craig Victor, Kadeem Allen) should keep Arizona (+650) in the conversations of early National Championship candidates.
Wisconsin (+750), on the other hand, is coming off a surprising March Madness run that saw the Badgers reach the Final Four, only to get victimized by Aaron Harrison’s clutch shooting. Nevertheless, Bo Ryan’s team returns with an almost intact lineup. Guard Ben Brust is the only significant loss for the Badgers, leaving Wisconsin with a roster that stretches down to seven-man deep in Frank Kaminsky, Traevon Jackson, Bronson Koenig, Duje Dukan, Josh Gasser, and Sam Dekker.
High Value Teams: Villanova, Louisville
The Villanova Wildcats (+3,000) gained newfound respect last season after topping the Big East in the standings. They’re favored to win the regular season championship again primarily because previous top contenders, the Creighton Bluejays, no longer have that guy who goes by the name Doug McDermott. The Wildcats are also poised to win the Big East Tournament with a set of players who can collectively cover for the loss of top scorer James Bell.
Sixth-man Josh Hart can take Bell’s place in the starting unit, a job he’ll probably thrive in based from the body of work he put up last season coming off the bench. Getting into the Big Dance is going to be easier for Villanova regardless of what route it will take – either by selection committee or by auto-bid.
The Louisville Cardinals (+2,500) are faced with a rougher road to the championship this season particularly because of the level of talent they’ve lost this past offseason. Gone are Russ Smith and Luke Hancock, two of the Cards main components during their recent trips to the National Tournament. Add to that the fact that they’re heading into their first season competing in the much tougher ACC, where four teams (including Louisville) are inside the AP Top 25 preseason polls.
However, the return of big man Montrezl Harrell breathes a ton of confidence into Rick Pitino’s team. Harrell will undoubtedly be the focal point of Louisville this season. He’ll get some help, though, from seniors Chris Jones and Wayne Blackshear.
Long Shots: Indiana, Harvard
Ever since Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller left for the NBA, Indiana Hoosiers (+12,500) head coach Tome Crean has found his seat getting hotter and hotter. Furthermore, Noah Vonleh’s jump to the pros must have made Crean sweating bullets, as he’s now more pressured to pull the program up from a disappointing 7-11 conference record and 17-15 overall slate last season. For the Hoosiers to be at least considered as a bubble team come March, they’re going to lean heavily on their backcourt composed of Yogi Ferrell and freshman James Blackmon, Jr.
The Harvard Crimson (+10,000), meanwhile, have apparently graduated from being an Ivy League powerhouse to being part of the AP preseason Top 25 rankings. Tony Amaker is doing a tremendous job of turning Harvard into a force to reckon with in the nation, as evidenced by the team’s three straight National Tournament appearances – twice reaching the third round. The Crimson currently sit at the No. 25 position of the AP poll.
College Player of the Year Candidates: Montrezl Harrell, Frank Kaminsky
As mentioned, Harrell will be the rock the Cardinals team will be built upon this season. Harrell will have a ton of load on his shoulders, perhaps enough to see a big improvement on his already impressive numbers from last season, when he averaged 14 PPG and 8.2 RPG. Another big man in the discussion of favorites to win the award is Badgers slotman Frank Kaminsky, who opened a lot of NBA scouts’ eyes during Wisconsin’s trip to the Big Dance back in March.
Writer’s Prediction
Kentucky, Wisconsin, Duke, and Kansas all make the Final Four. Kentucky wins the school’s ninth National Championship, beating the Blue Devils in the finals. Got another set of predictions? Create a betting account now and put your guesses to the test.
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