From Downtown’s Top 25 December Teams

With almost a month of distance between the start of the season and today, the season has had immense developments so far. The preseason #1 ranked team in the country lost 3 times, as did From Downtown’s preseason #1 ranked team. It is moments like these that demonstrate that, no matter how smart someone is, they can never truly predict what will happen come season start. Therefore, From Downtown has taken the mantle at not only proving this point by making more bad predictions, but also chronicling the most successful teams of the 1st month of the season. Come December, we will check back in with this list and analyze if each team was ranked too highly, too low, or just right. Enjoy!

**NOTE: These rankings are as of 10:00 AM on Saturday, December 3rd, and do not account for any developments in between this time and the time of publication

1. UConn - UConn rolled out to a 9-0 start of exclusively double digit victories, including fellow From Downtown ranked teams Iowa State and Alabama. They are the only team in KenPom to have a top 10 offense and defense, and Adama Sanogo looks like one of the best players in the nation. From Downtown’s preseason pick to win the Big East seems to be exceeding even that expectation, and while it is not the only reasonable pick for #1, this team looks like the best team in the country right now!

2. Houston - Houston has been mauling their opponents. With the exception of a strangely close Kent State game, Houston has won every game by double digits, including 47 and 48 point victories against North Colorado and Norfolk State respectively. Houston has given no reason to doubt them, and they are the #2 ranked team on this list as a result.

3. Texas - While UConn and Houston may be having the most dominant performances, Texas has the most dominant resume. Victories over fellow top 25 teams Creighton and Gonzaga (in convincing fashion) and Tyrese Hunter emerging as a superstar have elevated this team to great heights. Alongside a test against Illinois on Tuesday, Texas plays Stanford in the American Airlines center in Dallas later this month, which should be quite the spectacle.

4. Purdue - Purdue’s strong wins against Duke and Gonzaga elevated them to here. From Downtown was similarly high on Purdue, but nobody could have expected such a dominant performance in the Phil Knight Legacy. Matt Painter looks like a top 3 coach in the sport right now, and he has elevated his ragtag team of players all outside of the top 85 of their high school classes to the top echelon of colleges. 

5. Virginia - Virginia has been similarly indomitable, winning the Main Event with marquee victories against Baylor and Illinois. Tony Bennett is putting his team in position to regain the throne more recently held by Kansas and Baylor. Virginia and the aforementioned Purdue both struggled against a terrible Florida State team, but nonetheless, Virginia rounds out the top 5 teams in the nation.

6. Indiana - Trayce Jackson-Davis has always been a rockstar, but the surrounding talent around him is fantastic this year. The Hoosiers pulled out wins against strong Xavier and UNC teams, and their individual players have all been performing incredibly well. Expect the Hoosiers to have a return to their blue blood form in year 2 under Mike Woodson.

7. Arkansas - Arkansas may have gotten 3rd place at the Maui Invitational, but that was without their best player, Nick Smith. Anthony Black and Ricky Council IV have been tremendous leaders in Smith’s absence, and they managed to rally from behind double digits to overtake SDSU and win. When Smith returns, expect Musselman’s team to have a legitimate shot at making their 3rd straight Elite Eight run!

8. Maryland - Maryland was nowhere near the top 25 preseason rankings, but they have continued to impress with some marquee wins. Their victory against Illinois is the 1st win that was not by more than 10 points, and they dominated strong opponents Providence and Miami to win the Hall of Fame Tip-Off. Head Coach Kevin Willard is performing incredibly, and the Terrapins crack the top 10 as a result.

9. Tennessee - The Volunteers suffered an errant loss to Colorado to start the season, but have since then more than recovered. They won the Battle for Atlantis against the Kansas Jayhawks, and have looked dominant ever since. Josiah Jordan-James really elevated his gameplay from last year, which has given this team the jump. Be on the lookout for Tennessee as a contender in a fraught SEC.

10. Kansas - While the Jayhawks lost the Volunteers, they have remained incredibly strong. Jalen Wilson is averaging an absurd 22 points a game, and a supporting cast of Gradey Dick, Kevin McCullar, and Dajuan Harris have helped the Jayhawks past Duke, Wisconsin, and Seton Hall. They are a force to be reckoned with in a strong Big 12.

11. Arizona - Arizona has a host of fantastic wins, but they also have a terrible loss to Utah where they missed 24 3-pointers. Despite From Downtown having jinxed the Wildcats, this team is still a legit title contender despite starting Pac-12 play on the wrong foot. Tommy Lloyd is coaching a pace of basketball not yet seen since UNLV’s 1990 championship team, and they are nonetheless an extremely formidable program almost sure to climb up the rankings in December.

12. Auburn - Auburn is quietly one of the best teams in the nation. They have yet to lose, and Bruce Pearl’s team is performing incredibly well on defense. While they are not doing the best on the offensive side of the ball, that can be attributed to growing pains of a team that lost Jabari Smith in the offseason. Auburn’s strongest beaten opponent is Saint Louis, and they barely scraped by Northwestern. They will look for freshman Yohan Traore to continue to improve as a scorer when they are truly tested in the month of December, and that will be a must-watch game. 

13. Alabama - Alabama played in the most exciting game of the season so far, with a 4OT win against UNC in the 3rd place Phil Knight Invitational Game. As a result, they jumped up the rankings. Nate Oates has been great in his stint with the Crimson Tide so far, and he will hope to make a surprise push in the SEC.

14. Duke - Despite losing to both Purdue and Kansas, Duke has looked very strong against a host of good opponents. Kyle Filipowski has been an incredible star thus far, but Dariq Whitehead and Dereck Lively have not lived up to the hype so far. Duke also has a very hard schedule and a new coach, but they have been doing well so far. Being able to defeat Xavier, Ohio State, and Boston College is a quietly strong resume, but they will hope to defeat Iowa and cement themselves as a strong contender this season.

15. Iowa State - One of the biggest surprise stories of the season thus far has been Iowa State. Their wins over UNC and Villanova look less impressive right now, as those teams are skidding. Nonetheless, their only loss is to #1 From Downtown team UConn, and they look extremely strong. TJ Otzelberger has been a fantastic head coaching hire, and Iowa State will hope to maintain the mojo against St. John’s, Iowa, and Baylor in the month of December.

16. Creighton - Creighton has 2 losses on their schedule, but they are to Arizona and Texas. Creighton is a strong team led by South Dakota State transfer Baylor Scheierman, and returners Ryan Kalkbrenner and Arthur Kaluma. This team is very strong, but one thing Bluejays fans are concerned about is the ceiling of this team, as they have struggled against teams better than them despite beating teams worse than them. Nonetheless, look for Creighton to emerge as a Big East contender this month.

17. Illinois - Illinois has exclusively lost to top 10 teams, and has been very impressive so far. Texas Tech transfer Terrence Shannon Jr. was electric in Illinois’ marquee win against UCLA, and his supporting cast is a list of role players happy to let him in the limelight. Brad Underwood has done an impressive job with this program, and will hope to finally get Illinois back into the second weekend of the tournament.

18. Mississippi State - Nobody expected first year head coach Chris Jans to trot out to a 7-0 start, including beating a Marquette team that defeated Baylor, and a Utah team that defeated Arizona. Tolu Smith has made the jump his senior year, and is leading this team to some great wins. Chris Jans may be looked back at as the best head coaching hire of this year’s carousel, and the Bulldogs might end up being a contender in the SEC.

19. Marquette - Marquette was similarly not impressive to start the season, but that changed with a big win against Baylor in which they looked completely dominant. Marquette has only lost to top schools Purdue and Mississippi State. In fact, Purdue got more trouble from Marquette than either Gonzaga or Duke, and Shaka Smart is coaching his predominantly veteran cast to great heights. Marquette will likely not contend with UConn or Creighton, but expect this team to be a fierce competitor in the tournament.

20. Baylor - Baylor has taken a bit of a skid, losing to both Virginia and Marquette. While these would normally be respectable losses, Scott Drew’s squad has incredibly lofty hopes for the season. Keyonte George has still yet to be the electric player he was heralded as entering college, but Baylor has a strong resume with wins against Gonzaga and UCLA. This team is a big uncertainty, and will be a top team to monitor as the season progresses.

21. Gonzaga - Gonzaga had high hopes entering the season, but their aggressive schedule has landed them in hot water. They have 3 losses, but those losses are to Purdue, Baylor, and Texas, all of which are incredible programs. In addition, Gonzaga has wins against Kentucky, Michigan State, and Xavier, and Drew Timme is a potential player of the year. Gonzaga’s position outside of the Power 5 might benefit them, as conference play will be easier, but Gonzaga has definitely not lived up to their expectations in November.

22.  UCLA - The Bruins got licked by both Illinois and Baylor, but they still have an all-star cast and great coach in Mick Cronin. Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez return alongside freshmen Amari Bailey and Adem Bona. With so many stars, it makes sense that the team is experiencing some growing pains. Expect the Bruins to make a return to form in conference play this December.

23. Miami - The illustrious, hallowed walls of the Watsco Center can hardly contain the incredible Hurricanes roster. This team is led by a team of incredibly talented, strong-willed, and generous players, and iconic Head Coach Jim Larrañaga received his 700th win this season. The Hurricanes have only lost to Maryland, and have big wins against UCF and Rutgers. This team may fall off in ACC play, so monitoring this incredible institution will be important in December.

24. Kentucky - Kentucky lost to MSU and Gonzaga, but they still have a fantastic roster and coach. Oscar Tshiebwe averages well over a double double, and Cason Wallace is one of the best defenders in the country. John Calipari is an all-timer at the head coach position, but the Wildcats are desperately trying to escape their fumbled 2021 and 2022 seasons (missing the tournament, then losing to St. Peter’s). Fortunately, Kentucky will still have the chance to contend in 2022.

25. UNC - UNC is thoroughly disappointing their fans, but the fact remains that they have an incredible roster. Armando Bacot, Caleb Love, and Leaky Black are all fantastic players individually, but they are having trouble playing as a team. Therefore, UNC took losses to Iowa State, Indiana, and Alabama. Having 3 losses in the top 25 is not the worst thing it could be, and Hubert Davis will hope to lead this team back into the national spotlight in the coming month. 

Wild Offense: How Arizona Blitzed Past the Maui Invitational

When a team shoots 58.6% from the field against one of the strongest, grittiest defensive teams in the country, it raises some eyebrows. Add in a top 3 offense and the fastest tempo at KenPom, and it creates the recipe for a red-hot offensive team. This year’s Arizona team blitzed through the Maui Invitational, and Tommy Lloyd’s team already looks like a NCAA tournament champion contender. Here are the 3 biggest reasons for Arizona’s success, brought to you by From Downtown.

3) The Need for Speed

Arizona has the #1 ranked tempo at KenPom, but that can be a misleading statistic. Adjusted tempo is a metric that averages the amount of possessions a team has in 40 minutes (i.e. not taking overtime into account). Arizona easily places 1st in this metric, bearing .7 possessions higher than the next highest team in St. John’s, a notoriously fast team. The info that can be extracted from this statistic is threefold: Arizona shoots the ball quickly, rebounds well, and is forcing multiple turnovers a game. This is not new for Arizona, as they were in the top 10 last season. However, Arizona is a full 3 possessions higher than their mark last season, suggesting the roster and coaching has improved tremendously.

2) Big Men Playing Big

Take a look at Arizona’s game against Creighton, the preseason favorite in the Big East by many of the nation’s top analysts. Creighton’s most notable returner was Ryan Kalkbrenner, the 7’1” center who was great for the team last year. Against Arizona, he was almost entirely neutralized. Enter Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo, the big men on Arizona’s team. Not only are they dominant defenders and rebounders, but they completely wreak havoc on the offensive side of the ball. Ballo dropped a 30 point double double, and him cannibalizing 3 rebounds from Tubelis is the only reason Tubelis did not also record a double double. Meanwhile, the pair were able to crucially neutralize Arthur Kaluma, who had just 6 points, and Kalkbrenner - an inch taller than Ballo - had just an average night. Arizona big-led basketball can even be distracting for opponents, as despite Tubelis and Ballo going a collective 11/14 shooting against SDSU, they paved the way for Kerr Kriisa and Courtney Ramey to each drop 21 points. Beware of these big men in the future, as they can take on any other big duo in the country, even one with a height advantage (as demonstrated against Creighton).

1) Tommy Lloyd: The Mad Genius

2022’s AP Coach of the Year looks poised to potentially repeat the title in 2022, and Lloyd has looked absolutely incredible as a head coach thus far. This was one of the riskier hires when it happened: Lloyd had exclusively worked as an assistant before, and taking over a Power 5 team as a 1st job can be demanding. However, Lloyd has absolutely shattered expectations so far, going 33-4 last season and starting the season with a Maui Invitational victory (which they won over favorites Creighton and Arkansas, as well as other strong teams such as SDSU, Texas Tech, and Ohio State). Lloyd is heralded as an offensive guru, something that is very common at the NCAA level. However, where he is differentiating himself from the pack is in the fact that he actually is an offensive guru. His offense is unlike any other team in the league, and they completely dismantled a San Diego State defense. They have a pretty bad turnover %, being well above the D-1 average, and yet they still have the #3 ranked offense in KenPom. This is because Arizona takes a “quantity first” approach, in which a contested shot or fast break is favorable to them as long as they quickly attack the net. Notice, it is not a “quantity over quality” approach, as Lloyd has worked tirelessly to polish this breakneck speed. He clearly knows how to motivate his guys, as this is not something just any team can accomplish. This is something reminiscent of Jerry Tarkanian’s championship UNLV team in 1990, where he outpaced teams with a blazing offense. Lloyd could be the next Tarkanian - hopefully without the off-field concerns - and if he is, a championship could be in Arizona’s future.

While Arizona is an incredible team in their own right, their situation is also very favorable. UCLA, Oregon, and USC, the preseason Pac-12 frontrunners, are all stumbling to start the season. As a result, Arizona is only tailed by Arizona State - a team which lost to Texas Southern - and a Washington team that lost to Cal Baptist (notably, both of these teams have strong wins over Michigan and Saint Mary’s respectively, and could be sleeper teams to look out for). While the Pac-12 is a mystery at current, Arizona stands clearly at the top of the pack, and is also likely among the best teams from a spectator perspective. Make sure to catch their upcoming game against the also undefeated (as of November 28th) Indiana Hoosiers on December 10th, which is sure to be a thriller! If they can win this game, Arizona may even find themselves rank #1 in the country!

Feast Week Was Incredible: 5 Craziest Moments

While the season starts slowly, College Basketball always ramps up when multi-team events begin. This year was no different. The best games have been played in MTEs, and while the fanbase was blessed with the Main Event last week, Feast Week is truly where the biggest tournaments began. Whether it was the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, the Phil Knight Invitiational, the Phil Knight Legacy, or something else, college basketball was fraught with excitement on Thanksgiving weekend. From Downtown has cultivated the 5 best results from the past week!

