The Sports Sauna NCAA Preview

Here we go, folks. The long-awaited COMPLETE ranking of all NCAA division I teams. A few notes, before we begin:

• Please re-skim the preview to this column. It contains important notes to how I put this together.
• If you read nothing else, read the special single team previews provided below by Cousin Eric and Chris. They're both excellent, and far more insightful then my one-sentence team previews.
  
• One point that I want to re-iterate: these are completely by my own feel and I only stand by them to an accuracy of +/-100. Still, I think they're as mildly entertaining as anything the Sports Sauna has produced. Certainly, I've spent the most time on this column.
• A tip: the best way to look up a particular team is using CTRL-F to search through the entire page.
• A funny note: when I started, I looked up somewhere and found that there were 328 teams in D-I. When I finished, I discovered I had ranked 342 teams!!!
• I also tried to disregard all of the games that have already been played this year, i.e. I pretended to never see Johnny Flynn play a game know that teams like Gardner Webb and Mercer were able to beat some major teams.
• Next week I'll take these rankings and use them to project the 2008 tournament field, just for fun. While I might revise the rankings later this year, I will thereafter leave the Bracketology to Joe Lunardi.
  
• Finally, this is incredibly long. If anyone actually reads the whole thing, please let me know. I will probably cry with happiness.
  

1	Georgetown	Big East	I don't love this pick, but I don't love anyone else any more. I think JT-III is brilliant. Hoyas will win it all from a 2-seed.
2	North Carolina	ACC	I was much more afraid of Hansbrough after his freshman year.

***INTERLUDE 1 of 2***
Cousin Eric on the Heels

The Tar Heels went 31-7 last year which included a heart-breaking 96-84 OT loss to Georgetown in the Elite 8. They lost Brandon Wright to the NBA and have a grand total of 0 (zero) new recruits to start the 07-08 season. But I am still optimistic that they can bring home another NCAA title. Her is a unorganized list of thoughts, questions, concerns about this years Tar Heel team.

Hansbrough is tough down low but can Deon Thompson fill Wright's position as a second low post presence? The talk of the town is how D-Thomps is no longer a fat bastard but I think we may find out that fat or thin, the guy just can't score. He is athletic and now at a svelt 240 lbs but he lacks the touch down low and tends to get in foul trouble. Kind of reminds me of a trimmer Daryl Watkins in a way.

Wayne Ellington reminds me of a better shooting Rashad McCants. Yeah he is that good. Anyone who watched the Davidson game can agree, he may be the go-to-guy when it comes to crunch time. He was good last year but it looks as though he has worked on creating his own shot a bit more.

The parallels between the 04-05 champs and this years squad don't end with McCants/Ellington. Lawson is as quick as Felton was if not quicker. Ginyard can shut down anyone's top scorer - much like Jackie Manuel. If Sean May was white , he would be confused for Hansbrough. I have voiced my concerns about Thompson and don't think we have a 6th man this year in the mold of Marvin Williams. Danny Green might make the leap this year , he is already in double digits the first 2 games 11 and 15 pts respectively.

Why no new freshmen? Are the returning players that good? Did he forget to recruit?

Can Roy Williams coach well enough this year to win the championship? If last years OT loss is any indicator, we could be in trouble. Not sure how you can get outscored 15-3 in overtime and NEVER call a timeout. Maybe he thought there was another OT period or that he didn't get any new TO's to use...and yes i am still bitter.

Key Games - Duke rivalry aside, UNC travels to OSU and Kentucky in a brutal 2 game 4 day stretch next week. If they can win those games, they might go undefeated well into mid January when ACC games begin.

My prediction is anywhere from 1 to 4 losses going into the ACC tourney where they will make it to the championship game and win....or possibly lose. Either way, it will be enough to secure yet another #1 seed in the east region giving them home games in Carolina. The determining factor will be if they can stay out of foul trouble and defend well enough to make it back to the final four. I hope they can but when you start #1 in the polls, its very rare to finish the season #1. A realistic prediction is another Elite 8 loss or maybe a semi-final run. The optomist in me will once again take UNC to win it all in my office pools. Should be an interesting season to say the least. Go Heels!

