1) “This group of freshmen is possibly the best class ever… If most of them stay in school for more than just a year or two, they will finally replenish the well of talent that had been relatively dry for the past few years in college basketball.”
-The freshmen as a whole performed admirably over the stretch of the regular
season, but as we take a look at their impact during tournament play, look at the remaining teams in the Final Four. Only one team, Ohio State, played several freshmen and senior veteran Ron Lewis had to bail out this squad out along the way. It will be intriguing to see who stays. While Javaris Crittenden and Thaddeus Young should stay and develop their game, they’ll probably go. While Mike Conley Jr. says he is returning to school, he should probably go to maximize his draft position. Mixed feelings from potential top draft picks, Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, tells me that one of them could potentially stick around for another year (Oden is less likely now after his monstrous championship game performance).2) “The Pac 10 is on the rise… Barring unforeseen injuries, UCLA, Oregon, and Arizona will go far in the NCAA Tournament with their experienced stars.”
- Oregon made it to the Elite 8, losing to Florida. UCLA made it to the Final 4, again losing to Florida. Even with its influx of talent, Arizona never played as a cohesive unit and lost to Purdue in the 1st round. In fact, their only experienced star was Mustafa Shakur, and over his career he had been known as being wildly inconsistent.
3) “When this game [between OSU and Wisconsin] is played in Columbus, the Buckeyes will come on top as a result of the others finally gelling with Mr. Oden. However, the Badgers will get the last laugh in the Big Ten Championship game in Chicago, a place where a little big game experience can go a long way. It will also be a place where Alando Tucker makes his push for National Player of the Year. ”
- Ohio State won 50-49 in its rematch with Wisconsin. They did indeed meet again in the Big Ten Championship game, but Ohio State won again, 66-49, as Alando Tucker struggled mightily.
4) “[Duke’s] upcoming stretch against Boston College, Virginia, Florida State, UNC, and Maryland will define their season. Over this stretch, Duke will go 2-3 and prove that they may not be able to contend with the top of the crop just yet.”
- Duke actually did worse than this prediction. They went 1-4 over this 5-game stretch. This team proved that it wasn’t a top contender when it lost in the 1st round of the ACC tournament to NC State and in the 1st round of the Big Dance to VCU.
5) “Aaron Brooks, Drew Neitzel, Randolph Morris, and Mario Boggan are four of the most improved players in the country… [Brooks] will be a 1st team All-American, along with Boggan”
-Brooks played admirably in Oregon’s Elite 8 defeat, but only garnered 3rd team All-American honors. Boggan never gained national spotlight as Oklahoma State tanked in the last month of the regular season, missing out on the NCAA tournament. Although competing for a higher distinction earlier in the season, Boggan received All-America honorable
mention.6) “[Roy Hibbert] will challenge Aaron Gray, Russell Carter, and Demetris Nichols for Big East Player of the Year.”
-Hibbert was in the running, and it is hard to say that he is not the most valuable player in the conference, but teammate Jeff Green won Big East Player of the Year. Both Hibbert and Green will most likely be lottery picks if they leave early for the NBA Draft.
7) “[UConn] will squeak into the tourney this year but next year the Huskies will be back in full force competing for a championship.”
-The second statement is yet to be determined, but the first prediction was egregiously wrong; UConn finished with a 17-14 (6-10 Big East) record. They lost their last 6 out of 8 games. At least Jim Calhoun had 4 former assistants in the Tourney.
8) “The recent loss to Vanderbilt hurts, but LSU will be fine. Expect them to make noise again in the tournament.”
-Aside from the Tigers’ unexpected blowout of Florida late in the season, LSU crawled to a 17-15 (5-11 in SEC, 3-11 away from home) record and missed the NCAA Tournament.
9) “Regular season games against these perennial powers (Arizona, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Gonzaga) will help [Memphis] as it advances in the postseason.”