5) Seton Hall Makes Improbable Buzzer Beater to Win

With just 6 seconds left in the game, Memphis had the ball at the free throw line with the lead. By the end of the game, Seton Hall had won. In an incredibly improbable series of events, Memphis got an offensive rebound after a missed free throw, which would normally seal the deal. However, the rebounder attempted to make a pass, which allowed Seton Hall to get the ball back. 1 banked 3-pointer later, and the Pirates won the game. Shaheen Holloway has seemingly brought the winning tradition from St. Peter’s with him to Seton Hall, but this result speaks more about Memphis than it does about Seton Hall. Kendric Davis had an incredible night, scoring 22 points on a great night from the floor and spectacular night from the free throw line. However, the rest of the team failed to support him, as the Tigers shot an abysmal 4/14 from 3. Also, the lack of discipline cost them the game at the end. As for the Pirates, Tyrese Samuel recorded a double double, including the game winning shot. The Pirates proceeded to lose to Oklahoma, which is notable because Seton Hall was favored in that game, but Memphis was actually favored in this game. The ESPN Events Invitational has been quite chaotic, and this was the hallmark result from a crazy MTE.

4) UConn Goes Nuclear

Two words: Adama Sanogo. The star player of From Downtown’s preseason Big East contender has been electric in the Phil Knight Invitational thus far. Alabama, after defeated a red-hot Michigan State team, was thoroughly dismantled by head coach Dan Hurley’s squad in their subsequent game. Sanogo was the standout, with 25 points, strong rebounding, and 2 major blocks. He seems to be a “do it all” type of player that the Huskies are fully taking advantage of in their games. Hurley also employed strong use of a good rotation in their game against the Crimson Tide. Donovan Clingan entered the game off the bench, and while he was not a major scorer, he recorded 5 rebounds in just 11 minutes. Joey Calcaterra also played off the bench, but went scored double digit points while shooting 100% from 3. Credit goes out to Hurley, as his 2nd half adjustment allowed UConn to pull away from a competitive Alabama roster. Fans of the Crimson Tide should hold their heads high: Brandon Miller was an assist away from a double double, and the team shot well as a whole. They should stay contentious in the SEC, but this speaks to how strong UConn looks. UConn is fresh off another big win, where Oregon yet again faced off against an unfortunately strong opponent. UConn is an exciting team to watch, and they should absolutely be considered a powerhouse in the Big East.

3) Arkansas Rallies to Overcome a Double Digit Deficit

With almost no time left on the clock in the Maui Invitational’s 3rd place game, Kamani Johnson tipped the ball into the basket to force Arkansas into overtime against San Diego State. SDSU led by as many as 10 points during this game, and Arkansas was without their premier freshman in Nick Smith. Inefficient performances from Anthony Black (3/11) and Ricky Council IV (6/19) definitely did a number on the Razorbacks, but Eric Musselman managed to coach his team out of the defection on the back of an unsung Arkansas hero: the aforementioned Johnson. Johnson recorded just 19 minutes while coming off the bench, but in those minutes, he made all of his shots - including the overtime-clinching shot - and got 7 rebounds. In an important game, Johnson stepped up big time, and his team is certainly thankful for that. San Diego State unfortunately left the Maui Invitational with a 1-2 record, but losses to eventual champion Arizona and 3rd place Arkansas are not terrible losses by any means. Matt Bradley played with excellent poise, and the Aztecs’ defense was as stalwart as ever. If they can improve their shooting (the Aztecs shot just 2/18 from the 3-point line), the Aztecs will remain an NCAA tournament dark horse come March.

2) Purdue Breezes Past Gonzaga

While an upset over Gonzaga is impressive in its own right, the truly shocking fact about this result is that Purdue won by an 18 point margin. In fact, the Boilermakers seemed to dominate the Bulldogs in almost every aspect. Both Zach Edey and Drew Timme shot 10/16, and fulfilled their “star player” roles quite nicely. Neither player could be contained, but where Purdue differentiated themselves from Gonzaga was the performance of their supporting cast. Fletcher Loyer was great from the 3-point line, and Purdue as a whole had a great shooting night (perhaps a testament to Gonzaga having questions on defense). Meanwhile, Jeremy Strawther had a really tough time, going just on 2/8 shooting despite getting 10 defensive rebounds. Strangely, Gonzaga’s bench player Ben Gregg gave Purdue a lot of trouble. The formerly invisible player made a big splash, netting 9 points and 2 blocks in just 9 minutes. Perhaps the key for Mark Few in the future is to give Gregg more minutes. In the interim, Matt Painter’s squad will take on a Duke team that has some question marks surrounding it, and Purdue has a big opportunity to rise to the occasion and clinch the MTE. While Purdue was lauded as an overrated team to start the season, the currently undefeated Boilermakers have a chance to prove all of the haters wrong and start the season off with an incredible performance.

1. Iowa State nabs a Massive Upset against UNC

UNC, the preseason #1 ranked team, was winning games in strange ways throughout the season. Teams that they should be pounding by double digits were giving them trouble, and they even struggled against a Portland team in round 1 of the Phil Knight Invitational. They were unable to get their woes under wraps, and UNC lost to Iowa State in a 2nd half effort. Much of the blame for the loss can be placed on Caleb Love. Not only did Love play poorly - missing 10 shots on the night - but he antagonized a fellow Caleb on Iowa State in Caleb Grill. This proved to be a fatal mistake, as Love went on to have a career high 31 point performance. Grill nailed 7 3-pointers, was ice cold on defense, and even recorded a guard block. Grill’s emphatic performance seemed to energize the rest of the Cyclones, which allowed them to rally from a deficit in the 2nd half and win the game. After the game, TJ Otzelberger emotionally declared his love for the sport and the program. He has given Iowa State fans their most exciting situation of hte 21st century, and brought a 2 win team in 2021 to the tournament in 2022. After a win over the previously ranked #1 team, Otzelberger seems to be setting out to accomplish even more in year 2 as a Cyclone, and Iowa State fans should be massively excited for the future as they take on UConn in the Phil Knight Invitational finals.

Wondering where Arizona’s win in the Maui Invitational was this article? Stay tuned for a deep dive on how Tommy Lloyd’s offense is truly special when From Downtown writes a spotlight on them this Wednesday!

Cal St. Fullerton Spotlight: The Lords of Clutch

While the Power 5 conferences generally get the most attention from the press, the public also tends to love an underdog story. After all, Saint Peter’s was the biggest story from last year’s March Madness tournament, and Oral Roberts and UCLA were the standouts from the year prior. People still talk about VCU’s Final Four run, Dunk City, and Lehigh over Duke as hallmark underdogs. As a result, From Downtown is here to spotlight one of the most exciting teams that has a chance at being an underdog in the postseason this year. That team is Cal St. Fullerton’s Titans, who have won 2 straight games in 2OT in the past week.

Overtime is a very intricate metric in the world of basketball. It occurs just 6.4% of the time at the pro level according to RotoGrinders. As for the college scene, overtime is a likely sight due to the volume of games played each day, but double overtime has occurred just 6 times throughout the season thus far. Michigan State triumphed over Kentucky in the Champions Classic (which was mentioned in last Sunday’s article), and Davidson, UNC Asheville, and UTEP are the only other teams to get a victory in 2OT. The fact that a team not only participated in 1/3rd of every double overtime game thus far, but won each of those games is an incredible statistical anomaly that needs to be addressed.

The Cal St. Fullerton Titans are a team that combines veteran leadership with a large bunch of new players. Head Coach Dedrique Taylor - now regarded as the most successful CSF basketball coach in history - coached this team to the NCAA tournament last year, where they were defeated during Duke’s farewell tour for Coach K. The Titans notably defeated Long Beach State in a thriller to win the Big West title. Taylor led this program to the Big West for the 2nd time in the last 4 seasons, and he has created a nice winning tradition for the program in recent years as a result. While Coach Taylor may stay humble in interviews, this team plays far from humble on the court.

The Titans are led by returning players Jalen Harris, Latrell Wrighstell, Vincent Lee, and Tory San Antonio. The former 3 are the team’s top 3 scorers, and the latter player scored a strong 21 in their 2OT win against Vermont. At a mid major level, player leadership is one of the single biggest ingredients in the recipe for team success. These players have big shoes to fill: E.J. Anosike averaged 16.3 points and 8 rebounds last season, and was Big West Tournament MVP. Taylor has adopted a “next man up” philosophy in his coaching, where he places big expectations on his veterans to set an example for the younger players, who in turn grow up to be these veterans for the future. It seems as though the Titans are creating a strong foundation for success, but why is that success coming by the skin of their teeth?

The short answer is that Fullerton may need to work on their consistency. Take the guard San Antonio for example. The guard nailed 4 3-pointers and 7 free throws to score a game high 21 points, and he also rebounded the ball quite well. Conversely, he was practically nonexistent on Fullerton’s offense against Pepperdine, and scored a measly 5 points. As for Wrightsell, he scored 27 points in Fullerton’s 2OT win against pacific, but he failed to do anything notable against Vermont. Jalen Harris scored north of 20 points in both the Pepperdine and Pacific affairs, but he struggled against the non D-1 opponent Westcliff when he shot 3/11 from the field. All of these players are exhibiting incredibly high levels of potential, but they need to remain consistent if Fullerton wants to win the Big West for the 3rd time in the past 5 tournaments.

Cal St. Fullerton has some of the most impressive “clutch defending” in the entire league. When rewatching their title game against Long Beach State, a double team prevented them from getting a shot off before the buzzer (as a quick aside, Long Beach has an incredible mascot controversy, and are both the Sharks and the 49ers). They held Pepperdine and Pacific scoreless in the last 30 seconds, which was crucial considering they won by a single score. KenPom ostensibly heavily underestimates their defense, but in reality, their defense tightens up when the game is close. Clearly, Taylor is coaching these players to have unparalleled mentality, and that has allowed them to perform incredibly well when it matters most.

This team currently sits on the Big West’s throne, and has only lost to ranked opponent San Diego State. That game was relatively competitive until the Aztecs ran away in the 2nd half. They boast an incredibly effective statline and win column, but a few made shots is the difference between Fullerton being a conference-leading 4-1 and a conference-trailing 1-4. While Fullerton’s future status is uncertain due to their inconsistent, “hot or not” nature, they play exciting basketball. If not for UC Irvine’s marquee win over Oregon, Fullerton would easily be the most exciting team in the Big West. They are still an incredible team to look out for when they take on USC in early December, and look to defend their title when Big West league play begins. Should Taylor coach consecutive tournament appearances, it would cement him as a Titan of the mid major coaching world (pun intended).

Stay tuned for recaps of the major MTEs coming this Sunday!

Sunday Spotlight: 5 Big Takeaways

College basketball is back in action! This weekend marks the beginning of “Feast Week,” in which non-conference tournaments pit strong schools against each other in exciting games. Even now, some of what will be the biggest games of the season have already been played. While the season started on the slower side, the past week of college basketball brought plenty of incredible games! From Downtown is here to illuminate the 5 greatest games of the past week, plus a bonus underrated story from last week!

5) Wake Forest Inches Past Utah Valley

There were plenty of exciting matchups entering week 2 of the season, but few people could have predicted an ACC contender taking on an ostensibly irrelevant program would have ended up as one of the greatest games. Wake Forest won 68-65 in an incredibly close affair, needing to go the length of the field and nail a 3-pointer to eke out an overtime win against the Wolverines. The shot came from Tyree Appleby, and credit goes out to head coach Steve Forbes for designing an incredible play to seal the deal. Notably, Utah Valley guard Trey Woodbury had an atrocious game. He took 17 shots, but only made 3 of them, including going 0/9 from 3. Wake Forest should simultaneously be happy and concerned by this result. Forbes coached a win from the jaws of defeat in an incredibly tense game, and getting experience in close games can only help a team succeed in the future. However, if Woodbury got just a few of his many misses to land, the outcome of this game would have been completely different. This was not a game Wake Forest should have struggled in, and perhaps the Demon Deacons have some questions to answer in their future endeavors. Nonetheless, exciting basketball is exciting basketball, and the last second shot to win the game is a must-see highlight on YouTube!

4) Michigan State Bounces Back in a Massive Way

After losing a thriller to Gonzaga on an aircraft carrier, Michigan State took matters into their own hands by beating 2 more strongly rated teams throughout the week. Unfortunately, their close win against Villanova is not as big as Spartans fans would have hoped, as Villanova took a loss to Temple the week prior. However, their double overtime win against Kentucky in the Champions Classic is one of the strongest victories of the season thus far. This was, most likely, the most exciting game of basketball played of the season to date. If the aforementioned Wake Forest game winner was a must-see, simply imagine Michigan State doing something similar 2 times in 1 game. Mady Sissoko was the most electric player for Michigan State, and he proved that head coach Tom Izzo can squeeze water from stone. Sissoko was not projected to be a top 100 player in the sport heading into the season, but has absolutely looked hte part so far. The game taking so long ended up benefitting the Spartans, as superstar Wildcat Oscar Tshiebwe fouled out the game. Tshiebwe was great as usual, but freshman Cason Wallace recorded an astonishing 8 steals in his losing effort. The Wildcats should hope to bounce back with a win against Gonzaga, but considering Gonzaga defeated Michigan State, the Wildcats are underdogs heading into a game where 2 strong teams hope to avoid an even rockier start than what they have currently. Michigan State will continue to have an incredibly aggressive non-conference schedule, but considering they can hang with the best of the best, perhaps their opponents need to be afraid of them instead.

3) Michigan Loses: Hunter Dickinson Embarassed

Michigan’s star player, Hunter Dickinson, boldly stated that Michigan would defeat Arizona State “by 20 points.” In truth, the opposite happened: the Sun Devils trounced the Wolverines 87-62, and Hunter Dickinson ate his words. The intrigue into this game comes not from the players, however, but the coaches behind the teams. Bobby Hurley and Juwan Howard faced off against each other many times when they were in college, but Hurley always got the best of him. It seems that the coaching level was no different. ASU’s defense stunned Michigan; the Wolverines shot a disappointing 18.2% from 3, and their shooting inside the arc was not much better. Kobe Bufkin went 1 for 9, and Jaelin Llewelyn and Jett Howard were not much better. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils were hot (pun intended), and shot north of 50% from 3. Desmond Cambridge scored 20 points, and bench players Austin Nunez and Luther Muhammad scored scored 15 and 13 points respectively. The preseason concern with the Sun Devils was that their offense would be inefficient, as they had a highly ranked defense on KenPom entering the season. Although they took an ugly loss to SWAC team Texas Southern, if Arizona State can play like they did on Thursday against anybody, they can beat anybody. Hopefully, Arizona State continues to be a force to be reckoned with in the Pac-12, and Michigan can turn it around for their plethora of tough games as the season progresses. 