***END INTERLUDE 1 of 2***

3	Memphis	C-USA	Can you win 6 straight NCAA games against competition stronger than almost everyone in your conference? I say no, even with this talent.
4	Kansas	Big 12	Business as usual for Kansas: 1-seed, and an early departure in the tournament.
5	Indiana	Big 10	Most talent the Hoosiers have seen in a long time.
6	UCLA	Pac-10	Loss of Afflalo, tough Pac-10 keeps ranking down but Howland makes them title threat
7	Michigan State	Big 10	Tom Izzo + 5 returning starters = Sweet Sixteen at least
8	Tennessee	SEC	Bruce Pearl is pretty sleazy, but dang if he isn't a good coach.
9	Washington State	Pac-10	Love the Bennett family style
10	Louisville	Big East	Live by the three, die by the three. Cards shot a ton but ranked 234th in percentage. But Pitino still won 24 games!
11	Vanderbilt	SEC	Don't look now, but Vandy might be turning into an SEC powerhouse.
12	Gonzaga	WCC	Let's be honest, this kind of consistency would be remarkable in ANY conference.
13	Pittsburgh	Big East	Some familiar faces are gone, others are still hanging around. The Panthers are still in the top tier of the Big East.
14	Texas	Big 12	I think they'll be OK without Durant. PG DJ Augustin is only a sophomore.
15	Syracuse	Big East	The Orange will go as far as their McDonald's All-Americans take them, as the Glory Years of Orange hoops roll on.

***INTERLUDE 2 of 2***

Chris on the Orange

Syracuse's basketball team is young. It's not Michigan's Fab Five, but it's close. The team features Paul Harris, a Braided Mound of Rebound who doesn't really score, is not a particularly skilled passer, and is in fact essentially invisible. Syracuse's interior defense is going to be an issue, but the zone seems like it will be able to stretch almost to half-court. Consequently, it will be hard to shoot over the Orange consistently. Between Harris and Scoop Jardine, the team has its most skillful man-to-man defenders of the decade. Boeheim always reserves the press for key moments, which makes it unexpected and effective, but this roster can press like no Syracuse roster in recent memory. Prepare yourselves to love it.

As always with Syracuse, scoring from the paint seems like it could be difficult. It remains to be seen how well Jonny Flynn can penetrate against quality opponents; if he cannot get baseline, Devendorf will have to take over some PG duties, and that has always been an awkward fit. If Flynn can get baseline -- and get there in control -- Syracuse will likely be posting Taco-worthy scores nightly.

It's unclear how good Donte Greene is, but to say nothing would be a mistake. Greene is good. Very good. Can-shoot-from-almost-anywhere good. Will-be-difficult-to-defend good. Taller-than-even-Terrence-Roberts good. Unfortunately for the Orange, it is unclear if Greene can make his own shot, and so Syracuse's offense will likely fall into the capable hands of the freshman Flynn, and the undisciplined Devendorf. It's been in worse places before.

