Initial Offseason Field of 68 Projection: Leap of Faith. ... Big Ten National Title Drought Finally Will End

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SelectionSunday

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Final 2023 NET ranking in parentheses. Automatic qualifiers from multiple-bid conferences are noted with an *.

FIELD OF 68 PROJECTION (6/5/23)
America East (1): Vermont (112)

American (3): *FAU (13), Memphis (22), UAB (39)

ACC (6): *Duke (16), Miami (21), Virginia (29), North Carolina (44), Clemson (67), Wake Forest (89)

ASUN (1): Eastern Kentucky (146)

Atlantic 10 (1): Fordham (132)

Big East (6): *UConn (3), Marquette (12), Creighton (14), Providence (51), Villanova (71), Saint John's (91)

Big Sky (1): Eastern Washington (120)

Big South (1): Radford (173)

Big Ten (7): Purdue (6), Maryland (32), *Michigan State (33), Illinois (36), Northwestern (37), Ohio State (49), Wisconsin (72)

Big XII (6): Houston (1), Texas (7), *Kansas (9), Baylor (17), West Virginia (24), Cincinnati (63)

Big West (1): UCSB (103)

Colonial (1): College of Charleston (52)

Conference USA (1): Sam Houston (69)

Horizon (1): Northern Kentucky (151)

Ivy (1): Yale (65)

MAAC (1): Siena (206)

MAC (1): Akron (103)

MEAC (1): Norfolk State (183)

Missouri Valley (1): Drake (59)

Mountain West (3): San Diego State (15), *Boise State (34), New Mexico (64)

NEC (1): Merrimack (301)

OVC (1): Morehead State (219)

Pac 12 (4): UCLA (4), *Arizona (10), USC (55), Colorado (76)

Patriot (1): Colgate (101)

SEC (8): Alabama (2), *Tennessee (5), Arkansas (20), Kentucky (26), Texas A&M (28), Auburn (35), Mississippi State (53), Ole Miss (129)

SoCon (1): Furman (88)

Southland (1): Northwestern State (205)

SWAC (1): Texas Southern (307)

Summit (1): South Dakota State (162)

Sun Belt (1): Marshall (83)

WCC (2): Gonzaga (8), *Saint Mary's (11)

WAC (1): Grand Canyon (106)
__________________________________
Last 4 In: Cincinnati, Ole Miss, UAB, Wake Forest

First 4 Out: Dayton, Indiana, Iowa State, Xavier

Non-Power 6 At-Larges (5): Gonzaga, Memphis, New Mexico, San Diego State, UAB

10 to Watch: Kansas State (19), Utah State (23), Rutgers (40), Liberty (46), Pitt (56), Arizona State (61), Utah (80), James Madison (95), Tulane (107), Colorado State (115)
________________________
Final 4: Duke, Kansas, Michigan State, Purdue

National Champ: Michigan State
 
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I think you have all the teams that have hit my radar for the coming season on your overall board.
I have no source, I didn't really watch their games...so I'm just going on paper but it surprised me post season that Nebraska won 9 conference games last year? Yet they beat the Gophers in OT and lost in the tourney to them?
The flip side of that, with those accomplishments of 9 wins but questions from last year lingering as well...I think they are a much better team this year? I like the shooters, I like what Allick brings, I think they have a versatile roster and I think if Hoiberg is going to ever rise up in the Big Ten it's time. His last four of the five years at Iowa St they won 23 to 28 games a year and made the NCAA Tournament those same 4 years. He has to be better than he has been so far at Nebraska? I think they got the roster?
What keeps them out for you?
On paper for me Wisconsin and Northwestern are the two vulnerable candidates Nebraska would seem most likely to bite. I know you have Rutgers in the mix too, oh and I forgot Indiana ...so do you have Nebraska 10?
Or farther down?
November means more of my life is flying by but I am anxious to see how some of the coaches I'm checking on do...St John's, New Mexico, Ole Miss, San Diego St, Arkansas, Mich St, and this season for me Nebraska.
Used to follow Coach K and Boeheim so I gotta kinda find a couple new guys to root for or against ... depending on my mood and who it is they are playing. :)
 


Holy Man said:
I’m not buying Sparty. If B1G waters the desert, it will be Purdue. Guards are more experienced and good. Edey is back.
Click to expand...
Respectfully disagree, HM. MSU guards are better (Hoggard, Walker, Akins), more experienced, and more talented (add in Fears).

Loyer & Smith tailed off at the end of last season but no doubt both are good and will improve. Love Edey, but Boilers need guys that can knock down shots to surround him.
 

60's Guy said:
I think you have all the teams that have hit my radar for the coming season on your overall board.
I have no source, I didn't really watch their games...so I'm just going on paper but it surprised me post season that Nebraska won 9 conference games last year? Yet they beat the Gophers in OT and lost in the tourney to them?
The flip side of that, with those accomplishments of 9 wins but questions from last year lingering as well...I think they are a much better team this year? I like the shooters, I like what Allick brings, I think they have a versatile roster and I think if Hoiberg is going to ever rise up in the Big Ten it's time. His last four of the five years at Iowa St they won 23 to 28 games a year and made the NCAA Tournament those same 4 years. He has to be better than he has been so far at Nebraska? I think they got the roster?
What keeps them out for you?
On paper for me Wisconsin and Northwestern are the two vulnerable candidates Nebraska would seem most likely to bite. I know you have Rutgers in the mix too, oh and I forgot Indiana ...so do you have Nebraska 10?
Or farther down?
November means more of my life is flying by but I am anxious to see how some of the coaches I'm checking on do...St John's, New Mexico, Ole Miss, San Diego St, Arkansas, Mich St, and this season for me Nebraska.
Used to follow Coach K and Boeheim so I gotta kinda find a couple new guys to root for or against ... depending on my mood and who it is they are playing. :)
Click to expand...
Thanks, appreciate it.