2) 2 recent NCAA Tournament Champions Battle

Tony Bennett’s Virginia and Scott Drew’s Baylor programs faced off in the Main Event tournament on Friday night. These 2 programs looked to be title contenders to start the season, but the Cavaliers made the Bears look like an NIT team at the start of the 2nd half. The Cavs went on a 15-2 run, and never trailed after that. Armaan Franklin is the name to know here, as he scored a career high 26 points including going 9/10 on free throws and 3/6 on 3-pointers. Reece Beekman also played well, but where Virginia really excelled was in their strong defense and team basketball. Fortunately for Baylor fans, Keyonte George and Adam Flagler played well for the Bears. George netted 20 points, and Flagler managed to create a lot of scoring through both his shooting and 7 assists. LJ Cryer also had a great night, as he went 8/12. However, Baylor’s team defense really fell apart in this game. Virginia was able to score 56 points in the second half, and Baylor’s longevity on the defensive side of the game could prove to be a major concern if this trend continues. Baylor should be able to bounce back, but this is nonetheless an impressive win for a Virginia squad that struggled in the 21-22 season.

1. Texas’ Showstopper Against Gonzaga

Texas opened a new basketball stadium this year, and they welcomed their 11,313 fans with a trouncing of #2 ranked Gonzaga. The Longhorns rebooted their roster this year, most notably welcoming in Iowa State transfer Tyrese Hunter. Hunter was fantastic for the Cyclones last year, and a notably great defender. His primary concern - and the only reason he is not in an NBA jersey this year - is his lack of a perimeter shot. Considering he shot 62.5% from 3 on 8 attempts, that concern seems to have evaporated. The star guard scored 26 points as he led the Longhorns to beat the Bulldogs by 19. Drew Timme, as usual, was fantastic, and the rest of the team shot the ball well too. However, Gonzaga gave up a whopping 20 turnovers, and by halftime, they already were down by double digits. To be candid, Gonzaga playing at this level would have bested most teams in college basketball. That is merely a testament to how fantastic Texas played. Considering Baylor’s loss, a new hierarchy has formed in the Big 12, and the Longhorns sit at the top of the throne.

Bonus Segment!

B) Andy Enfield Dunked by his Former Program

On opening day, USC was one of the few Power 5 programs to lose their debut game against Florida Gulf Coast. This was a shocking loss. Andy Enfield is a veteran coach for the Trojans, including his Elite Eight run in 2021. However, when one looks at his coaching roots, they find that this game’s result is a lot more interesting than it appeared on the surface. Enfield coached FGCU prior to his job with the Trojans, and notably coached the first ever 15 seed into the Sweet Sixteen. FGCU was known at that time as “Dunk City,” and would be the most memorable 15 seed of all time if it were not for Saint Peter’s. FGCU recently signed head coach Pat Chambers, and, for his 1st win with the Eagles, he decided to defeat his predecessor with a 13 point routing of USC. Of course, USC really beat themselves in this game, with abysmal shooting, and they went 3/19 from 3. Drew Peterson notably went 0/3 from the arc, and the Trojans started the season off on the wrong. USC will likely still contend for an NCAA tournament berth, and FGCU will likely not gain the auto-bid from a competitive Atlantic Sun Conference. However, this was an intriguing development for a storied, fan-favorite low-major team, and FGCU will be a team to periodically check in with in the subsequent seasons.

Todd Golden and Lamont Paris: A Tale of Two Cities

The SEC had the largest coaching carousel of any conference in the Power 5. A whopping 6 teams exchanged coaches, and Georgia, Missouri, Mississippi State, and LSU all received new coaches that will hope to create the new era of college basketball at their respective programs. However, the 2 most notable head coaching changes come in the rising star of Florida’s Todd Golden, and the SEC’s new most clutch coach in South Carolina’s Lamont Paris. These 2 coaches parallel each other in very different ways, and are both set up for considerable success at their new programs. However, only time will tell if they can live up to the lofty expectations placed on them by the Gators and Gamecocks respectively.

Todd Golden inherited a storied program in San Francisco, but in recent memory, the Dons were tremendously unsuccessful. They had evaded the NCAA tournament in the 21st century. In just 3 years, Todd Golden led the program to a 10th seed in the NCAA tournament. Against their first round opponent in Murray State - funnily enough, LSU’s Matt McMahon coached that Murray State team, meaning a potential rivalry between these young coaches could brew - Jamari Bouyea ensconced the court with his incredible gameplay. The Don scored 36 points in an incredible effort against the Racers, including sinking 4 consecutive, incredible shots in overtime. Despite this, San Francisco experienced an unfortunate ending in one of the best games of the tournament.

Todd Golden was snatched from San Francisco, and is now looking to help a Florida program regain the former glory of the late 2000s. Billy Donavan is an all time great coach, but the Gators encountered a bit of trouble when replacing him. Mike White, granted, is a strong coach in his own right, but he did not meet Florida’s lofty expectations, and was ultimately shipped across the border to Georgia. Golden is the proverbial “cool kid” - he is young, hip, offensively minded, and coaches an exciting style of basketball. Gators fans should be incredibly excited to see Golden in the coming seasons.

As for Lamont Paris, he also helmed the meteoric rise of a formerly stagnant Chattanooga program. While their drought was not nearly as long as San Francisco, fans of the Mocs were itching for a return to the postseason. However, Chattanooga was encountering difficulty in recruiting players to rival other top Socon programs Furman, Wofford, and UNC Greensboro. Paris responded by leading Chattanooga to the SoCon regular season championship anyway and coaching one of the all time greatest games in Southern Conference history in his overtime thriller against Furman to make the NCAA tournament. The game included an incredible buzzer beater to send Bob Richey’s Furman Paladins packing.

Paris followed up his success with a close loss against Illinois in the tournament. Chattanooga led the Illini with 12 seconds left in the game, but a monstrous block sent the Mocs packing before making the big upset. South Carolina as a program is in need of revitalization. Despite Frank Martin coaching the program to its only Final Four in school history, the Gamecocks fired him after a subpar season in 2022. Paris is a far more balanced coach than Golden, as his Mocs were ranked similarly in offense and defense at KenPom last year. He will hope to be the next step towards South Carolina becoming a consistently relevant basketball program.

Both Paris and Golden have their fair share of struggles in year 1. South Carolina is currently ranked 84th in KenPom, and seems to have no chance at making the postseason. Meanwhile, Golden lost a close game against FAU on Monday, meaning the Gators already suffered an avoidable loss that could come back to bite the bubble team in the future. However, Golden and Paris should have time to develop their mettle as a coach at the Power 5 level. Of course, the SEC is incredibly dangerous - and should only become more dangerous with the inclusion of Chris Beard’s Texas and Porter Moser’s Oklahoma in the distant future - but From Downtown has confidence that South Carolina and Florida will soon sit at the Mount Olympus of the SEC due to their strong coaching hires. Hopefully, the success of these 2 programs will form a rivalry between the feisty, exciting styles of the coaches, and people will talk about Lamont Paris and Todd Golden for years to come.

Stay tuned for the next article coming Sunday, November 20th!

Top 5 Takeaways from Week 1

The college basketball season is finally underway, and the past 5 days of games have brought plenty of surprises! The top 25 teams as ranked by the Preseason AP poll all played home openers on Monday, November 7th, and all beat up on less talented rosters. While the narrative is that head coaches at the Power 5 level are afraid of scheduling big games to be their season openers, From Downtown wanted to focus on the positives and take the chance to illuminate some of the highlights from the 1st week of the 22-23 season!

5) Oklahoma State, Florida State stumble to start the season

2 teams From Downtown was lower on than most other analysts stumbled in week 1, which validated those predictions (ignore the fact that Cal, From Downtown’s projected most underrated team, started the season 0-2). The Cowboys fell to Southern Illinois’ Salukis despite leading for most of the game. This was a winnable game for Oklahoma State, as the Salukis went just 9 for 31 from the 3-point line. Mike Boynton’s squad seems to still be getting their heads back into the game after last season was marred by a postseason ban. As for Florida State, the Seminoles lost badly to Stetson and UCF in their first 2 games. Leonard Hamilton is an obviously strong coach, and has enjoyed a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 3 of the last 4 tournaments. However, this season seems to be following last season’s slump. Seminoles and Cowboys fans alike will have to hope that they can turn things around in the coming weeks.

4) Top 25 teams Oregon and Villanova Lose in Week 1

Dana Altman’s Oregon Ducks and Kyle Neptune’s Villanova Wildcats both entered the season in the Preseason AP Poll as top 25 teams. However, the Wildcats lost to Temple, and the Ducks lost to UC Irvine. There are different issues to address for both teams. Altman expressed disappointment in his team’s “hustle” after their double digit loss to the Anteaters, a team which started the season at 150th on KenPom. Altman is a proven coach, and coached the Ducks to their first and only Final Four appearance since 1939. He will look to players such as freshman Kel’el Ware and leading scorer N’Faly Dante to pick up the slack. As for Villanova’s close loss to the Owls, Neptune will likely catch a lot of the blame for the loss. No matter whether or not it was a personnel or coaching failure that led to the loss, Wildcats fans will flock to blame the new coach. Considering Jay Wright is one of the greatest college basketball coaches in history, a loss in the 1st week of the season will certainly do numbers to Neptune’s reputation with Villanova fans. He will look to get this program back to top form in the coming weeks as well.

3) Georgetown Starts Season 2-0

After a buzzer beater 3-pointer sent Coppin State into overtime against the Hoyas, Patrick Ewing’s squad soared out to a double digit overtime win. Ewing once again coached a good game against Green Bay, outscoring the Phoenix by 32 in the 2nd half to win 92-58. Prior to these 2 wins, Georgetown had lost 21 straight, and Ewing’s job security was in jeopardy. Granted, these are both games Georgetown should have won, but it nonetheless is building confidence for a program that was sorely lacking in to enter the season. Georgetown may have a few more tests in the coming weeks, with Northwestern, Texas Tech, South Carolina, and Syracuse all on their non-conference schedule. All 4 of those project to be losses for the Hoyas, but winning any of them could further Ewing’s strong start to the season. Georgetown will continue to be an interesting team to monitor in the first month of the season due to their unique situation.

2) TCU Mounts a Colossal Comeback Against Arkansas Pine Bluff

The Preseason AP Poll ranked TCU the highest in program history this season, but those lofty expectations nearly came crashing down against the 360th (4th worst in D1 CBB) team at KenPom. The Golden Lions outpaced the Horned Frogs by as many as 15 points in the game, and it took a second half rally to avoid an embarrassing upset. Jamie Dixon coached an excellent second half, but the roster seems to be meshing worse than expected. For a NCAA tournament team returning as many players as TCU is, the hope is to not be barely avoiding defeat from bottom of the barrel teams such as the Golden Lions. TCU achieved recourse in their 11 point victory over Lamar, but when the first tests in the season come against Cal, Providence, and SMU, the Horned Frogs will need to smooth out their wrinkles to maintain Top 25 status. Credit goes out to Solomon Bozeman, who coached the Golden Lions to be inches away from what would have been one of the most shocking upsets of the 22-23 season. The 34 year old is in just his 2nd season as a head coach, and his future looks bright if he can ignite talent to this level consistently.

1) Gonzaga Inches past MSU on an Aircraft Carrier

Gonzaga and Michigan State played in the Peraton Armed Forces Classic on Friday, a game which was played outdoors on an aircraft carrier. Not only was this an incredible spectacle, but the game proved to be the highlight of the week as well. Tom Izzo’s Spartans played the national champion contender Bulldogs to a very close game that they led for a large portion. Mark Few, another fantastic coach, needed to pull out all the stops in order to win the game. When the chips were down, Few relied on sensation Drew Timme to be the man to make a play. National player of the year contender Timme scored Gonzaga’s last 3 points, totaling 22 on the night. The Gonzaga defense also proved to be stalwart when it needed to be, with MSU being unable to score any points in the final 2 minutes of regulation. MSU fans, despite the heartbreaking loss, should hold their heads high. They proved that, at their best, they can compete with any team in the country. Despite some analysts being lower on MSU than From Downtown, the Spartans made them reconsider that even despite a loss. Gonzaga and MSU both play an exciting style of basketball, and will be great teams to watch for the rest of the season!

Stay tuned for this Wednesday’s spotlight on SEC coaches Todd Golden and Lamont Parris. These are both first year coaches at the high major level after taking their respective programs (San Francisco, Chattanooga) to the dance last year. We’ll see how their situations are similar, different, and finally, project the level of success they will have at the position! Enjoy!

Big East Breakdown

Last year, the Big East was simultaneously ripe with new and old talent. Providence won the Big East regular season for the 1st time in their school’s history, and made the Sweet Sixteen for the 1st time in the 21st century as well. However, the most successful team last year was Villanova. In addition to winning their conference tournament, Jay Wright led this team to the Final Four in his final year as the Wildcats’ head coach. In fact, Villanova, Butler, and Marquette - somewhat considered the old guard of the Big East - are now all experiencing new beginnings. The league is full of intrigue, and From Downtown has the the top 5 storylines heading into the season!

**Note! This article is being written on 11/08/22, meaning the preseason KenPom ratings were updated with the basketball games played on 11/07. Preseason KenPom rankings are now only available when searching through their archives. As a result, if one were to cross-reference the displayed KenPom metrics here with the current metrics, there would be some discrepancy. Consider this to nonetheless be as if it were still the preseason, and, naturally, From Downtown will mention any significant occurrences that have happened since the season began for this and subsequent conference previews!

5) Hoyas, Blue Devils Look to Emerge

Among the bottom of both analysts’ and KenPom’s ranking of the Big East lie the Georgetown Hoyas and the DePaul Blue Demons (notably, Butler ranks lower than both these teams on KenPom). Nonetheless, both teams have experienced notable hardship in recent years. Aside from an incredible Big East tournament run, Patrick Ewing’s head coaching stint has left fans unsure of the future. Meanwhile, DePaul has the biggest NCAA tournament drought at the Power 5 level, having escaped the NCAA tournament since 2004. It turns out that either team attempting to dispel negative narratives may encounter stormy seas ahead. Ewing’s 26-63 record in the Big East is not sustainable, and a storied program such as Georgetown has a thinning patience even for one of its greatest legends. Meanwhile, Tony Stubblefield looked promising in year 1 as a head coach, but likely needs a few more years to get a tournament-ready team. Nonetheless, the bottom-ranked teams are not to be overlooked. More than other conferences, the Big East is truly a conference where any team has a chance at making the dance, and Georgetown and DePaul will try to prove that entering the season!

