Monday, November 19, 2007

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.

Labels:

4 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

While I agree that this is the year that the Penn/Princeton dominance is broken in the Ivy League, I think Cornell might be the team to do it.

Also, what is the deal with Jucos, e.g. Longwood, being eligible for D-I that you mentioned?

11/20/2007 10:38 AM  
Blogger Prof. A said...

My comment for Longwood meant that the Longwood Lancers are eligible for the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever, having completed their two year mandatory transition period. Also, they feature two JuCo transfers. Of course, they won't make the tournament, being independent and not good.

11/21/2007 12:02 AM  
Blogger justinistired said...

Poor, poor UTEP...landing at 297. Arrasment.

Also, as an Easton, PA native, this one made me sad. "241; Lafayette; Patriot----Last Patriot team to start giving scholarships moves out of cellar this year" The Last Amateurs are gone.

Nice work man. I am impressed.

11/21/2007 12:19 AM  
Blogger Chris said...

I wondered if you'd leave your always correct, always popular "A big man who can't make it at Purdue can't make it at Ark-LR" pearl of wisdom. You did!

Cheers.

11/21/2007 11:44 AM  

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