***END INTERLUDE 2 of 2***

16	Ohio State	Big 10	Never overlook the greatest coach in College Basketball. He's at his best when playing the underdog.
17	Kentucky	SEC	Good, not great Wildcat team. Great coach, though.
18	Butler	Horizon	The poor man's Gonzaga
19	Virginia	ACC	Virginia doesn't have much, but in Sean Singletary they have more than most ACC teams this year: a star point guard.
20	Purdue	Big 10	The other Indiana powerhouse is also rolling in the talent.
21	Missouri	Big 12	Small team, but that's not a problem for coach Mike Anderson's Nolan Richardson-inspired style.
22	Kent State	MAC	All five starters back from a 21-win team? There's your conference champ.
23	Duke	ACC	Duke-haters: meet Kyle Singler.
24	USC	Pac-10	OJ Mayo sounds much grosser than Carmelo
25	Notre Dame	Big East	Colin Falls is gone, so Kyle McAlanery steps into the role of "white guy who hits 45% of his threes."
26	Mississippi State	SEC	NIT semifinalists are ready to roll.
27	Connecticut	Big East	I revelled in their misery last year. I can't hope for them to be as bad again.
28	California	Pac-10	Pac-10 surprise. Watch out for Soph Ryan Anderson
29	VCU	Colonial	Remember Eric Maynor, the guy who burried Duke in round 1? He's back.
30	Oregon	Pac-10	No, Ernie Kent hasn't been fired yet
31	Davidson	SoCon	My college-away-from-college could be good enough to get an at-large bid, if needed.
32	Southern Illinois	MVC	The best directional-Illinois.
33	Utah State	WAC	One of the most consistent mid-majors returns to the NCAAs
34	Arkansas	SEC	Still waiting for a make-up call for Arkansas getting into the NCAAs ahead of Syracuse…
35	Kansas State	Big 12	Top freshmen Michael Beasley joins a solid team. Success hinges on coaching, managing the blend.
36	Marquette	Big East	Golden Eagles might be the program that benefited the most from the Big East move. They've got a nice run of consistency going.
37	Western Kentucky	Sun Belt	Hilltopper = best mascot ever.
38	Wisconsin	Big 10	No Alando Tucker? No problem. Bo knows coaching.
39	Xavier	A-10	They lost Justin Cage, but X still marks the team to beat in the A-10.
40	Texas A&M	Big 12	You don't lose an all-time great PG and a fantastic coach without taking a step back.
41	Temple	A-10	Owls return conferences top two scorers. The body of John Chaney remains retired.
42	Saint Louis	A-10	Rick Majerus pushes a decent team into the tourney
43	Arizona State	Pac-10	I always liked Herb Sendek
44	Saint Mary's	WCC	Everyone's pick to finish second in conference, St. Mary's is led by F Diamon Simpson (14.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 2.4 bpg, 1.3 spg)
45	Providence	Big East	Herbert Hill is gone, but four starters return.
46	Dayton	A-10	Four starters return to put Dayton on the NCAA bubble
47	Texas Tech	Big 12	Not at lot to work with, but Bobby Knight will scrape out an NCAA bid.
48	Wyoming	Mountain West	You'll hear from this backcourt before the season is out.
49	UW-Milwaukee	Horizon	In mid-major terms, they're loaded. Vets, transfers, freshmen will all contribute.
50	Miami (Ohio)	MAC	Star Tim Politz shot 62% from the field last year.
51	Minnesota	Big 10	Everyone outside of Kentucky knows Tubby Smith is a pretty good coach.
52	George Mason	Colonial	Larranaga's veteran team will return to the NCAAs.
53	Maryland	ACC	Strawberry is gone, but Gary will wring everything he can out of his guys.
54	Missouri State	MVC	The Bears save their coach's job with a conference tournament victory and an NCAA bid.
55	UC Irvine	Big West	This is the year for the Anteaters. They'll upset UCSB in the conference final.
56	UNLV	Mountain West	Kruger's got a foundation for a solid program built.
57	Georgia	SEC	Pesky team that no one wants to play
58	Tulsa	C-USA	C-USA's best shot at a second bid.
59	UC Santa Barbara	Big West	Lots of talent could have the Gauchos on the bubble in March.
60	Arizona	Pac-10	Lute's leave of absence is bad start
61	Siena	MAAC	Nine fairly talented underclassmen combine with four pretty good upperclassmen to make this the team to beat in the conference.
62	Stanford	Pac-10	7' Soph Brook Lopez inelligible for fall semester. Make-up call for putting Stanford in tourney over SU?
63	Ohio	MAC	Well-rounded team will compete for the top of the MAC ladder.
64	NC State	ACC	Still a year away from playing with the top of the ACC.
65	San Diego State	Mountain West	Steve Fischer is like, "Whaa? What's with all these former Big 10 coaches?"
66	New Mexico St.	WAC	High expectations and a star Frosh, Herb Pope
67	Villanova	Big East	Villanova illogically got a bid over SU last year. This time they'll be on the wrong side of the bubble.
68	Montana	Big Sky	Hometown boy Jordan Hasquet leads Montana to NCAAs
69	Oklahoma	Big 12	Jeff Caple is on the right track in his 2nd year, trying to be the first Coach K player to succeed as coach of a major program.
70	West Virginia	Big East	He might recruit better, but there's no way Huggins gets better results with this program than Beilein.