4) An Influx of Head Coaches Look to Prove Themselves

The Big East has 4 head coaches starting with new programs this year: Villanova’s Kyle Neptune, Seton Hall’s Shaheen Holloway, Xavier’s Sean Miller, and Butler’s Thad Matta. Neptune is getting a lot of buzz heading into the season. This is because he was responsible for thrusting a desperately lacking Fordham team into relevance in just 1 season as their head coach. Villanova projects as a Top 25 team in the AP Poll, and the rest of the new head coaches cannot claim that same feat. This might give Neptune higher expectations than the other teams in year 1, and it will be interesting to monitor his progress as a head coach. Holloway has similar levels of buzz, however, as he is responsible for the St. Peter’s Elite Eight run last season (one of the most distinct “modern classic” sports moments; they will be making movies about St Peter’s). As for Matta and Miller, both are returning to previous head coaching jobs of theirs. Seton Hall, Xavier, and Butler all have pretty high expectations for their new coaches in year 1, but more likely than not, some of them will be more successful than others.

3) Seton Hall, Providence, Xavier, and St. John’s: Who Wins?

The consensus of the top 3 of this league is relatively set in stone, but the tier after these teams is relatively up for grabs. Last year, the Big East sent 6 teams to the tournament (all of them had single digit seeds), which means that 3 of Seton Hall, Providence, Xavier, and St. John’s will likely make the tournament. As for which 3 these will be, the answer will likely depend on how well they stack up against each other. Xavier seems to be offensively inclined, while Seton Hall and Providence will likely be coached with a defensive inclination. St. John’s, very notably, has the single fastest tempo in Division 1 college basketball. It seems as though the Red Storm might run into trouble against the stronger defenses in Providence and Seton Hall, but will do well against Xavier. Meanwhile, Xavier may be more equipped to handle Providence and Seton Hall’s defenses. This rock-paper-scissors sequel matchup is one of the most intriguing in the sport this year, and it will be interesting to see which of these teams emerge as the best as the season progresses.

2) Villanova Loses Jay Wright

Jay Wright is one of the most successful college basketball coaches of all time, and definitely the most successful coach of the past decade (missing just 1 tournament appearance, and having 2 NCAA tournament championships under his belt). However, his retirement announcement was rather shocking. Wright’s legacy is extraordinarily impressive, and Villanova will look to avoid having a similar drought in between their last 2 great coaches (Rollie Massimino led the Wildcats to a championship in 1985). How this will impact the sport as a whole is still uncertain, but it will absolutely impact this team. Now that Wright’s dominance has come to an end, the seat at the top of the Big East is vacant. Villanova should aspire to reclaim that throne themselves, but other teams will absolutely look to make their case as the new kings of the conference in 2023.

1) Teams Competing for the Top Spot

Creighton, Villanova, and UConn once again find themselves at the top of the Preseason AP Poll for the Big East (UConn was an honorable mention). Creighton was ranked the highest it ever has been in history, at a staggering 9th in the country. KenPom is less forgiving of Creighton, however, and ranks both the Wildcats and Huskies above them. The Creighton Bluejays will look to dispel the analytics and win the Big East regular season and/or tournament for the first time ever. However, the Wildcats, Huskies, and middle of the pack will not let that happen so easily. Creighton is being led by Ryan Kalkbrenner, while UConn is being led by superstar center Adama Sanogo. Meanwhile, Villanova will hope to maintain their strong fundamentals with their ensemble returning cast and new head coach. The conference is really up for grabs, which will make for entertaining Big East basketball when conference play rolls around in the coming months!

Of course, no conference preview would be complete without a ranking of the teams, and this conference is home to From Downtown’s hottest takes!

1: UConn

Yes, it turns out that not Creighton or Villanova, but UConn takes the top spot in the Big East. This is the only conference where a team not projected to win by KenPom is ranked #1 in From Downtown ranking, and the primary reason for this is Adama Sanogo. Sanogo was monstrous last season, and should look to command an even greater share of UConn’s scoring in 2023 (he notably scored 19 points in 19 minutes in UConn’s home opener yesterday). Sanogo is a strong, terribly underappreciated contender for Big East player of the year, and should hope to lead the Huskies to great success this year. Additionally, Hurley has proven his consistency as a coach, and while he has continuously struggled in the NCAA Tournament, he has the team and confidence to overcome this narrative this year. Sanogo will be joined by outstanding shot creator Hassan Diarra, block monster Donovan Clingan, and fellow paint scorer Alex Karaban to create a formidable, vastly underrated team capable of great things in 2023!

2: Creighton

Make no mistake, Creighton is not ranked below UConn because of any negative on them. They were slightly outranked by UConn, but are nonetheless a very strong team heading into 2022. The talent on this roster is simply enormous. Two Ryans - Ryan Kalkbrenner and Ryan Nembhard - return from last season’s squad. Both were very talented on a Creighton team that made the tournament in 2022, and Kalkbrenner was given high praise at the Big East media day in mid October. The Bluejays managed to bring in Baylor Scheierman from South Dakota State. Scheierman is one of the most unique players in the sport. He simultaneously shot 47% from the 3-point line and rebounded the ball exceptionally well for a guard in his previous seasons. Scheierman is being overlooked, and the rest of the roster is very talented as well. Expect this team to be incredibly strong this season, and they absolutely could win the Big East.

3: Villanova

Unlike Creighton, Villanova is below UConn in part due to some negatives counting against them. Although this team is very strong, they seem to lack a standout player like the other 2 teams above them have. Caleb Daniels looked very strong in the season opener, but has some injury concerns. Nonetheless, he should be supplemented by a great supporting cast, with names such as Eric Dixon, Brandon Slater, and Chris Aricidianoco being the most notable. Head coach Kyle Neptune should be very strong, but he will likely not live up to the gargantuan expectations of a team who was lucky enough to be coached by Jay Wright for 20 years. Villanova should make the tournament, and have the potential to go further beyond that. However, a few question marks keep them at 3rd place.

4: Providence

At the top of the next tier, Ed Cooley’s Providence team should look to continue their hot streak from last season. For reference, Providence made it to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to the eventual tournament champion Kansas in a close game. Imagine what the Friars could have done had they not met the Jayhawks earlier. Luckily for Providence, Jared Bynum returns to this team, and should look to lead them into the season. Bynum was particularly dynamic last season, but improvements to his composure could help Providence win some close, winnable games. Providence has an excellent incoming group of guys. Jayden Pierre is commonly referred to as one of the nicest guys in college hoops, and his on the floor skills will have the Friars thinking he is nice there as well! Similarly, Kentucky transfer Bryce Hopkins brings some much needed athleticism to this team, and Clifton Moore from La Salle brings some much needed size. Expect the Friars to be stronger than projected in 2023!

5: Seton Hall

Head coach Shaheen Holloway is undoubtedly the story for Seton Hall entering this season. Holloway is responsible for one of the great feats in sports history: bringing a 15 seed to the Elite Eight. If he maintains top form for the Pirates, then Seton Hall should be an excellent team for years to come! Holloway conducted excellent recruiting, and brings in KC Ndefo (from St. Peter’s), Femi Odukale, and Al-Amir Dales. A host of freshmen will join these transfers to give the Pirates a relatively new squad. However, the veteran members of Seton Hall leave a bit to be desired. None of the top 5 scorers return, which is concerning. Hopefully, Holloway can coach this ragtag team to the tournament in his first year at the Power 5 level.

6: Xavier

Xavier is being rated extraordinarily highly by a few analysts. Additionally, they got voted 2nd in Big East media day voting, which is heavily overrating a team with a few notable weaknesses. Nonetheless, the Musketeers should hope to be a NCAA tournament contender heading into the season. Unlike Seton Hall, Xavier is primarily composed of veteran players. Colby Jackson is the standout, but other notable players such as Jack Nunge and Zach Freemantle are coming back to Xavier as well. First year head coach Sean Miller was formerly with the Xavier staff, and is beloved by the fanbases after leading them to back to back Sweet Sixteen appearances in 2008 and 2009. Souley Boum is another notable name on this team, and he had a great 1st game where he recorded 23 points and 5 steals. Unfortunately for Xavier, it just seems like the talent just does not line up with other Big East teams. Nunge, Freemantle, and Jackson all were double digit scorers last season, but they did not have tremendously impressive numbers. This will likely be a basketball team centered around team performance, but they may run into trouble compared to other teams in the Big East as a result. Nonetheless, the expectation is still for Xavier to make the dance in Miller’s first year back at the helm.

7: St. John’s

The Red Storm is the fastest team in basketball. They rank #1 in KenPom’s tempo metric, which is no small feat considering they beat out 362 other teams. However, unfortunately for St. John’s, they might fall just short of the NCAA tournament. St. John’s will center their team around David Jones, Andre Curbelo, and Posh Alexander. Jones and Curbelo both transferred in from DePaul and Illinois respectively. Curbelo was a notable piece on Illinois’ 2021 team, but frustrated Illini fans last season. Fans of the Johnnies will have to hope that he returns to form for them this season. In addition, St. John’s has not been to the dance since 2015, and head coach Mike Anderson is just 9 games above .500 thus far. Anderson has proven his mettle as a head coach with some gritty coaching, but he has yet to take that next step required of most coaches around his level. This season would logically be the season where he makes the jump, but on paper, this speedy time might just miss out on that opportunity. They are nonetheless in the mix for the NCAA tournament, and perhaps even more, depending on how good their big 3 players Curbelo can be for them.

8: Marquette

Marquette was a tournament team last year, and they lost to the eventual tournament runner up in North Carolina. On paper, that was a successful season for Shaka Smart, but he loses a lot more than he adds in this season. Marquette added no notable transfers, but a neat freshman guard duo in Sean Jones and Chase Ross. Jones is notable for being 5’10” and having incredible ball handling skills. As for returning players, look for Oso Ighodaro and Olivier-Maxence Prosper to carry the scoring load for the team (it looks unlikely that the freshmen will start for Marquette this year). Smart is a great coach, so it is to be expected that the players he is cultivating from the ground up will translate well to their starting positions. Nonetheless, the team has to pan out for Marquette to be a tournament team, whereas other teams have tournament ready teams on day 1. Albeit small, the Golden Eagles have a chance to repeat last year’s tournament appearance in 2023.

9: DePaul

The Blue Demons looked promising by DePaul standards under Tony Stubblefield, but DePaul standards are alarmingly low when compared to other schools in the Power 5. Nonetheless, they finished just 1 game below .500, and Stubblefield will look to push the envelope of DePaul’s potential in year 2. Umoja Gibson is transferring in from Oklahoma, and he will look to be a great defender and shot creator for the team. Javan Johnson looked legendary in their home opener against Loyola Maryland, notching a double double! He could be a sleeper pick for Big East honors this year, but the rest of the team is lagging behind these 2 players. DePaul might crack .500, but much more might be unrealistic for a team attempting to escape a 21st century history of irrelevance.

10: Georgetown

Georgetown won for the 1st time in 2022 today, and Patrick Ewing notched the 1st win in the belt of a season he will hope to be career saving. However, the Hoyas need to cover a lot of ground in order to get out of the bottom of the barrel in the Big East. As for the weapons Georgetown will use throughout the season, Akok Akok transferred in from UConn, and Qudus Wahab transferred back to his original college to play for the Hoyas once more. LSU’s Brandon Murray and Bradley Ezewiro round out the #4 overall transfer class in the country. Georgetown should be a lot better than last season, but they will need to be to maintain the Ewing era. Nonetheless, have confidence in the Hoyas to have the potential to raise some eyebrows in 2023.

11: Butler

Analysts are flocking to Thad Matta’s team in year 1 of his return tenure for Butler, but statistics are strongly against this team. KenPom positions them quite a few spots behind Georgetown to start the season, and for good reason. While Matta is an exceptional head coach (bar his health issue, he would have likely kept Ohio State in top shape for many more years to come), the surrounding talent is questionable. Manny Bates transfers in from NC State (making room for Terquavion Smith to make a big splash), and Chuck Harris returns as well. However, Butler is simply worse than the other teams in terms of the talent they bring in. Matta squeezing wine from water is not too unlikely, but expect Butler to round out the bottom of the Big East.

Stay tuned for the SEC Shakedown coming this Sunday, and then for more articles on the regular season after that!

ACC Analysis

The ACC looked washed up in the 2022 regular season. UNC had an incredibly rocky start to the season, Duke looked beatable, Virginia and Florida State had rare off years, and teams in the tournament mix had heartbreaking losses in crucial moments. However, between Notre Dame’s upset over Alabama, Miami’s surprise run to the Elite Eight, Duke’s (debatably) proper send off for Coach K, and UNC’s incredible run to the championship game, it is safe to say that the ACC was the best clearly league in the tournament. Whether or not that will continue is up for interpretation, but the ACC looks to be a bit stronger on the whole compared to last season. Considering last season’s success, the ACC could see tremendous competition in the 22-23 season, and From Downtown is here to bring you the top 5 storylines as said season begins!

5: Miami is Incredible

As a student of such an illustrious school, it is my duty to provide a proper description of its excellence for my readers. However, I will do my best to be unbiased. Whether a fan of the team or not, few can dispute that this team will comfortably make the tournament, and has hopes of reaching even further past that point. The key headliners here are a pair of guards in veteran Isaiah Wong and Kansas State transfer Nigel Pack. Pack was the most highly rated guard in the transfer portal, and the Hurricanes landed his support with the highly controversial public NIL deal with local businessman John Ruiz. Pack is currently the most prominent CBB athlete with a tangible salary to his name, which is a big deal for the future of the sport. Additionally, he is an incredibly talented scorer who averaged north of 17 points for a bad Kansas State team last season. Other notable people include Arkansas State transfer Norchad Omier, veteran Jordan Miller, and head coach Jim Larrañaga, who coached the program to the best season in Hurricanes history. The Hurricanes are well on track to replicate last year’s successes, and considering NIL’s growing presence in the sport, they are quickly becoming a big powerhouse in the sport. Ultimately, however, they are still not at the level of dominance the top brass of the ACC is at, and whether or not they can reach this height is a storyline to consider in the coming years.

4: Louisville Attempts to Return to Prominence

Considering their national championship status in 2013 was revoked, one cannot help but say that the 21st century has been a disappointment for the Cardinals. However, there is new hope for this team. Kenny Payne, while wet behind the ears, was a key member in Kentucky’s 2012 and 2014 runs to the top, and also helped turn around a backwards Knicks program (to some extent, at least). Louisville will attempt to return to their status as a premiere program in both the ACC and the country. With that being said, this year is likely not the year that Payne gets it done. In terms of both internal and external factors, Louisville is in unfortunate waters. Internally, they have one of the worst rosters in the ACC from a talent perspective. They brought a few notable freshmen in Kamari Lands and Devin Ree, but they both play small forward. Both also would be on the smaller side of power forwards, but lack the necessary shooting talent to transition to the guard position. This signing decision was therefore questionable, but the talent they bring back from last season’s 11th place ACC team is even more bleak, and the only notable player returning is Eli Ellis. Also, this is going to be one of the most competitive ACCs in recent memory, with a lot of teams vying for the 2-3 at large spots behind UNC, Duke, Virginia, and Miami. Payne seems to have a longer term project on his hands, but Louisville fans should be more excited than the dismal Chris Mack tenure that preceded him.