Currently I have Nebraska 11th. Agree there’s opportunity for Huskers to climb the ladder, but for me they’re like the Gophers. … I can’t trust them until I see them they separate themselves from Weakling Wednesday. I trust coaches like Fran, Pikiell, etc., who have consistently proven their teams will be competitive in the regular season regardless their roster.
 


How much longer will the selection committee give the conference so many bids when year after year the BIG fails to produce when the games begin?
Edy the alleged "star" of the BIG is back because no NBA team wanted him. The same thing happened to the MI "star" who ended up on a minor league NBA team, KS.
The BIG is a paper tiger in BB.
 

Plato said:
How much longer will the selection committee give the conference so many bids when year after year the BIG fails to produce when the games begin?
Edy the alleged "star" of the BIG is back because no NBA team wanted him. The same thing happened to the MI "star" who ended up on a minor league NBA team, KS.
The BIG is a paper tiger in BB.
Click to expand...
Purdue's tournament failing last season had nothing to do with Edey. He's basically the only guy that showed up vs. FDU. Needs teammates to step up and make shots.

There's definitely major pressure on the Boilers (and Painter) to produce in the NCAAs next season. Recent NCAA struggles (losing to double-digit seeds) are well documented.

And certainly ditto for the Big Ten as a whole. There's a monkey on their back, and they've earned it. 23 years is a long time.
 

Kansas is loaded even though they had nearly a complete roster turn over with players transferring out along with players heading to the NBA. They will be in the top three NET. I think Duke & NC are to low as well
 




SelectionSunday said:
Respectfully disagree, HM. MSU guards are better (Hoggard, Walker, Akins), more experienced, and more talented (add in Fears).

Loyer & Smith tailed off at the end of last season but no doubt both are good and will improve. Love Edey, but Boilers need guys that can knock down shots to surround him.
Click to expand...
Perhaps a friendly wager is in order?🤔
 


Plato said:
How much longer will the selection committee give the conference so many bids when year after year the BIG fails to produce when the games begin?
Edy the alleged "star" of the BIG is back because no NBA team wanted him. The same thing happened to the MI "star" who ended up on a minor league NBA team, KS.
The BIG is a paper tiger in BB.
Click to expand...

There are so many people that believe the Big Ten has been awful in the NCAA tournament for a long time. That's actually not true. I looked it up... from 2000-2019, the Big Ten reached 16 Final Fours, which is the most of any conference, and 48 Sweet Sixteens, which is the second most (ACC had 50). Outside of the last few years, the Big Ten has typically done very well in the NCAA tournament. Just have to get that monkey off their back and finally win the whole thing again.
 

Thanks. Interesting stuff and you are pretty accurate. Go Gophers! Go B1G!
 




SelectionSunday said:
Respectfully disagree, HM. MSU guards are better (Hoggard, Walker, Akins), more experienced, and more talented (add in Fears).

Loyer & Smith tailed off at the end of last season but no doubt both are good and will improve. Love Edey, but Boilers need guys that can knock down shots to surround him.
Click to expand...
I'll let you two go at it, because both will be good (t-rank currently projects PU #1 in the country and MSU #7). Clearly, they have opposite strengths backcourt/frontcourt wise, but Edey is just so dominant at this level that it's hard to look past that.

For you, SS, how are you feeling about replacing Hauser? IMHO, his skillset was so complementary to the strengths of the returners. It'll just be different and Izzo will shuffle things around to get production in different ways, but it does seem like an unreplaced loss.
 

formerlybis said:
I'll let you two go at it, because both will be good (t-rank currently projects PU #1 in the country and MSU #7). Clearly, they have opposite strengths backcourt/frontcourt wise, but Edey is just so dominant at this level that it's hard to look past that.

For you, SS, how are you feeling about replacing Hauser? IMHO, his skillset was so complementary to the strengths of the returners. It'll just be different and Izzo will shuffle things around to get production in different ways, but it does seem like an unreplaced loss.
Click to expand...
Hauser definitely a significant loss, but they have a lot of pieces (experienced and rookies) that Izzo can blend together as the season progresses. My biggest concern would be the post position. Sissoko needs to play consistently, and at least give them a little something (scoring wise) in the post. But even if he doesn't, some combination of Carson Cooper/Xavier Booker/Jaxon Kohler won't be a bad place to start. Different skill sets, too.

All that said, Malik Hall might be their key guy. MSU needs him to fill a lot of what Hauser did. He wasn't the same last season returning from his foot injury. He's a jack of all trades when healthy.
 


I see our 4* out of HS is down to 295. He still has 10# on Edney. Our projected 5 gives up 7” and 30 pounds. Our guards better be defensively all over theirs.
 


60's Guy said:
So, you pick 68 teams. I argued one... :) Nebraska...in post #2 and elsewhere this summer.
#3 in the Big Ten is even higher than I thought they'd finish but felt they were a team in the field of 68 in June.
Click to expand...
Well done, good sir!

That's a better pick than my pick for MSU to win it all!
 

New Mexico and Richard Pitino win the Mountain West Tournament. Despite being in the 20's in KenPom many said they were on the bubble even after winning the first three games of the tournament. Knocked off San Diego St today in the championship game despite missing their most steady player Donovan Dent, who was out sick.
Hats off to Richard!
 

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