71	Illinois	Big 10	Illini slip back into the pack
72	Col. Of Charleston	SoCon	Where are they now: Bobby Cremins is in his 2nd season as head coach.
73	New Mexico	Mountain West	The Pit, meet Steve Alford. Coach, meet The Pit. Go have some fun.
74	Wright State	Horizon	Tourney team lost its best player but remains in the mix in a great conference.
75	CS Northridge	Big West	Top three scorers return to put the Matadors right in the mix.
76	Nevada	WAC	A dip with the departure of Fazekas, but not as much as you'd think.
77	Lehigh	Patriot	Takes advantage of Holy Cross and Bucknell down years to win league, bid
78	Tennessee Tech	Ohio Valley	Amadi McKenzie shot .608 last year. Look for him in the first round this year.
79	Florida	SEC	Hope you took photos, Billy. You'll never have it so good again.
80	Southern Miss	C-USA	Where are they now: Larry Eustachy coaches here.
81	ETSU	Atlantic Sun	Unfinished business will motivate last year's regular season champs to win the conference tournament this year.
82	McNeese State	Southland	Hot coaching prospect here: Dave Simmons came on late but got his team rebounding and defending the best in the league.
83	Santa Clara	WCC	Veteran team remains in the mix at the top of the conference.
84	Winthrop	Big South	A year after reaching the second round, farther than any team in conference history, Winthrop stays the course with longtime assistant Randy Peele taking the reins.
85	UNC Greensboro	SoCon	SoCon player of the year, Kyle Hines, returns.
86	Washington	Pac-10	Tougher schedule won't help NCAA bid
87	Alabama	SEC	Their best player, PG Ronald Steele, is not healthy.
88	UCF	C-USA	Somehow convinced Nova, Mississippi, and Uconn to play them at home.
89	Niagara	MAAC	Charron Fisher (20.6 ppg) returns to a team that made the NCAA as a 15-seed.
90	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Southland	You might recall they led 2-seed Wisconsin 25-7 in the NCAAs last year. They lost four but kept the conference player of the year.
91	Virginia Tech	ACC	Next year Va Tech will be back in the picture.
92	Penn	Ivy League	I believe a few teams have caught up, but in the end Penn will grab the bid again.
93	San Francisco	WCC	High hopes to challenge in conference this year.
94	Vermont	America East	Good regular season and NIT again
95	Appalachian State	SoCon	Three seniors gone from an NIT team. Only a small step back.
96	Austin Peay	Ohio Valley	Last year's regular season conference champs could repeat.
97	Jacksonville	Atlantic Sun	Program on the rise, looking for a third straight conference Freshman-of-the-year award.
98	LSU	SEC	2 years post-final four, team is a mess… 6'11" frosh Anthony Randolph could be the cleaner.
99	Western Michigan	MAC	Like Kent State, return all five starters.
100	Utah	Mountain West	The 100th best team celebrates it's 100th season playing college basketball.
101	BYU	Mountain West	OK, I'm gonna come right out and say it: I'd like to see BYU change their nickname from "Cougars" to "Mormans."
102	Miss. Valley State	SWAC	Defending regular season conference champ will break through to the NCAAs this year.
103	Hofstra	Colonial	As steady a program as you'll find in the conference, but not outstanding this year.
104	Boston University	America East	This sophmore-loaded team will peak late to make the tourney as America East's new premier team
105	Auburn	SEC	Veteran team might not be too bad.
106	Creighton	MVC	Even Dana Altman can't take a team in transition into the NCAAs in this brutal conference.
107	Holy Cross	Patriot	No running diary of Bill Simmons's Alma Mater in the NCAA this year
108	Oklahoma State	Big 12	OSU has dropped a bit and the rest of the conference will make them pay.
109	UW-Green Bay	Horizon	A point guard away from making the Horizon a three-bid league(!)
110	Hampton	MEAC	Interesting game log for 6'8", 225 lbs Matthew Pilgrim's Freshman year.
111	Illinois State	MVC	Lots of turnover to Valley rosters this year, but Redbirds return four key starters.
112	Mercer	Atlantic Sun	G James Florence was the only Freshman besides Kevin Durant to lead his conference in scoring last year.
113	Weber State	Big Sky	No show this year for Harold "The Show" Arceneaux's Alma Mater
114	Charlotte	A-10	Coach Lutz is rebuilding. Good Freshmen take them to the NIT.
115	North Carolina A&T	MEAC	Former conference powerhouse on the verge of returning to prominence.
116	Seton Hall	Big East	Dangerous, but won't be a factor.
117	Drexel	Colonial	Coach Bruiser Flint didn't like this year's team enough to schedule as many tough games as last year.
118	High Point	Big South	They've got the talent, but Winthrop owns the mental edge after beating them twice last year.
119	UT-Arlington	Southland	UTA plays on a stage. Literally. If you dive for a loose ball on one side, you might slide off the edge.
120	Colorado	Big 12	Jeff Bzdelik will at least have them competitive this year.
121	UAB	C-USA	Where are they now: Mike Davis coaches here.