3: Some Coaches may Need a Miracle to Ensure Job Security

While the Pac-12 is the most volatile region in terms of coaching security, the ACC comes in at a close second. Notably, NC State’s Kevin Keatts, Pitt’s Jeff Capel III, and Georgia Tech’s Josh Pastner have all underperformed in their positions they inherited in the latter half of the 2010s. Capel has evaded the tournament thus far, and Keatts and Pastner have made only the tournament a single time. Unfortunately for these coaches, KenPom has them comprising 3 of the bottom 4 ACC teams (with only the aforementioned Louisville breaking up this trio). Unlike the Pac-12, where the coaches in question have teams with reasonable tournament hopes, none of these teams project anywhere close to the tournament by KenPom or analysts. In particular, Keatts seems to be in particularly hot water, as the NC State squad is coming off a dead last finish in the ACC. Additionally, Pitt’s best player - Dior Johnson - is battling legal allegations of aggravated assault, and his future is very unclear. Pastner might be safe if he can outperform expectations, as his team is projected last in the ACC by a significant margin. Notably, Notre Dame’s Mike Brey was in hot water last season, but after their strong tournament run, the Fighting Irish regained confidence in their longtime coach. Clemson’s Brad Brownell has had a give and take relationship with Tigers fans, but he should still be safe even if Clemson performs poorly this season. As for the prior 3 coaches, this year truly is make or break for their careers, and the added pressure may lead to some great performances from this underdog teams!

2: The Middle of the Pack is Extremely Competitive

Virginia Tech. Notre Dame. Syracuse. Clemson. Florida State. Boston College. Wake Forest. What do these 7 schools have in common? They are all well within striking distance of the dance. These 7 teams are likely competing for 2-3 tournament spots, which might make the middle of this league a slaughterfest. In fact, despite Miami and Virginia having a leg up on these teams, they may not be immune to a swath of strong teams looking to make an upset happen. Aside from UNC and Duke being at the top of the pack, this league is likely the hardest of the Power 5 to predict. Notre Dame notably brought in 5 star freshman J.J. Starling, Steve Forbes and Earl Grant has been doing incredible things in the first few years at their programs (Wake Forest and Boston College respectively), and Virginia Tech caught fire at the right moment last year and will look to continue their postseason streak. All of these teams have intrigue, and as a result, the ACC will be very exciting to watch in the coming season.

1: The Titans Appear Once More

While teams such as Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, and Miami have enjoyed success in recent years, it pales in comparison to the prolonged successes of Duke, UNC, and Virginia. However, while all of these teams are currently projected in the top 20 of both the Preseason AP Poll and KenPom, they also all are experiencing transitions. Hubert Davis, the head coach of UNC, experienced one of the greatest head coach debuts of all time when he clawed his way to 5 tournament victories. Nonetheless, he had some growing pains in year 1, and will look to gain some consistency in year 2 with a dominant team of returning veterans. Duke, meanwhile, finally ended the reign of Coach K at the end of last year’s Final Four. Jon Scheyer will look to take over one of the strongest programs in the nation, but the expectations scrape the sky. Living up to arguably the best coach in CBB history is no joke, and Jon Scheyer will almost certainly experience hate no matter how well he does. Finally, Tony Bennett has experienced all of the ups and downs he could ask for as the head coach at Virginia. He gave up the biggest upset in NCAA tournament history (by seed), but then won the tournament the next year with a slew of exciting games. Since then, he got knocked out in another gruesome upset in 2021 before missing the tournament altogether in 2022. Tony Bennett is one of the best coaches in the game at current - bringin the Cavaliers their first championship proves that - but he looks to return to form in 2022. Expect the Cavaliers, Blue Devils, and Tar Heels to all make a big splash in 2023. 

As for the rankings of the teams…

1. UNC

UNC is returning 4 starters from last year’s tournament finalist, which is unheard of to date. Of the returning players, 2 of them arguably rank in the top 10 players in the country this season. Armando Bacot was a monster in the tournament, and is a contender for player of the year in the sport. Caleb Love is also an incredible player, as are RJ Davis and Leaky Black. Hubert Davis proved his mettle as a head coach by being extraordinarily successful in his first season, and only Tommy Lloyd has a case for having a better inaugural season. UNC genuinely has hopes to make the title game yet again, and they should absolutely be the favorite to win the ACC.

2. Duke

Fade Duke a bit heading into the season, but not by much. The talent this roster is bringing in is simply enormous. Duke brings in the 1st, 2nd, and 4th ranked freshmen, as well as the 22nd for a whopping 4 freshmen with a 5 star rank (they also bring in one of the best 4 stars in Tyrese Proctor). That is unparalleled in the sport, and gives Duke by far the strongest freshman class. Among these people, Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead are the biggest standouts. Lively should be a 7’1” phenom, while Whitehead should be fantastic as well. While they did bring in 2 separate centers, they should be able to rotate these players very well alongside veteran Jeremy Roach. Unfortunately, the big question mark with this roster is the coach Jon Scheyer. Scheyer has immense pressure to continue Duke’s tradition of success, and he also has no experience as a head coach. Granted, he had the opportunity to spend 9 years under the tutelage of Coach K, but sometimes things that look like they should work out have a habit of falling apart. Expect Duke to struggle in the early portion of the season, but to nonetheless be national contenders by the end of the season once Scheyer and the freshmen find their footing.

3. Virginia

Virginia head coach Tony Bennett is one of the greatest defensive minds to ever touch the sport (fun fact: he once held an opposing school to a mere 26 points in a 40 minute game in a bout against Maine in 2019). KenPom seems to agree, giving this team 4th overall in defensive efficiency. That was enough to give them the 5th overall KenPom spot, which ranks them above UNC, Duke, and plenty of other competent teams. Put bluntly, KenPom is vastly overestimating this team’s skills. Virginia is much more likely to end up where the AP poll has them ranked, which will still leave them as a team contending for great success come this March. Virginia is led by the aptly named Jayden Gardner, who rebounds the ball excellently and scores with skill as well. The other top 3 scorers are returning as well, and Kihei Clark in particular is notable for being an excellent enabler on offense. This team is enrolling two separate freshmen named Isaac, with power forward Isaac Traudt and combo guard Isaac McKneely. The Cavaliers should be really good, just not as good as KenPom has them ranked entering the season.

4. Miami

As the students in Coral Gables bask in their illustrious glory, so too does the basketball team bask in its incredible skill and talent. As mentioned earlier, Miami landed 2 top transfers in Nijel Pack and Norchad Omier. Miami also brings back Isaiah Wong, who is a dark horse to win ACC player of the year (if, somehow, UNC underperforms). This team should be really strong, and Larrañaga has also proven his mettle as a coach, as he brought the Hurricanes - a team ranked 12th in the ACC to start the season - to the Elite Eight. Be on the lookout for the Hurricanes this year!

5. Wake Forest

Aside from Cal, Wake Forest might be From Downtown’s pick for the most underrated team in the Power 5. For a reason to trust the Demon Deacons, look no further than the impressive work of Steve Forbes. If not for an ugly loss to Boston College, there was a strong chance this team could have made the NCAA tournament and beyond last year. The Demon Deacons are returning just a bit of talent, but they make up for it with an ensemble cast of transfers and freshmen. Most notably - and the biggest reason why KenPom and analysts are underrating the Deacs - is Bobi Klintman. Should Forbes start him, Klintman should transfer his skills from Sweden over very nicely to the Winston-Salem squad. Also joining the team is Florida guard Tyree Appleby, who should grow into a premiere player once he has the lion’s share of the team’s possessions. Considering Forbes managed to make Jake LaRavia an NBA player from a former Indiana State transfer, his ability to squeeze water from the rock should not be underestimated. Nonetheless, the lack of a star could be troubling in such a star-studded conference. Expect the Demon Deacons to once again be solid heading into 22-23!

6. Notre Dame

Notre Dame’s basketball program usually plays second fiddle to football, though considering their success in last year’s tournament compared to their grievous underperformance in football this year, that may not be the case this year. The Fighting Irish landed a tremendous freshman in J.J. Starling. Starling is the only 5 star freshman in the conference not playing for Duke, and that should add starpower to head coach Mike Brey’s roster heading into the season. Notably, Brey has been the head coach for 20 years, and this is a feat few other Power 5 coaches can claim. However, Brey was experiencing pretty rough shape until last season, and he is absolutely capable of regressing back to his previously subpar form. Hopefully for Irish fans, this team should once again be very solid! 

7. Virginia Tech

The Hokies managed to win the ACC tournament last year, playing spoiler to Duke in what would have been a great sendoff to coach K. However, they got beaten pretty badly by the Longhorns in round 1 of the tournament, and looked like they did not belong in the postseason. Since they secured that automatic bid, the Hokies lost Keve Aluma, who was most of the reason they were so good last year. In an attempt to replace him, they brought in centers Grant Basile from Wright State and Mylyjael Poteat from Rice. Similarly, Rodney Rice joins this squad as a 4 star freshman, and Justin Mutts returns as the head veteran on this roster. This team is overrated by KenPom by a pretty significant degree. There simply is not enough here to justify putting a team that finished the season 23-13 last year in the top 25, especially considering they likely bring a worse roster to 2023 than they did to 2022. Nonetheless, Mike Young has a squad capable of making the tournament yet again!

8. Florida State

The Seminoles are being projected at wildly different spots depending on if one looks at KenPom or analyst projections. Analysts have them upwards of 5th in the ACC, while KenPom has them 9th. The truth is likely somewhere in between. The Seminoles ended their postseason streak with a pretty awful team last season, but they have a shot at making the tournament again nonetheless. This team will be predominantly led by returning players Cameron Mills and Matthew Cleveland. With that being said, Florida State also brings in a fair amount of strong recruits and transfers. Spain’s Baba Miller projects as a top 50 recruit, while Darin Green from UCF and Jaylan Gainey from Brown transfer in as well. The main problem with this team is defensive efficiency. None of these players boast particularly strong defensive metrics, and in fact, KenPom has them 9th in the ACC as a result of their shoddy defense. Expect Hamilton -  by far the strongest basketball coach in FSU history - to nonetheless put this team in a position to make a postseason push.

9. Clemson 

This team has a few question marks heading into the season. Brad Brownell has been an inconsistent coach in his time with the Tigers thus far. To make matters worse, his roster seems a bit weak compared to other teams. Nonetheless, the Tigers still have hope for a postseason bid if they get their act together as a roster, and if Brownell has one of his “hot” seasons rather than a cold season. The Tigers are bringing in two freshmen named Chauncey, with forward Chauncey Williams and guard Chauncey Gibson entering the fray. They also return PJ Hall, last year’s best player, although a surgery recovery may limit him in the early parts of the season. This team is pretty physical; they are on the slower side tempo wise, and they project to be balanced in terms of offense and defense at KenPom. The Tigers will have a hard time landing the tournament, but do not rule out the possibility of this team being strong.

10. Boston College

Last year marked Earl Grant’s first year with the Eagles, and he exceeded expectations with a surprise ACC tournament run and not finishing dead last in the conference. However, that did not mean Boston College had anything remotely close to a successful season, as they were nowhere close to national relevance. Grant likely cannot make it to that stage in Year 2, but should look to see improvement as he turns this program around. The Eagles bring back Makai Ashton-Langford and Jaeden Zackery, 2 of the team’s top 3 scorers. Prince Aligbe is the team’s most notable freshmen entering the team, and an ensemble cast of other players and Cincinnati transfer Mason Madsen enter as well. This team unfortunately cannot keep up with the high end talent the league has to offer, but Grant coached a competent team last season, and has potential to once again exceed expectations.

11. Syracuse

Jim Boeheim has been coaching basketball for Syracuse since before the moon landing. To put that into perspective, he has been on Syracuse’s staff since before some of the athletes he is coaching today’s parents were born. Boeheim is entering the twilight years of his coaching career, and his past few seasons have been inconsistent at best and straight up poor at worst. Syracuse brings in Judah Mintz, barely not a top 50 recruit, but the returning talent to this team is very unappealing. Mintz has bigger shoes to fill than most incoming freshmen, and if he does not step up to the plate, the Orange could end up underperforming their already low expectations. Expect to fade the Orange a bit this year.

12. Louisville

Louisville lost their exhibition match to Lenoir-Rhyne by double digits. That is a horrible start to a season. In fact, Kenny Payne led Louisville to one of the worst starts to the season in the Power 5. Considering the malaise surrounding this organization with the IARP results being handed down earlier this week, Louisville projects to have a sad season. However, the talent here is stronger than the other teams at the bottom of the barrel. Eli Ellis was solid for the team last season, and the other players here show promise as role players on the team. Louisville has no hopes of the postseason, but they should see some excitement in Payne’s first season.

13. NC State

Terquavion Smith is likely one of the best players in the entire ACC. He projects as a lottery pick, and should be dominant against any team in this league. However, he is legitimately the only notable player on this team. Head coach Kevin Keatts is on the hot seat, and aside from Smith, he really does not have much to offer the league. As a result, the Wolfpack will be almost entirely reliant on how much Smith will be able to carry them to success. On the off chance that Smith breaks out as a legitimate superstar, this team can exceed expectations. However, poor coaching and lack of surrounding talent will likely be NC State’s undoing this season.

14. Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets are struggling under head coach Josh Pastner, who has never received an at large bid in the NCAA tournament. In fact, Georgia Tech has an abysmal freshman class ranked at a heinously bad 160th in the nation. Pastner led this team to the tournament in 2021 with a stellar run in the ACC tournament, but he has been underperforming as a coach aside from that. Perhaps another strong campaign can save his job, but if it does not happen, Pastner’s days may be limited at Georgia Tech. Expect this to be the end of an era either way, as Georgia Tech will likely need a multiple year rebuild to return to national prominence.

15. Pitt

Pitt’s head coach Jeff Capel III has yet to finish within the top 10 of the ACC. Additionally, their best player is likely not going to play at all this season, as he has been charged with aggravated assault. If Pitt has another disappointing year, the school may not be forgiving to Capel, who has significantly underperformed thus far. Expect the Panthers to finish among the bottom teams of the ACC for a 5th straight year.