-Although Memphis was regarded as one of the weaker #2 seeds (most predicted Memphis losing either in the 2nd round or to Texas A&M in the Sweet 16), the Tigers made it as far as the Elite 8, where they lost in a tough match against the Second Best Team in the Country, Ohio State.
10) “Nevada, Butler, Southern Illinois, George Washington, and Akron have excelled as mid-majors this year. Unfortunately for this batch, there will be no George Mason this year. There is too much talent at the top.”
-Virginia Commonwealth and Winthrop were the only mid-major underdogs to win a game and they both lost in the 2nd round. Two mid-majors (Southern Illinois and Butler) made it to the Sweet 16, but they were higher seeds, so it was not shocking that they made it that far. Akron didn’t make it to the tournament after a heart-breaking loss to Miami in the MAC Championship. Somewhere Billy Packer is smiling. Check that, Packer knows not how to smile. Packer has ice in his veins. Packer has no soul.
11) “Juan Palacios (Louisville), Greg Paulus (Duke), and Jeff Green (G’Town) have been three of the biggest disappointments of the season. Their draft stocks will drop due to poor play.”’
-As soon as I wrote this, Green decided to step up his game to become the Big East Player of the Year and potential lottery pick. Palacios is no longer on the draft radar due to his poor play and Paulus continues to receive comparisons to the enigmatic Rex Grossman.
12) “Kansas features arguably the best starting lineup in the NCAA, with guards, Mario Chalmers and Brandon Rush and forwards, Darrell Arthur and Julian Wright all scoring in double figures. With six teams all within one game of the best record, the next month, the Big 12 will feature by far the most exciting regular season race.”
-While Oklahoma State was in the process of a near-historic tank (After winning 18 out of their first 21 games, State proceeded to
win 4 out of their last 12. This feat is not as bad as Clemson, who missed the tournament after winning their first 17 games. The Clemson Tigers’ consolation prize was advancing to the NIT finals in Madison Square Garden where they lost to West Virginia; this runner up prize gives them the distinct honor of being crowned the 67th best team in the country, an tribute to above average skill!), Texas played in big game after big game, beating A&M in a thriller and losing two high-scoring close games to Kansas, 90-86 and 88-84, as the Jayhawks locked up the regular season and tournament championships. The clutch play of Boggan, Durant, and especially Acie Law IV made the games in the conference this season by far the most exciting.13) “Kevin Durant currently is, and will be the National Freshman of the Year. Greg Oden will make a surge toward the end of the year, as his injured wrist will be healed and he can decide whether he wants to shoot free throws right-handed or left-handed.”
-Durant was National Freshman of the Year. Anyone could’ve predicted this one.
14) “Alando Tucker is the midseason MVP, but Kevin Durant will also be the National Player of the Year, beating out Tucker, Boggan, and Tyler Hansbrough”
-Durant was named the National Player of the Year. No other player was close.
15) “Florida, Wisconsin, UCLA, and UNC are the top four teams in the AP poll today. Looking at the proven leaders on these squads, all four teams will advance to the Elite Eight in March.”
- Florida, UCLA, and UNC all advanced to the Elite Eight without much trouble. Wisconsin was the victim of a 2nd round upset at the hands of UNLV. Late in the year, they lost a few games, showing a great deal of struggle to put points on the board. The loss of forward, Brian Butch and the struggles of Alando Tucker made the Badgers an easy target in the tourney.
“Oh, and UNC is winning the National Championship”
-The Tar Heels suffered from the Georgetown “blitz” in the last 15 minutes of their Elite Eight contest. UNC was outscored 31-11 during this period and failed to make it to the Final Four. Needless to say, they did not win, and I’ll leave it at that.
A man who did predict the correct winner was 1st place in our 1st annual Sporting Itis Pick ‘Em. This man is none other than Vance Lovett Frey (pronounced "fry,” not "fray") from Chardon, Ohio. He describes himself as "pretty chill," and is currently a freshman at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. USF's motto is “Truth and Wisdom,” a slogan befitting someone who can predict tournaments as well as this fine student.
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