122	Cal Poly	Big West	I like the balance with a seasoned PG, a shooter, and two shot blockers.
123	Eastern Kentucky	Ohio Valley	Meet Jeff Neubauer: a John Beilein protégé and the next hot young coaching prospect.
124	North Texas	Sun Belt	Still some left overs from last year's tourney team.
125	Houston	C-USA	Finally, finally legitimate again.
126	Yale	Ivy League	The best bet to end the 19-year Penn/Princeton stranglehold.
127	Northwestern State	Southland	Demons substitute like demons, with full line changes. Remember these guys beat Iowa in 06?
128	Michigan	Big 10	John Beilein is a genius, but even he can't win with this bunch.
129	Bradley	MVC	Seven new players, but they'll still be a tough team for anyone.
130	Albany	America East	Trip to Duke on December 17… crazier things have happened
131	Bucknell	Patriot	The Glory Years are over
132	Murray State	Ohio Valley	The only school ever to get a single-digit seed (9 in 98) is always near the top of the conference.
133	Sacred Heart	NEC	Bad D and decent offense might be enough in this conference.
134	Western Carolina	SoCon	Four super-sophs led by ex-Cincy recruit Nick Aldridge key a rising program.
135	IUPUI	Summit	We might see this palindrome on the bracket in march
136	TCU	Mountain West	Third year in the MWC is the charm. TCU returns to respectability.
137	VMI	Big South	Team is led by twins, plus last year's NCAA-leading scorer Reggie Williams.
138	William & Mary	Colonial	Yet another CAA program on the rise.
139	Portland State	Big Sky	Will be in the mix again
140	Detroit	Horizon	Brandon Cotton is excellent, but one great player isn't enough in this conference.
141	Northern Iowa	MVC	6'6" is tall enough to be a dominant C in the Valley: Eric Coleman averaged 13.1, 9.1 last year.
142	Tennessee State	Ohio Valley	Guard Bruce Price declared for draft despite missing half of 05-06 and all of 06-07 with ACL tear. He returns, tail between legs.
143	Fordham	A-10	Another solid, upper classmen-led team in a solid, upper classmen-led conference
144	Wake Forest	ACC	Goodbye, Skip.
145	Chattanooga	SoCon	Look out world: Mocs changed logo from mockingbird to train.
146	Rider	MAAC	6'11" F Jason Thompson is a stud: 20.1/10.1, plus 2.2 blocks
147	Pacific	Big West	Last season was an anomoly. Pacific will be towards the top again.
148	New Orleans	Sun Belt	Reigning Sun Belt player of the year Bo McCalebb could make noise in his senior year.
149	American	Patriot	If you root against them, you're a terrorist
150	Duquesne	A-10	Feel-good story of the year if the three transfers caught in last year's shooting make the Dukes competitive
151	Quinnipac	NEC	The Oregon of the NEC. Big spenders.
152	Mississippi	SEC	Rebuilding is painful in the SEC
153	Grambling State	SWAC	Lot's of returnees from a solid team.
154	Wichita State	MVC	You know how Winthrop keeps popping up in the NCAAs? Their coach is now here.
155	South Alabama	Sun Belt	Ronnie Arrow returns to a team he coached from 1988 to 1995. Whack.
156	Loyola (Md.)	MAAC	The last time Loyola won the MAAC (1994) the late Skip Prosser was their coach. The next time is coming soon, but not quite yet.
157	Boise State	WAC	They play good basketball in Boise too, but not good enough to hang with the WAC elite.
158	Kennesaw State	Atlantic Sun	D-II champs in '04 aren't tourney elligible until 2010.
159	Eastern Michigan	MAC	Steady improvement here continues
160	Baylor	Big 12	Program has stabilized, but hasn't improved.
161	Clemson	ACC	11 return, but who's the point?
162	Old Dominion	Colonial	The winningest class in school history is out. Long road back in tough conference.
163	Oakland	Summit	Did you know: this college is located in Michigan!!! WhaaaAAAA?
164	Sam Houston State	Southland	It's Bearkats with a "K."
165	Manhattan	MAAC	Did you know: Manhattan somehow has seven sophomores! (And they're actually pretty decent.)
166	Coppin State	MEAC	Did you know: Coach Ron Mitchell's nickname is "Fang."
167	Georgia Southern	SoCon	Happy Days are here again as Georgia Southern returns to its usual spot: an above-average SoCon team.
168	Boston College	ACC	10 underclassmen replace the guys I loved to hate in BC's Big East days.
169	Belmont	Atlantic Sun	Lost the two centers that keyed their back-to-back NCAA trips.
170	Rutgers	Big East	Same old story: Rutgers lacks talent but is just good enough to beat anybody at home.
171	Long Beach State	Big West	Where are they now: Dan Monson takes over as head coach.
172	Morgan State	MEAC	Some young talent here.
173	Florida Atlantic	Sun Belt	Two steps forward, now one step back in their second year in the conference.
174	South Carolina	SEC	Two talented transfers are elligible, but whoever heard of a major conference team building success on transfers?
175	CS Fullerton	Big West	Bit of a dip after all-time leading scorer's departure.
176	St. John's	Big East	The anti-Glory Years roll on…
177	Oregon State	Pac-10	Kansas castoff CJ Giles won't save them
178	UNC Asheville	Big South	Looking for their first winning season in seven years, the Bulldogs scheduled 16 home games. Well played.