Get ready for the remaining Power 5 previews in the coming week. In the meantime, check out Luke Sims’ article on the Minnesota Wild’s Matt Dumba below!

https://zonecoverage.com/2022/wild/why-are-we-blaming-matt-dumba-for-minnesotas-defensive-issues/

Big Ten Breakdown

The Big Ten sent an astounding 9 teams to the postseason dance last year, but once again failed to produce a Final Four team. Considering the strength of programs like last year’s Purdue, Illinois, and Wisconsin as well as the “hot” teams Iowa and Indiana, the fact that only 2 teams managed to make the second weekend is both shocking and disappointing. Consider 2021, where 1st seed Illinois, 2nd seed Ohio State, and 4th seed Purdue were all stunned in first weekend upsets, and it seems as though power in the Big Ten is waning. Of course, this will inevitably be alleviated when powerhouses UCLA and USC join the league, but in the interim, this league is struggling to find an identity. With that being said, the league is nonetheless very compelling, and they absolutely have the chance to reverse the narrative in the 2023 season, and From Downtown is here to bring the top 5 storylines heading in!

5) Great Offenses, Bad Defenses

This very peculiar statistic bodes very well for college hoops fans, as this means games are sure to be high scoring and exciting. The Big Ten has ⅕ of the top 30 offenses at KenPom with 6 of them, but just 3 top 30 defenses. Notably, this means that teams with strong defenses may find success. Indiana, Illinois, and Rutgers are notable for having stronger defenses than they do offenses per KenPom. Additionally, Penn State has one of the slowest tempos in the entire sport, and should look to play a very physical, gritty basketball. Additionally, Iowa boasts a top 5 offense in basketball, but their defense is ranked quite poorly at 76th. Expect the Hawkeyes to be a boom or bust team alongside Purdue, Michigan, and Ohio State. The key to emerging as the best team in the Big Ten will be achieving a balanced style of play, and a team will need to mitigate their defense to stand a chance against some fierce offenses.

4) Michigan State Approaches the End of an Era

Tom Izzo - one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history - was granted a contract extension in August of this year (to no one’s surprise). The contract will likely take him through retirement. Izzo has an astonishing 8 Final Four appearances in his career as the leader of the Spartans, but he has only won the tournament a single time. As Izzo attempts to catch his white whale, the clock is ticking. This year’s group has promise, but is one of the less talented groups in the conference. Simply put: national champion aspirations are unlikely. Expect Izzo to nonetheless coach this team to greatness. Izzo is clearly the best coach in the Big Ten, and that is saying a lot considering the strength of Matt Painter, Juwan Howard, and Brad Underwood. Michigan State projects comfortably into the tournament, but Spartans fans should look towards the future. Izzo has the chance to cement his legacy as an all-timer in the next few years, so be on the lookout for strong recruits to come through East Lansing as the coming weeks unfold.

3) Will the Big Ten Replicate 9 Bids In 2023?

Last year, the Big Ten experienced one of the most chaotic seasons in recent memory. Wisconsin and Illinois split the regular season title, but Iowa won the tournament. Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana, Rutgers, and Michigan State all made the tournament as well. Considering the Big Ten pecking order seems even more uncertain this season, replicating 9 tournament bids is a very possible outcome. This begs the question: which 9 teams from this conference have a chance to make the dance? Although this league is uncertain, the consensus is that 7 teams - Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Purdue (more on them later) - will all comfortably make the tournament bar any significant underperformance. As for the other 2 bids, there seems to be a race between a few hungry teams. Wisconsin and Rutgers are entering the season seeking to further continue their strength from last season. Meanwhile, Penn State and Minnesota aspire to make the tournament in each of their respective coaches’ second year at the helm. Northwestern’s Chris Collins has questions about his job security, but his bunch has the chance to make the tournament (a tournament appearance would likely save his career). Finally, Kevin Willard took over for the Terrapins this season, and while Maryland will experience some growing pains this season, KenPom projects them as a top 60 team. Unfortunately, Nebraska seems lacking in both talent and direction under Fred Hoiberg in his 4th year, but the rest of these teams all have a case for a postseason push. Expect 1-2 of these teams to make the tournament, but which teams will make it is as good as anyone’s guess. 

2) The Hoosiers Look Hot

Mike Woodson may not have been excellent at the NBA level, but in his first year with the Hoosiers, he managed to get them to a tournament win for the first time in 6 years! Woodson also retained most of his talent from last year. Most notably, Trayce Jackson-Davis is returning. The player is a contender for the best player in college hoops, and fellow Hoosiers Xavier Johnson and Race Thompson return as well. More importantly, Woodson landed the best freshman entering the Big Ten in Jalen Hood-Schifino. Indiana’s legacy as one of the best college basketball programs of all time largely stems from Bob Knight. Woodson has the Herculean task of matching Knight’s legacy, and he has big expectations heading into year 2 at his position. Fortunately, his strong team on paper combined with the tumultuous state of the Big Ten makes him the consensus favorite entering the season. Expect the most exciting Hoosiers team in the last decade!

1. The Big Ten Title is Anyone’s Game

While Indiana may be the betting favorite, there is a lot to consider when picking a preseason team to win the league. Indiana is displaying a predominantly returning cast from a team that finished 9th in the Big Ten last season. While Hood-Schifino will be fantastic, it can intuitively seem unrealistic that the addition of a mere 1 player can blast Indiana up 8 spots in the standings. Additionally, the fact that Indiana - the projected winner of the Big Ten by both analysts and KenPom - ranks outside of the top 10 in both of those metrics indicates a lack of confidence in one specific team in the conference. Across the conference, many teams look very strong. Purdue returns Zach Edey and Michigan returns Hunter Dickinson, and both were fantastic last season. Ohio State and Illinois have competent rosters and great freshmen classes, and Izzo’s Spartans can never be counted out. Considering Iowa caught fire out of nowhere last season, it seems truly tough to predict which team will come out on top. While From Downtown has very comprehensive rankings, at the end of the day, these are merely predictions. The good news is that Big Ten basketball should be the most entertaining it has been in years. All of these teams are vying for the top spot, and that is a feat no other Power 5 conference can boast (for reference: the SEC race is between 3-4 teams, the Big East race is between 3, the previously mentioned Big 12 and Pac-12 have 2 teams competing for the top spot, and the ACC has a clear favorite). For fans of a Big Ten team, get excited for what is shaping up to be one of the most memorable seasons of college basketball this conference has ever experienced!

1. Indiana

The Hoosiers at the top of the Big Ten rankings should be a breath of fresh air for fans of the Blue Blood program. Indiana returns their three best players and adds the best freshman entering the Big Ten. Woodson exceeded expectations in his first year, and has a history at the professional level that should translate well into sustained college success. Expect Trayce Jackson-Davis, Xavier Johnson, Race Thompson, and Jalen Hood-Schifino to lead a great Indiana team. Indiana is also perfectly positioned for success in the Big Ten based off of their team strength. They have the best defense in the Big Ten by a comfortable margin, and while their offense is not rated the highest in the league, they are absolutely strong on that side of the court. While this conference truly is up for grabs, Indiana is the safest pick to win it all.

1. Purdue

From Downtown ranks Purdue as one of the most underrated teams heading into the 22-23 season. The reason for this boils down to two important names: Zach Edey and Matt Painter. Zach Edey is the tallest player in Big Ten basketball history. This alone makes him a force to be reckoned with on the court. However, he proved last season that he has the technique to back up his raw athleticism. Purdue does not return famous name misspeller Jaden Ivey, but there will now be more room for Edey to make an impact on the court (there are some concerns about his longevity and stamina, which will be important to monitor throughout the season). More importantly, the Boilermakers return Matt Painter. If it were not for Tom Izzo, Matt Painter would be the best coach in Big Ten basketball by a significant margin. A master of consistency, Painter has not missed the NCAA tournament since 2014. Painter has the talent required to be able to outcoach any team in the conference, and power forward Mason Gillis should pair well with Edey to give the Boilermakers a dominant backcourt heading into the season. 

1. Illinois

Brad Underwood has done considerable work for the Illini through his tenure. Before he took over, Illinois had missed every NCAA tournament since 2013. He projects to comfortably make his third tournament in a row. Kofi Cockburn and Ayo Dosunmu were likely the two strongest players that played for Illinois since the immortal 2005 team, and replacing them will be very difficult. Expect much of the leg work on this team to come from freshman Skyy Clark. Generally, preseason reports can be taken with a grain of salt. However, in a situation where, across multiple months, all of the reports coming out of practice are beating the drum that a specific player is “gonna be good,” that has merit. Skyy Clark is “gonna be good.” Notably, Matthew Mayer transfers in as a member of the championship Baylor team. Illinois has noticeably been allergic to the Sweet Sixteen in recent years, and they have actually fallen to 2 straight NCAA tournament upsets in 2021 and 2022 (Houston, despite being the lower seed, was the betting favorite in their match against Illinois). Perhaps this will be Underwood’s team to break the curse.

1. Michigan State

As mentioned earlier, the Spartans should not worry about missing the tournament. No sane person should rank a Tom Izzo team outside of the top 5 in the Big Ten. Malik Hall shot north of 40% from the 3-point range, which is a great addition to have. Guards A.J. Hoggard and Tyson Walker are great opportunists on the field, and each averaged more than 4 assists last season while playing on limited minutes. Michigan State unfortunately has arguably the single toughest non-conference schedule in the country, as they have to play a host of teams ranked much more highly than them to start the season. Michigan State also has no breakout player, which could pose an issue to a league writhe with talent. However, expect a young group of hungry, devoted players with Izzo’s mind behind them to give lots of teams trouble in this season. Michigan State should project comfortably into the tournament.

1. Ohio State

Ohio State lost E.J. Liddell, which is bad for both the spectators and team itself. While Ohio State hopes to land LeBron James Jr. as a recruit for the 23-24 season, this interim year might be a bit of a decline for Chris Holtmann’s squad. However, the future is absolutely bright for this team. Ohio State brought in the 8th best recruiting class for the season. The names to know here are Roddy Gayle Jr., Bruce Thornton, Felix Okpara, and Brice Sensebaugh. None of these players project to be “One and Done” players. Should Ohio State land Bronny James, the Buckeyes will have an established supporting cast to make the 23-24 season incredibly exciting. Holtmann is a good coach, but he is surrounded by incredible coaches throughout the league. Ohio State should make the NCAA tournament dance - they have a great floor with some established transfers in addition to their freshman class - but their ceiling is lower than a lot of Big Ten teams entering the season.

1. Michigan

The illustrious University of Michigan is very alluring to all students, so much so that Princeton transfer Jaelin Llewellyn decided to try his luck outside of the Ivies. In addition to him, head coach Juwan Howard brings back Hunter Dickinson, who has been incredible for the Wolverines so far. Jett Howard - Juwan Howard’s son - joins fellow freshman Tarris Reed as the freshman headliners, but the former player presents a significant problem for the Wolverines. We have seen firsthand how Juwan Howard can let his emotions get the better of him on the court, as he was suspended after an altercation with Wisconsin coaches Greg Gard and Joe Krabbenhoft. Considering his son is joining a team already crowded with big personalities, From Downtown predicts that there will be too many cooks in the kitchen for Michigan. They project reasonably well in KenPom, but they are notable for having a defense outside of the top 50. How well this team will do depends on how quickly the team can get under Howard’s wing. He was AP’s Coach of the Year in 2021 for a reason, and he brought an underrated Michigan team to the Sweet Sixteen last year with two strong upsets. However, the players here may have trouble respecting each other as well as his authority, and Howard’s incident becoming a repeated occurrence may mar the team’s reputation as well. This team will likely improve as the season progresses, but expect a lot of growing pains for the Wolverines as Howard juggles parenting with coaching at the season’s start.

1. Iowa

At the end of last year, the Iowa Hawkeyes caught fire. They steamrolled the Big Ten tournament - including an absolute dismantling of Northwestern’s in a 112 point effort - before getting curbed by a similarly piping Richmond team. That Iowa team loses Keegan Murray to the Sacramento Kings, but his twin brother Kris still remains at the school. Head coach Fran McCaffery has been pretty strong at his position, but not exceptional like Izzo, Painter, Howard, or Underwood. Also, this team has a gross inconsistency that needs to be addressed. According to KenPom, Iowa is the 2nd most offense-dependent team in the country, ranked only behind Gonzaga. The defense on this team is not strong, and this plagued last year’s team as well (the Hawkeyes let up 38 points to Richmond in the 2nd half). McCaffery will have his work cut out for him, but expect Iowa to nonetheless make waves in a league categorized by offenses rather than defenses (Iowa has the highest ranked offense in the league at KenPom).

1. Rutgers

Clifford Omoruyi. An absolute stud. The Scarlet Knights managed to keep Omoruyi on board, and he was a massive part of the team’s ability to make it to the dance in 2022. Paul Mulcahy also returns, but the Scarlet Knights lost NBA superstar Ron Harper’s son at the end of the season. The Scarlet Knights are well positioned within the league due to their strength on defense. They are the second-highest rated defense in the league, which will allow them to go toe-to-toe with the better offenses in the Big Ten. However, while Steve Pikiell is easily the best Rutgers head coach in the 21st century, he tends to struggle against some of the better schemers across the league. Nonetheless, when Indiana played against Rutgers last season, Omoruyi managed to shut down Jackson-Davis on a few possessions. This team has little hope besides a surprise berth in the NCAA tournament, but expect them to crush the dreams of many other teams on the way.

1. Penn State

Penn State is categorized by their desire to slow the pace of the game down to a crawl. Penn State has the 358th fastest tempo in D-1 college basketball. For reference, there are 363 teams in D-1 college basketball, meaning they have the 6th slowest tempo. This is not necessarily a bad thing; certain teams prefer to play at a more controlled pace. For 2nd year coach Micah Shrewsberry, this seemed to work, as Penn State exceeded expectations and wowed Ohio State in the conference tournament. They bring back Jalen Pickett and Seth Lundy, who were core pieces of the team last year. Andrew Funk out of Bucknell joined the Nittany Lions as well, which should serve to be a crucial addition to a potent scoring team. The problem with the Nittany Lions will be their matchup compared to the Big Ten. Simply put, a majority of the Big Ten teams are positioned well to exploit Penn State’s lack of size. Nonetheless, Penn State has a very easy non-conference schedule, so expect the Nittany Lions to be a sleeper tournament team as the season progresses.

1. Wisconsin

This team is being vehemently overrated, and KenPom ranks them much lower than many of the top analysts. The headliner here is Tyler Wahl, who managed to be very impressive despite having to compete for the spotlight with the sensational Johnny Davis and Brad Davison. Wahl should improve this year, but the talent surrounding him is quite underwhelming. The only notable player entering this mix is Kamari McGee, who played for the Green Bay Phoenix last season. McGee, while alright, was a 3 star transfer in the portal, and is not nearly enough to replace Johnny Davis. Considering that the expectation is for Wisconsin to maintain top form despite losing their top 2 players and replacing them with next to nothing, it makes sense that the Badgers are being grossly overrated. Nonetheless, Greg Gard is a strong coach, and Wisconsin absolutely has the potential to make some waves if Wahl develops into the next superstar Badger.

