Maiden Voyage: 2022-23 Field of 68 Projection

SelectionSunday

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EDEN PRAIRIE, MN – My maiden voyage into the 2022-23 “Field of 68” projection. The Big Ten, Big XII, and SEC lead the way with 7 bids apiece, followed by the ACC and Big East with 6.

An *denotes projected automatic qualifier

POST NBA DECISION FIELD OF 68 PROJECTION (June 1, 2022)
America East (1): Vermont

American (2): *Houston, Memphis

ACC (6): Duke, Florida State, Miami, *North Carolina, Notre Dame, Virginia

ASUN (1): Jacksonville

Atlantic 10 (2): Dayton, *Saint Louis

Big East (6): *Creighton, Saint John’s, Seton Hall, UConn, Villanova, Xavier

Big Sky (1): Montana

Big South (1): Gardner-Webb

Big Ten (7): Illinois, Indiana, *Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue

Big XII (7): Baylor, *Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, TCU, Texas Tech

Big West (1): Long Beach

Colonial (1): UNC-Wilmington

Conference USA (2): *North Texas, UAB

Horizon (1): Northern Kentucky

Ivy (1): Penn

MAAC (1): Iona

MAC (1): Buffalo

MEAC (1): Norfolk

Missouri Valley (1): Drake

Mountain West (2): San Diego State, *Wyoming

NEC (1): LIU

OVC (1): Morehead

Pac 12 (4): Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, *UCLA

Patriot (1): Colgate

SEC (7): Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, *Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas A&M

SoCon (1): Furman

Southland (1): Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

SWAC (1): Texas Southern

Summit (1): South Dakota

Sun Belt (1): Georgia State

WCC (2): *Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s

WAC (1): New Mexico State
----------------------------------
Last 4 In: Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Seton Hall, UAB

First 4 Out: Boise, Cincinnati, Providence, USC

8 to Watch: BYU, Colorado, New Mexico, Rutgers, San Francisco, Tulane, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin

Non-Power 6 At-Large Bids (5): Dayton, Memphis, Saint Mary’s, San Diego State, UAB
--------------------------------------------------------------
Final 4: Creighton, Houston, North Carolina, UCLA

National Champion: North Carolina

NIT Champion: Wisconsin

CBI Champion: Toledo

The Basketball Classic Champion: Southern Utah
----------------------------------------------------------------
New to Division I: Lindenwood (OVC), Queens (ASUN), Southern Indiana (OVC), Stonehill (NEC), Texas A&M-Commerce (Southland)
 

Love these!

Looks like the Big Ten will go another year without a national champ. Looks like there won't be a preseason top ten from the Big Ten. Maybe someone will surprise.

Curious, why Iowa as the Big Ten champ?
 
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Love these!

Looks like the Big Ten will go another year without a national champ. Looks like there won't be a preseason top ten from the Big Ten. Maybe someone will surprise.

Curious, why Iowa as the Big Ten champ?
Thanks.

In what's likely a down year for the conference, this could be the year someone other than the usual Big Ten suspects are the lead dogs. I think Kris Murray and Patrick McCaffery comfortably step into "star" roles, and Tony Perkins and Payton Sandfort are going to be really good players, too.

Seems like Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Purdue are generally being viewed as the favorites, but when I look at their rosters I think Iowa's top 3-4 players stack up just fine vs. those teams. FWIW, here's how I have the Big Ten now:

 


Thanks.

In what's likely a down year for the conference, this could be the year someone other than the usual Big Ten suspects are the lead dogs. I think Kris Murray and Patrick McCaffery comfortably step into "star" roles, and Tony Perkins and Payton Sandfort are going to be really good players, too.

Seems like Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Purdue are generally being viewed as the favorites, but when I look at their rosters I think Iowa's top 3-4 players stack up just fine vs. those teams. FWIW, here's how I have the Big Ten now:


I agree on Kris Murray and Patrick McCaffery. Potential future pros. But, I'm not sold that is enough to win them the Big Ten. They didn't win it last year with a lottery pick and a clutch 34-year old point guard (LOL), or the year before that with the consensus National Player of the Year. It shows how hard it is to win the Big Ten at places like Iowa (haven't won it since 1979). That said, the Big Ten isn't as strong at the top it appears.

Should be a year with some surprises.
 


I think Indiana is the favorite with Race and Trace Jackson Davis returning....that squad could be loaded.
 



Thanks.

In what's likely a down year for the conference, this could be the year someone other than the usual Big Ten suspects are the lead dogs. I think Kris Murray and Patrick McCaffery comfortably step into "star" roles, and Tony Perkins and Payton Sandfort are going to be really good players, too.

Seems like Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Purdue are generally being viewed as the favorites, but when I look at their rosters I think Iowa's top 3-4 players stack up just fine vs. those teams. FWIW, here's how I have the Big Ten now:


I'm not as bullish on Iowa as you but I've learned not to underestimate McCaffrey's teams. Last season was the perfect example. He lost his two leading players from the prior team to the NBA but a player who was a very good freshman coming off the bench in the previous season played himself into a lottery pick. Having said that, I could still see them having a better regular season than expected but underachieving in the post-season.
 



I'm not as bullish on Iowa as you but I've learned not to underestimate McCaffrey's teams. Last season was the perfect example. He lost his two leading players from the prior team to the NBA but a player who was a very good freshman coming off the bench in the previous season played himself into a lottery pick. Having said that, I could still see them having a better regular season than expected but underachieving in the post-season.
Yep, underachieving in the postseason is what Fran's best teams at Iowa have done. Still looking for that elusive second weekend trip.
 

Let’s go Drake! That would actually give us a home game in the NCAA tourney. Always nice to see Des Moines hosting again as it was blast seeing the Gophers take down Louisville a few years back (if only Murph hadn’t gone down before MSU… sigh). Maybe the Gophers take on Drake as a 7-10 game?!?
 

“1. Drake: Head coach Darian DeVries brings four double-digit scorers from a team that finished tied for second in the league last season. Garrett Sturtz, Roman Penn and DJ Wilkins are an experienced trio to support stud sophomore Tucker DeVries. The Bulldogs likely have the best coach and player in the conference. A fifth straight 20-plus win season should be on the horizon in Des Moines.”


The MVC should be interesting after the departure of Loyola and introduction of Murray St. / Belmont. Tucker Devries is certainly one of those mid major stars to watch coming into the season if Drake makes some noise.
 

Okay, I'll grant it requires a bunch of ifs...but, I think the Gophers can get into the top 7 if they have good fortune with health and eligibility.
Very helpful if Ihnen and one or more freshmen are generating tweets (from other people) for outstanding performances.
Battle and Garcia shouldn't be too far behind anybody's top two players in the Big Ten....should they?
 



I think Indiana is the favorite with Race and Trace Jackson Davis returning....that squad could be loaded.
No team since 1991 has finished under .500 in league play one year, then won the Big Ten the next year. Indiana had a 2 week hot stretch but was pretty bad the rest of the year and lost by 30 in the NCAA tourney.

They don’t have many shooters. If they find a couple, they will be good, but I don’t get the love for their team at this point.
 

With Battle and Garcia and a bunch of solid rotation players I think Minnesota will have a solid shot this year if they can get the same effort as last years team gave.
 




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