179	Georgia Tech	ACC	6'10" senior Ra'Sean Dickey inelligible for first semester. Make-up call for putting Georgia Tech in tourney over SU?
180	Cornell	Ivy League	The Big Red should be content with Ivy League respectability.
181	Nebraska	Big 12	Does interim AD Tom Osborne even know Nebraska has a basketball team?
182	Loyola (Ill.)	Horizon	3rd place in the conference last year, they'll drop back into the pack this year.
183	Arkansas-Pine Bluff	SWAC	19th best FG defense in NCAAs last year. Sign of exceptional coaching.
184	Air Force	Mountain West	If you haven't noticed by now, I buy into the idea that the NCAA is cyclical. Air Force cycles back down this year.
185	Farleigh Dickinson	NEC	Did you know: 25-year head coach Tom Green graduated from Syracuse in 1971.
186	Florida State	ACC	Al Thornton gone from an NIT team. Geyeheyehey! (grabbing collar)
187	Delaware State	MEAC	The only returning starter was the co-player of the year.
188	Idaho State	Big Sky	three-time JuCo Champion coach relies on JuCo transfer players
189	Lipscomb	Atlantic Sun	They missed their chance to win the conference last year.
190	Buffalo	MAC	Not quite enough talent to hang with the best in this brutal conference.
191	San Diego	WCC	San Diego's plan to catch Gonzaga is to hire Mark Few's assistant, Bill Grier.
192	Fresno State	WAC	22 wins last year won't be matched this year
193	George Washington	A-10	Colonials drops back into the pack this year.
194	Columbia	Ivy League	Rare height in the Ivy.
195	Illinois-Chicago	Horizon	The Flames are rising. What is this…Southern California? (Topical humor!)
196	Mount St. Mary's	NEC	9 out of 10 Mount St. Mary's students agree: their basketball team doesn't totally suck.
197	Miami	ACC	These are hard times for Miami President and SU alum Donna Shalalalala. Shoulda stayed in the Big East, Don'!
198	Tulane	C-USA	Slightly above-average program.
199	Hawaii	WAC	Slightly below average program
200	Georgia State	Colonial	Where are they now: 2001 Naismith coach of the year Rod Barnes takes over
201	UMKC	Summit	New coach Matt Brown was a long time John Beilein-assistant.
202	Pepperdine	WCC	Normally solid Waves finished last in the conference last year. With a stellar recruiting class coming in it won't happen again.
203	Cincinnati	Big East	Hideous last year, but eight newcomers arrive to help.
204	Montana State	Big Sky	Second best team in the state
205	Evansville	MVC	No winning seasons since 99-00. The wait continues…
206	Saint Joseph's	A-10	Hawks lack talent, miss the postseason for the second straight year.
207	Princeton	Ivy League	Last in the Ivy last year?!? New coach, Sydney Johnson, brings JT-III's influence back to Princeton.
208	Navy	Patriot	Top two scorers return
209	Furman	SoCon	Did you know: Furman (1826) is the oldest private institution in South Carolina.
210	Monmouth	NEC	Some improvement from 12-season.
211	Troy	Sun Belt	A 7-foot Aussie JuCo transfer may help Troy become a mid-major factor.
212	Samford	Ohio Valley	Bulldogs will take their Princeton-style to the Southern Conference. I checked. It's an upgrade. (25th Conference RPI to 19th).
213	South Florida	Big East	Coach Stan Heath was fired by Arkansas, even though his buddies on the NCAA finagled a tourney bid at SU's expense.
214	Iowa	Big 10	Decent seniors might make them competitive.
215	Umass	A-10	Tough schedule begets tough year.
216	Florida A&M	MEAC	New coach hired Sept. 20. The Rattlers won't be dancing this year.
217	Akron	MAC	The NCAA passes over a deserving MAC team once a year. Last year it was Akron. They enter rebuilding mode this year.
218	Maine	America East	Tall team relative to conference.
219	Northern Illinois	MAC	The second best directional-Illinois.
220	UNC Wilmington	Colonial	Last year the Seahawks tied a shot clock era record with a mere two field goals in the first half against George Mason.
221	Oral Roberts	Summit	Streak of NCAA appearances ends at two with departure of three-time conference player of the year.
222	Colorado State	Mountain West	Occaisionally, they play good football here. But no good basketball.
223	Northwestern	Big 10	Last year F Kevin Coble was the best Freshman in the conference not playing for Thad Matta.
224	DePaul	Big East	Very young this year, and not in a "2003 Syracuse" way.
225	Texas-Pan American	Indep	four starters return from 14-15 team
226	Southeast Missouri	Ohio Valley	How do I rank these teams? If they return players, I expect slight improvement.
227	Cal State Bakersfield	Indep	Beat Pepperdine last year
228	Penn State	Big 10	The only good Penn State team I remember is that one with the twins.
229	James Madison	Colonial	Everyone returns from a 7-win team. A lock to crack double-digit victories.
230	MD Baltimore County	America East	Three transfers will help
231	Canisius	MAAC	Young team, featuring the MAACs co-rookie of the year, still needs time to grow.
232	Coastal Carolina	Big South	All guards and no front court hurts even at the mid-major level.