1. Northwestern

Northwestern fans have nothing but positive things to say about Chris Collins, but the fact of the matter is that he has not lived up to expectations post-NCAA tournament run. Unfortunately, this means Collins is backed up against the wall. A second NCAA tournament appearance or even a strong NIT showing may save his career, but the talent to get him there may be tight. Boo Buie is the standout for the Wildcats, as he averaged 14 points and 4 assists last year. If Buie can take the jump, then UTEP transfer Tydus Verhoeven can provide some much needed size for the otherwise tiny team. Northwestern ranks rather poorly in offense, but they may be able to get away with a subpar offense due to the league being relatively weak in defense when compared to other Power 5 conferences. Northwestern may have just enough firepower to get Collins the contract extension he desires, and his “put up or shut up” situation may make him a little bit more fired up as well. There will be a pretty good indication of Northwestern’s trajectory by February, but the hope is that Chris Collins - the only Northwestern coach to bring the Wildcats to the tournament - manages to stay afloat in a challenging league.

1. Maryland

Kevin Willard is taking over for the Terrapins, but he will unfortunately have low expectations in year 1. Maryland has just 1 freshman entering the team this year. Not only was freshman Noah Batchelor not recruited by Kevin Willard, but he was not ranked in the top 200 recruits. Maryland did manage to land Donald Carey from Georgetown and Jahmir Young from Charlotte in the transfer portal, but the veteran players on this roster underperformed last season for a reason. Willard proved his mettle as a head coach with the Pirates at Seton Hall, but he is not yet an eyebrow raiser like some other Big Ten coaches. Fade the Terrapins a bit this year compared to KenPom’s rankings, as they will be experiencing coaching turmoil and are outclassed talent-wise by many other teams in the league.

1. Minnesota

Ben Johnson outperformed in his first season, but that is moreso an indication of the barren expectations rather than any significant success from the Golden Gophers. Minnesota finished last in the Big Ten and lost in the first round of the conference tournament. Fortunately for Minnesota fans, Johnson seems to be showing promise as a coach. Dawson Garcia was a 4 star transfer out of the portal, and Arizona native and freshman Josh Ola-Joseph seems to be a lot better than his initial ranking indicated. The Gophers should rule out the NCAA tournament for this year, and focus on building a foundation for future success.

1. Nebraska

Fred Hoiberg nearly lost his job after yet another bad Nebraska season. Simply put, Hoiberg has yet to demonstrate the skill required to coach at this level, and the Cornhuskers are suffering as a result. Emmanuel Bandoumel was a relatively strong member of an SMU team that nearly made the tournament last year, and Juwan Gary out of Alabama is strong as well. Nonetheless, this team is simply outclassed on both the coaching and talent front by nearly every team in the conference. To make matters worse, Nebraska has a strangely tough non conference schedule considering the strength of their team, and they have to play teams such as St. John’s, Oklahoma, Creighton, and Kansas State. Hoiberg will likely get the boot in a few years, so Nebraska fans should instead look to the distant future for significant college basketball success.

As the days count down before the season begins, From Downtown is here to bring previews of each major conference in the sport. For true fans of college basketball, From Downtown will be here to provide the latest and greatest in articles and podcasts. Be sure to catch the ACC preview coming out this Sunday, the Big East preview coming out next Wednesday, or the SEC preview in a week and a half! More news on the subsequent articles coming soon!

Pac-12 Preview

The Pac-12 conference shocked the world when UCLA and USC - some of the league’s most profitable brands - announced their departure towards the Big Ten. However, while this recent development will lead towards top heavy sports in the future, it also heightens the stakes for the bigger rivalries in this conference as it heads towards the basketball season. The league is chalk full of hungry teams, and whether it is for the conference championship, a tournament bid, or just a bit more respect, all of these teams are shooting for new heights. However, not all of these teams can find success, meaning that this conference is going to be full of gritty, fierce matchups sure to be great from a spectator perspective. From Downtown has the top 5 storylines for the Pac-12 this season, so make sure to stick around and get the full breakdown on one of college basketball’s most interesting conferences.

5) Is California Being Underrated?

Cal has evaded the NCAA tournament since 2016, and is not a historically fantastic basketball program. Mark Fox’s lukewarm tenure as coach (35-58 across 3 seasons) certainly does not do this team any favors. This team is universally panned by analysts, and would bring up the rear in KenPom if not for Wayne Tinkle’s Oregon State. However, now is the year to buy this sneaky team on the dip. California nabbed two important transfers, one of which is Devin Askew, a former Longhorn. Askew should be able to see an increase in volume, as his metrics have been good throughout college, but he has not been utilized. Being the focal point of an offense will be great for his career, and so will being surrounded with Coppin State transfer guard Dajuan Harris and incoming freshman Grant Newell. This is not the type of team to make the tournament, but Mark Fox has the opportunity to begin building a foundation for a future tournament run. It will be important to monitor how Cal cultivates their incoming talent in the future, and expect them to make a few key upsets later on into the season as their crew has time to mesh and develop.

4) Pressure on many Coaches to Succeed

Arizona State’s Bobby Hurley, Stanford’s Jerod Haase, Washington’s Mike Hopkins, and the aforementioned Cal’s Mark Fox all have questions about their job security heading into the 22-23 season. Hurley and Haase are entering some of their later seasons with disappointing performances throughout their careers. Haase has avoided the tournament thus far, and Hurley has a single win in the first four in 2019. The pair of Mike coaches at Washington and Cal are below .500 with their respective squads since 2019. While question marks for job security usually lead to tense seasons, the fact that over a third of the coaches could be coaching in one of their last seasons with the program leads to a particularly gritty race in the middle of the Pac-12. A few of these teams have potential to make it to the NCAA tournament, and if they really surpass expectations, they could go even further beyond that. However, as likely as a team from this pack is to exceed expectations, there is equal possibility that one team can fail expectations. This could mean a potential firing of a coach, which raises the stakes for an already high-stakes season. Be on the lookout for Oregon State coach and former elite 8 stunner Wayne Tinkle. Tinkle is fresh off of an awful season the year after his incredible tournament run, and although he got a hefty contract extension, if he continues to sorely underperform, he could be in danger as the next few seasons progress.

3) Oregon and USC are Two Sides of the Same Coin

In a league with coaching concerns, Oregon’s Dana Altman and USC’s Andy Enfield are two locks for consistency on a year-to-year basis. In addition, both teams have had a similar trajectory since the pandemic. Oregon and USC both had impressive 2021 tournament runs as lower seeds. In fact, they actually met in the Sweet 16, where USC eventually prevailed. After successful 2021 seasons, both Oregon and USC took steps back in 2022, where the Ducks could not make the dance, and the Trojans lost in the first round to the pillar of perfection in the University of Miami. As if to complete the cycle, both teams are back to top form in 2023, and have aspirations beyond the first round of the tournament. Oregon is ranked in the preseason top 25 AP poll, and USC received votes as well. These two teams will most likely be fighting to see who sits next to Arizona and UCLA on the podium for the Pac-12, and play each other just once on Thursday, February 9th. Oregon has one of the most challenging non-conference portions of a schedule across the country, so it would not be surprising if USC pulls ahead in the race at first, only to be caught later in the season as conference play begins.

2) Washington State and Stanford look to end their Tournament Droughts

Washington State has not made the tournament since 2008, the second longest stretch for a Power 5 team only to DePaul. Similarly, Stanford has made just one NCAA tournament, since 2008 (where they made a Sweet Sixteen run in 2014), and have made none under their current coach Jerod Haase. Both the Wildcats and Cardinal are looking to end this drought, and may have the group needed to get it done in 2023. Kyle Smith of Washington State has coached the program well in the last few years, and just got the recent roster addition of Jusin Powell off of the transfer portal. Stanford still has potential future NBA player Harrison Ingram, and curiously have two separate star players with the last name Jones (returning player Spencer Jones and Davidson transfer Michael Jones). Both of these teams are by no means the top of the Pac-12, but their hunger towards success should leave fanbases of these teams more excited than they have been in at least the past few seasons.

1) Is the Pac-12 the most Contested Championship Race?

Analysts and statistics both agree that UCLA and Arizona are the top teams in the Pac-12, and both of them have a case to make it to the top. UCLA is returning a lot of great talent, most notably cornerstone of their former Final Four Jaime Jaquez, and sensational point guard Tyger Campbell. UCLA also nabbed the Pac-12 rookie of the year in Amari Bailey, who was a top 10 prospect in the class of 2022. Meanwhile, Arizona is losing their top scorers from their incredible team last year, but Azuolas Tubelis should progress naturally into the role of leading the Wildcats. While Mick Cronin has been sensational throughout his first few seasons with the Bruins, Tommy Lloyd brought an unranked Arizona team to a 1 seed in his first season with the Wildcats, earning AP coach of the year honors. Across both the player and coach metrics, these two teams track as the top Pac-12 contenders. While many herald UCLA and USC as the rivalry, UCLA vs Arizona will be an incredibly important game to watch on January 21st and March 4th.

Finally, From Downtown has preseason rankings for Big 12, based on analytics, empirical data, and a good old bit of personal bias.

1. Arizona (AP Poll 17, KenPom 10)

Fade the AP Poll and trust in KenPom statistics here. The single most important factor into this team is Tommy Lloyd. The Arizona coach went 30-3 in his first year and won Coach of the Year. For such a revolutionary first year, one cannot help but expect Arizona to become a college basketball staple in the years to come. Kerr Kriisa and Azuolas Tubelis returning should keep this team strong, and Courtney Ramey departed from a crowded Texas squad to bolster the Wildcats. Arizona is an incredibly efficient team on the offensive side of the ball, and they will play the season at the 9th fastest pace in D1 basketball per KenPom. However, defensive efficiency is a question mark when compared to teams around the league, and could serve to curtail Arizona’s postseason hopes. Nonetheless, expect Lloyd to coach another great squad here, and for the Wildcats to push for a second straight Pac-12 title!

2. UCLA (AP Poll 8, KenPom 11)

While Tommy Lloyd won coach of the year in year 1 at Arizona, one cannot help but also commend Mick Cronin for his incredible work at UCLA thus far. UCLA is one of a short list teams from last season to be retaining a large portion of their strong roster from 2022. Jaime Jaquez, Tyger Campbell, and Amari Bailey make a strong core that will be surrounded by a swathe of roleplayers. The list of strong players on this team is nearly unmatched. In addition to the aforementioned players, UCLA landed strong recruits Adem Bona and Dylan Andrews from the freshman class, and Jaylen Clark, David Singleton, Kenneth Nwuba, Will McClendon, and Mac Etienne will all be able to make an impact on the court. Cronin will have no shortage of ample players to use on the court as he sees fit, and UCLA should expect another strong season. If all goes well, Cronin can aim for his third consecutive Sweet Sixteen with the Bruins!

3. Oregon (AP Poll 21, KenPom 29)

Dana Altman had a rare off year in 2022, ending at a strangely low rank 82 in KenPom. He should have the squad to get the Ducks back to the dance in 2023, but a few question marks prevent Oregon from being higher on the list. The size of this team is simply enormous. Five star freshman Kel’el Ware and veteran player N’Faly Dante form a 7 foot core that will dominate the rest of the Pac-12 that cannot match up to their size. As if that were not enough, the Pac-12 team has yet another 7 footer in Nathan Bittle. The three of them should allow the Ducks to be a menace in the paint, but KenPom has this team significantly overrated. The defensive side of the court will present some issues for this team, but expect Altman to return to form in 2023.

4. USC (AP Poll N/A, KenPom 36)

The Trojans made it to the tournament last year, but this was nonetheless a step back from the Evan Mobley team in 2021. USC once again is ranked significantly below their historic rival, UCLA, and their new, functional rival in Oregon. Also, their big name heading into the season, Vince Iwuchukwu, is out indefinitely due to a heart injury. However, the Trojans still have plenty to be excited about for the season. Their two most important players are named Boogie Ellis and Kijani Wright. Ellis famously dropped a monstrous 27 pointer in an effort against UCLA in the Pac-12 tournament. Kijani Wright is a 6 foot 9 power forward, and one of the most underrated recruits in the 2022 class according to From Downtown. The Trojans might be a bit overrated at KenPom this year, but Andy Enfield has demonstrated his consistency with multiple top half Pac-12 finishes in a row. Expect the Trojans to comfortably make the tournament nonetheless.

5. Washington State (AP Poll N/A, KenPom 71)

Washington State has experienced new life for one of the most unsuccessful basketball programs of the 21st century. For the first time in a while, Washington State has tournament aspirations. It can get there on the back of Jusin Powell, who played at both Auburn and Tennessee. Washington State is also bringing back five players who had a significant role on their previous team that gave Wildcats fans hope. However, the story here is absolutely head coach Kyle Smith. Smith has been proving his mettle as a coach, and in a league where a lot of coaches have not been living up to expectations, a team with a coach above the Pac-12 average could be a great boon for this team. KenPom does not like this team, giving it an offensive metric rating outside of the top 100. This seems to come from Smith’s coaching style, as the Wildcats’ defense has been ranked significantly better than their offense in each of the last three seasons. With that being said, Smith has coached 2 straight seasons with a top 30 defense, and as the old adage goes; “defense wins championships.” Smith unfortunately has to compete with other top coaches, with the breakout stars of Tommy Lloyd and Mick Cronin combined with the consistent old guard of Dana Altman and Andy Enfield. However, we are seeing a head coach turn a formerly hopeless program around, and that is cause for excitement. The upward trajectory for the Wildcats under Smith is clearly visible in the past 3 seasons, and as he enters year 4, expect Washington State to continue to trend towards even greater heights.

6. Stanford (AP Poll N/A, KenPom 58)

Jerod Haase is on the hot seat, but this is the best Stanford team in a while. The main star on the team is Harrison Ingram, a player with real NBA aspirations. As mentioned before, Ingram is combined with two separate Jones players in Spencer Jones and Michael Jones (no relation). The Cardinal are being ranked highly by analysts around the league, but expect to fade them a bit compared to the analysts this season. When comparing their metrics with other teams in the league, Stanford has the 7th best defense and the 6th best offense. While a consistent, balanced team, Stanford lacks depth, size, and strong coaching ability. The question with the Cardinal is how much can Haase and the players support obvious star Harrison Ingram. If Ingram continues to impress, expect this team to have a shot at the NCAA tournament, but not much more.