233	Binghamton	America East	Hope down the road as former Hoya assistant Kevin Broadus takes over.
234	Jackson State	SWAC	Lost nation's 2nd leading scorer from last year.
235	Northern Arizona	Big Sky	Streak of conference finals appearences ends at two
236	Wagner	NEC	Everyone returns to a mediocre team.
237	Colgate	Patriot	Still not a threat to the Orange
238	Central Conn. State	NEC	22 wins and an NCAA bid were a fluke. Disclaimer: I hate all Connecticut basketball teams.
239	Central Michigan	MAC	Did you know: there is no Southern Michigan University!
240	Richmond	A-10	Can't do much worse than last year's 22-loss season.
241	Lafayette	Patriot	Last Patriot team to start giving scholarships moves out of cellar this year
242	Towson	Colonial	Where are they now: Pat Kennedy (FSU, DePaul) coaches here.
243	Toledo	MAC	This conference is so tough, one step back can be the difference between finishing third and finishing third from the bottom.
244	La Salle	A-10	Maybe they'll make the conference tournament this year.
245	Charleston Southern	Big South	Reinforcements arrive to a team that ended the year with eight players.
246	Army	Patriot	Won't reach 15-win mark again
247	Indiana State	MVC	No Sycamores in the tournament this year.
248	Youngstown State	Horizon	Have to replace top two scorers.
249	Iowa State	Big 12	Starting guard and leading scorer dismissed, two other guards transferred.
250	Southern Utah	Summit	Did you know: Southern Utah was rated in the Top 10 by Consumers Digest for quality and value.
251	Wofford	SoCon	Four starters return with plenty of room for improvement.
252	Drake	MVC	One of the only Valley teams not to have at least one successful season in recent years.
253	Central Arkansas	Southland	Second year in D-I has promise, especially in this bottom-heavy league.
254	Northeastern	Colonial	Tough at home, in conference. But who isn't?
255	Norfolk State	MEAC	Yet another MEAC school undergoing coaching transition.
256	Marist	MAAC	Last year was their shot, and they blew it by losing in the conference tournament.
257	Middle Tenn. State	Sun Belt	Some potential but nothing better than middle of the Sun Belt stuff.
258	Jacksonville St.	Ohio Valley	Racked with disciplinary issues. Turns out what happens in Jacksonville does not stay in Jacksonville.
259	Brown	Ivy League	Their gimic? Get to the foul line. Eh.
260	Utah Valley State	Indep	22 wins last year, tougher road this year
261	North Florida	Atlantic Sun	9 wins through two seasons in D-I. Due for slight improvement.
262	Rhode Island	A-10	Hard to win at Rhode Island without a coach who cheats.
263	Florida International	Sun Belt	Did you know: Florida International boasts five foreign-born players from three different continents!
264	Texas Southern	SWAC	TSU needed a coach. So they hired the one they fired six years ago, who also happens to be the winningest coach in team history.
265	Liberty	Big South	Took third last year in a down year for the conference. Different story this time.
266	Loyola Marymount	WCC	One senior + 9 underclassmen = long season
267	North Dakota State	Summit	Best team to not be elligible for the NCAAs this year. (Just up from D-II)
268	Robert Morris	NEC	ESPN describes their logo as "Samuel Adams lager-style."
269	Iona	MAAC	Lead pipe lock: Iona at least doubles it's win total (2) from last year.
270	Prairie View A&M	SWAC	Bad news: Panthers were the 2nd worst 3-point shooting team last year. Worse news: Panthers were the 3rd worst 2-point shooting team last year.
271	Nicholls State	Southland	Lost one Aussie who happened to lead the conference in scoring, but bring in two redshirt Aussies.
272	Marshall	C-USA	New coach Donnie Jones was a Billy Donovan assistant. Expect great recruiting and sub-par game coaching. (Bah-doom ching!)
273	Delaware	Colonial	Trying the quick fix (transfers) for a 5-win team. I don't like it.
274	UT-San Antonio	Southland	Relatively decent program finished last in the conference last year. Expect improvement.
275	South Carolina State	MEAC	Rebuilding year for normally solid program.
276	Bowling Green	MAC	Louis Orr, reigning John Chaney Memorial Award holder for the most emaciated-looking coach, takes over.
277	Campbell	Atlantic Sun	Nickname is "Fighting Camels"!
278	Rice	C-USA	Lost Morris Almond's 26.9 ppg
279	Denver	Sun Belt	Awful team starts the long road to respectability under ex-Princeton coach and Peter Carril-protégé, Joe Scott.
280	San Jose State	WAC	The Spartans went to England this summer. Good times.
281	Morehead State	Ohio Valley	Overachieved with 12 wins last year.
282	Centenary	Summit	Did you know: nickname is the "Gents"
283	Valporaiso	Horizon	How good is the Horizon League? Valpo jumped at the chance to move here from the Summit.
284	SMU	C-USA	Perpetual rebuilding mode
285	Bethune-Cookman	MEAC	Mediocrity would be outstanding.
286	UC Riverside	Big West	Fourth head coach in as many years.
287	Stephen F. Austin	Southland	10 new players!
288	Hartford	America East	You know you're bad when you're hoping for big things from a Citadel transfer.
289	Fairfield	MAAC	Overachieved to post a winning conference record last year.
290	Eastern Washington	Big Sky	Did you know: Detroit Piston Rodney Stuckey once played here
291	Savannah State	Indep	two guards return from 12-win team
292	Radford	Big South	Seth Greenberg's brother, Brad, takes over here.
293	IPFW	Summit	Where are they now: Dane Fife, who started for 2002 NCAA runner-up Indiana, coaches here.
294	Louisiana Tech	WAC	The new director of promotions/assistant strength and conditioning coach is Karl Malone.
295	Arkansas State	Sun Belt	Ark State is planning on ditching their "Indian" mascot. Bad karma to follow.
296	Tennessee-Martin	Ohio Valley	This team always reminds me of Tee Martin, former Tennessee QB.
297	UTEP	C-USA	In disarray with 6 freshman brought in to replace four kids kicked off the team last May.
298	Northern Colorado	Big Sky	Second year in conference will be better…slightly.
299	Chicago State	Indep	South Side talent on the roster
300	North Carolina Central	Indep	Located in bball hotbed...Poor Man's Davidson?
300	Winston-Salem	Indep	Located in bball hotbed...Poor Man's Davidson?
302	Longwood	Indep	Two new JuCos in first year elligible for tourney
303	Harvard	Ivy League	Where are they now: Tommy Amaker takes over as head coach.
304	Southeastern Louisiana	Southland	Their season hinges on how well their 5'9" point guard plays. Geyeheyehey! (Grabbing collar.)
305	Ball State	MAC	Not good anymore.
306	Cleveland State	Horizon	Outclassed in this conference.
307	Eastern Illinois	Ohio Valley	The third best directional-Illinois.
308	Sacramento State	Big Sky	Sac State? More like "Suck" State!
309	Howard	MEAC	Make it five-straight 20 loss seasons.
310	Gardner-Webb	Atlantic Sun	A-Sun doesn't play football so Runnin' Bulldogs head to the Big South next year.
311	Stetson	Atlantic Sun	No winning seasons since '00-'01.
312	Arkansas-Little Rock	Sun Belt	They welcome a 6'11" transfer from Purdue, but I always say, "A big man who can't make it at Purdue can't make it at Ark-LR.
313	Elon	SoCon	At least they're not the worst team in the Southern Conference.
314	The Citadel	SoCon	The worst team in the Southern Conference.
315	Long Island	NEC	Turns out New York City-style basketball doesn't translate to Long Island.
316	Idaho	WAC	I think it's more impressive to note Idaho's wins last year this way: "square root of 16."
317	NJIT	Indep	opens at Washington geyeheyehey! (grabbing collar)
318	Portland	WCC	Hooray! Portland won its first conference tournament game in 10 years last year.
319	Western Illinois	Summit	The fourth best directional-Illinois.
320	Lamar	Southland	Dumped by their 7'1" center, who left to play pro in Europe, it could be a long season.
321	Louisiana-Lafayette	Sun Belt	A rebuilding Sun Belt team is a bad team.
322	East Carolina	C-USA	The state of North Carolina should de-annex East Carolina to distance itself from basketball there.
323	Southern	SWAC	Last year Southern turned the ball over once every four times down the floor.
324	Florida Gulf Coast	Atlantic Sun	Welcome to D-I.
325	UC Davis	Big West	First year officially in the Big West will be tough.
326	South Dakota State	Summit	The only thing South Dakota is worse than North Dakota in is, apparently, basketball.
327	Stony Brook	America East	Still the worst D-I SUNY
328	Presbyterian	Indep	Nickname: Blue Hose
329	St. Bonaventure	A-10	I own a St. Bonaventure hat that I wear with pride.
330	St. Francis (NY)	NEC	What's the difference between St. Francis (NY) and St. Francis (PA)? Nothing. They're exactly the same in every way.
330	St. Francis (PA)	NEC	What's the difference between St. Francis (PA) and St. Francis (NY)? Nothing. They're exactly the same in every way.
332	St. Peter's	MAAC	If you squint, you might see a decent point guard, but it's just a mirage.
333	Louisiana-Monroe	Sun Belt	A team without talent plus a recruiting class without talent equals a team without talent.
334	Alabama A&M	SWAC	No improvement here. Just a sloppy team.
335	Alabama State	SWAC	No improvement here. Just a sloppy, sloppy team.
336	Carolina-Upstate	Atlantic Sun	They entered both the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, AK and the Sun Bowl Tournament in El Paso, TX in first year of D-I.
337	Dartmouth	Ivy League	When your university has its own ski mountain, you should stick to skiing.
338	Alcorn State	SWAC	Poor shooting, poor ball control, plus they lost their two best players. Geyeheyehey!! (Grabbing collar)
339	Winston-Salem State	MEAC	Improbably, not the worst team in their new conference.
340	New Hampshire	America East	Bad team lost its two best scorers. Geheyehey! (Grabbing collar)
341	Texas State	Southland	Texas State sounds like it should be a sports powerhouse. It's not.
342	Maryland-Eastern Shore	MEAC	How bad? 4-27 school announced they won't even start looking for a new head coach until January.