7. Arizona State (AP Poll N/A, KenPom 75)

Arizona State had one of the most lopsided teams by KenPom standards in 2022, with an impressive top 30 defense, but an abysmal offense ranked outside of the top 200. In order to have any hopes of making the NCAA tournament, the Sun Devils will need to improve on the offensive side of the game. Michigan transfer Frankie Collins should be able to help on this side of the ball. Marcus Bagley will start the season in good health, and if he stays healthy, he could pair with Collins to give the team top 5 upside in the Pac-12. However, the true answer to cure this team’s woes lies in coach Bobby Hurley scheming a more efficient gameplan. Hurley has coached disappointing season after disappointing season for the Sun Devils, including 4 straight losses against rival Arizona. However, with his coaching job on the line, we could see improvements to his game planning with the sense of urgency being created by his job insecurity. Look for the Sun Devils to either outperform or underperform, as it is unlikely Hurley will try to simply match expectations.

8. Colorado (AP Poll N/A, KenPom 61)

It is no secret that Tad Boyle has been one of if not the single most successful coach for a Colorado program that has not made the Sweet Sixteen since before the moon landing. However, he has yet to have the single season needed to break that curse. It turns out that this year is likely not the year the Buffaloes will make the Sweet Sixteen - as they are projected for their first season under 20 wins in 4 years at KenPom - but there is still plenty of good here. Colorado curiously has 2 separate Ivy League transfer players, as Ethan Wright and Jalen Gabbidon both left the Ivies to head to the Power 5. They should mesh well with last year’s strong freshman K.J. Simpson. However, in a league with so much starpower, coach’s hunger, and drive to succeed, a consistent team without hope of reaching new heights may get cast to the side. Expect the Buffaloes to finish around .500 in the Pac-12.

9. California (AP Poll N/A, KenPom 146)

As described before, From Downtown has Cal ranked significantly higher than both other analysts and KenPom statistics. The trio of Devin Askew, Dajuan Harris and Grant Newell mix together to bring a team that has certain intangible qualities. Askew’s mentality should completely shift. He is the ace on this team, and the Golden Bears need him to step up and into that role. This is a shift from his former role on a crowded Longhorns team, where he was competing for minutes and comparing himself with teammates. Mark Fox also could be in hot water with his job if he does not turn things around soon, but he has a competent squad that could help him achieve great things in 2023. Cal matches up well in a league with a lot of top defenses, as their similarly defense-first orientation should keep them competitive with some other lackluster offenses. Although, Cal has an outrageously bad offensive metric rating outside the top 200. Keep in mind that Cal’s offense is being underrated, but it nonetheless does not raise any eyebrows when compared to Arizona, UCLA, or Oregon. Golden Bears fans should hope to see one of Fox’s more important and more exciting seasons, but should not get their hopes up for anything more than a surprise NIT appearance.

10. Washington (AP Poll N/A, KenPom 113)

Washington gained Franck Kepnang from Oregon this year to add to a squad that went above .500 in the Pac-12 last year. However, this is yet another Pac-12 team with questions on the offensive side of the ball. Keion Brooks Jr. is the only returning double digit averager from last season, and the Huskies lost their star player in Terrell Brown. Mike Hopkins gave Huskies fans hope when he won 2 straight Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors, but has remained milquetoast ever since then. Analysts are ranking this team significantly higher than KenPom, which in this instance is not a good sign. Expect the Huskies to be formidable on defense, but to struggle in conference play against some of the best defenses at the collegiate level.

11. Utah (AP Poll N/A, KenPom 72)

Utah is ranked very highly by KenPom, but From Downtown is going to back the analyst position on the Utes and say to fade them in 2023. Utah is fresh off of a 4-16 season in the Pac-12, including a monstrously inefficient 189th defensive rating at the end of the season. Unfortunately for head coach Craig Smith, the other rookie head coach won Coach of the Year honors, so he really did not measure up to his competition. Craig Smith is not the problem with this team, and as he continues to bring in recruits, Utah can be expected to return to their favorable position in the upper echelon of the Pac-12 (especially since this will likely coincide with UCLA and USC departing from the league). However, Utah is returning 5 significant players from a team that underperformed, seemingly not changing much with the roster. No notable freshman joins this team either, and yet KenPom has them making the jump from last season. Until Smith can get his hands on some talent, expect the Utes to once again finish among the bottom teams in the Pac-12.

12. Oregon State (AP Poll N/A, KenPom 228)

Oregon State’s tournament run in 2021 is among the most memorable from that season, and it garnered Wayne Tinkle a hefty contract extension. However, the Beavers steeply regressed in 2022, and finished dead last in the Pac-12. Wayne Tinkle does not bring in a great squad here, and the atmosphere with the Beavers is that this is once again a rebuilding year for Tinkle to begin building another team to make another deep NCAA tournament run. Until then, expect Tinkle to continue trying to win games, but for his skill as a coach as well as the skills of other players to simply outmatch the Beavers in 2023.

The Pac-12 is rated as the weakest Power 5 conference, but it also could be the most intriguing. Arizona and UCLA are both realistic Final Four teams, and Oregon, USC, Washington State, Stanford, and Arizona State could all feasibly make the tournament this year. However, there is no way to avoid disappointment, and some of these programs will leave the season with a sour taste in their mouths. In the meantime, expect plenty of great, gritty, and close games to watch as the season tips off in early November.

As the days count down before the season begins, From Downtown is here to bring previews of each major conference in the sport. For true fans of college basketball, From Downtown will be here to provide the latest and greatest in articles and podcasts. Keep reading to catch the last major conference preview on the Big 12, or stay tuned for the Big Ten preview coming Wednesday!

Big 12 Breakdown

In the penultimate year of a Texas and Oklahoma included Big 12, the conference tops the conference rankings for the second straight year. This year, the conference is all about new blood. Half of the big 12 head coaches are coaching in their 1st or 2nd season with their team. However, at the top of the preseason AP poll, the old guard coaches are vying for the regular season title. Keyonte George - a top ranked freshman - joins Baylor this year as head coach Scott Drew quests for a three-peat regular season title. Bill Self, however, hopes to lead Kansas to a second consecutive NCAA tournament victory on the backs of DaJuan Harris, Jalen Wilson, and Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar. The conference is ripe with intrigue, so leave it to From Downtown to illustrate the 5 most important takeaways heading into the Big 12 season.

5) Preseason AP Poll Rankings

The AP Poll interestingly ranks Baylor and Kansas together as the teams tied for 5th in the standings. These two tie for the Big 12 top dogs in the rankings, with Texas at 12th, TCU at 14th, and Texas Tech at 25th rounding out teams with a preseason ranking. Across all individual rankings, Baylor and Kansas are ranked neck and neck. Analysts are torn on whether or not Bill Self’s veteran squad matches up to Scott Drew’s team led by a young superstar. However, it is feasible neither of these come away with the lion’s share of the conference. Texas, TCU, and Texas Tech all have reasonable shots to win the conference, and their rankings reflect that. There is no clear favorite to win the Big 12 this year, and it would be wise to bet the field to win over any one particular team. 

4) Do the other Big 12 teams have postseason hopes?

The five teams mentioned above would have to significantly underperform to miss the NCAA tournament. However, the Big 12 was a 6-bid conference last year, and the 6th spot for the tournament is quite contentious. Last year, TJ Otzelberger led a fantastic turnaround of a decrepit Iowa State program, leading them to the Sweet Sixteen. This year, Iowa State has their work cut out for them, as they lost their two best players on last season’s squad (Tyrese Hunter transferred to Texas, actually). Oklahoma State, a squad banned from postseason play last year, has postseason aspirations as well, but question marks remain on their scoring potential despite returning the monstrous center Moussa Cisse. Oklahoma lost former Eastern Washington star Tanner Groves, and Porter Moser had trouble keeping his team disciplined in key moments last season. However, big Nevada transfer Grant Sherfield should be able to keep them relevant this year. All three of these teams are ranked in the top 64 in KenPom, but more likely than not, one or maybe two of them will make it to the dance. Keep an eye out for the battle between these three teams as the season progresses, Oklahoma vs Oklahoma State games in particular should be a thriller (expect West Virginia to pull some upsets, but likely fall clearly short of the tournament).

3) How well does Jerome Tang do in year 1 at Kansas State?

Kansas State has been disappointing ever since their shocking elite 8 run in 2018, where they lost to 11 seed Loyola Chicago after nailing 3 straight seed upsets. As a result, they hired former Baylor assistant Jerome Tang to reinvigorate the deflated program. Tang shows lots of promise as a head coach at the power 5 level, but Kansas State is nonetheless braving rough waters in the upcoming season. Kansas State lost Nigel Pack to grade-A institution Miami FL. Analysts have reached the consensus that Kansas State will finish last in the Big 12, but look out for underrated players such as Ismael Massoud to make a big splash in year 1 of Tang’s tenure.

2) Texas vs TCU vs Texas Tech

These three Texas teams have a lot more in common than their similar spots in the AP Poll. Chris Beard and Mark Adams are both coaching in their second year with the program, as Beard recently departed from Tech to coach for the Longhorns. Jamie Dixon at TCU is coaching in his seventh season, but has led his team to the highest preseason ranking in Horned Frogs history after their close loss to Arizona in an overtime thriller (one of the best games of last year’s tournament). Adams coached KenPom’s rank 1 defense, but that ranking has been usurped by Beard in the preseason rankings. In fact, Texas actually overtook Baylor and Kansas in KenPom, and is ranked at a shocking 2nd overall. KenPom and the AP Poll give the edge to Dixon’s Frogs over Adams’ Raiders, but these three teams not only can finish in any order, but give the top two in the conference a run for their money as well. Be on the lookout for matchups between these three Texas teams as the season progresses, as they are sure to be close games with high stakes.

1. Does Baylor get the three peat, or can Kansas remain a national powerhouse?

Bill Self and Scott Drew are entering their 20th seasons as head coaches for their respective teams, a far cry from the group of new coaches the Big 12 has to offer. Self and Drew are also the two most recent national champions, and a rivalry between these two programs is quickly budding. Baylor is looking for their third straight Big 12 regular season title, and their third straight 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Meanwhile, the pressure is on Kansas to defend their national championship title, and reclaim their status at the top of the Big 12. Analysts rank these two teams very similarly: they tie for the 5th spot in the AP Poll, and KenPom has Baylor (6th) a mere two spots above Kansas (8th). Make sure to watch these two teams play each other on January 23rd and February 18th, as it could determine who ends up the regular season champion in the Big 12.

Finally, From Downtown has preseason rankings for Big 12, based on analytics, empirical data, and a good old bit of personal bias.

1. Baylor (5th AP Poll, 6th KenPom)

Expect Scott Drew to coach a squad poised to earn their third straight 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Bears maintain possession of LJ Cryer - a great player for the Bears last season in his own right - and pair him with freshman Keyonte George, a bonafide stud and preseason Big 12 player (and freshman) of the year. The Bears may lack a bit on defense compared to the rest of the conference, as they just barely make the top half of the Big 12 in KenPom’s defensive metrics (at 12th place no less; a testament to the strong defenses across the Big 12). Nonetheless, the team clears the field in offense, and looks to be a strong Big 12 championship, final 4, and perhaps even national championship contender.

2. Kansas (5th AP Poll, 8th KenPom)

Make no mistake, Kansas is not ranked at this spot due to a significant regression from last year. Although they lost a great deal from the championship squad - most notably Ochai Agbaji and Remy Martin - Kansas still has a team with high aspirations for the upcoming season. The kingpin of this team is Bill Self himself, as he has continued Kansas’ “blue blood” legacy with two national championships and a whopping 15 Big 12 regular season titles. Self will surround himself with Dajuan Harris and Jalen Wilson, both of whom were contributors to the championship team last season. Additionally, he nabbed a big time transfer in Texas Tech’s Kevin McCullar. These 3 will be the leaders of a campaign aspiring to win the first repeat NCAA tournament victory since 2008.

3. Texas (12 AP Poll, 2nd KenPom)

One of the biggest surprises with the release of KenPom’s preseason rankings the was Texas taking the 2nd overall spot with the top ranked defense. Texas was not projected to be in the top 10 spots by the AP Poll, but perhaps they should have been. Chris Beard gave Longhorns fans a taste of greatness in spurts, but ultimately performed to tournament expectations and bowed out in the second round. Beard has high expectations to deliver a repeat performance of Texas Tech’s 2019 tournament run, where they played eventual winner Virginia in the title game. To help him get there, the Longhorns returned a few key players, but importantly received Iowa State transfer Tyrese Hunter. They also managed to sign two 5 star freshmen in Dillon Mitchell and Arterio Morris. This team is absolutely a dark horse to win the Big 12 title, and potentially more!

4. TCU (14 AP Poll, 16 KenPom)

Jamie Dixon has, based on rankings, his best team yet. In fact, this is the most highly ranked TCU team in their history. The horned Frogs have high expectations, and these expectations are not unwarranted from a team that has a significant shot to pull ahead of the pack in the Big 12. The team is led by Mike Miles, one of the few names close to Keyonte George in the race for Big 12 player of the year. TCU also managed to return their top six scorers from a tournament team last year. One concern with the Horned Frogs is that this team was a nine seed last year, and not much was added, merely maintained. There is concern to fade this team a little bit, but not nearly enough to significantly impact the rankings. TCU should look to have one of their most memorable seasons in a long time during Dixon’s seventh year.

5. Texas Tech (25 AP Poll, 17 KenPom)

Mark Adams coached the number one defense in college basketball last year, and let a game slip from his fingertips against an aging Coach K in their Sweet Sixteen game against Duke. Texas Tech should expect a bit of regression from their team last year, but should also expect to nonetheless be in the mix of the best Big 12 teams. The team is led by [INSERT THE TRANSFERS]. Mark Adams has proven to be a defensive guru, but improvement on the offensive side on the ball is a goal for him to work towards as the Red Raiders head into the season.

6. Iowa State (N/A AP Poll, 62 KenPom)

This is From Downtown’s most controversial take, but in a league dominated by great coaching, none of the new coaches made a bigger splash than TJ Oltzenberger. Oltzenberger brought Iowa State - a devasted basketball program - back into relevance in just one year, and was up there with other first year coaches Tommy Lloyd and Hubert Davis as the best head coach in their first year with the program. Criticisms of Iowa State - a team ranked over 30 spots behind Oklahoma and Oklahoma State - is the lack of talent the team has with the departure of Tyrese Hunter and Izaiah Brockington. However, do not underestimate Oltzenberger to replicate these talents through superior coaching. The Cyclones will continue to make big waves as Oltzenberger attempts to once again overcome the odds in the strongest conference in college basketball.

7. Oklahoma (N/A AP Poll, 28 KenPom)

Porter Moser - yet another second year coach in the Big 12 - failed to make the tournament in his second year. The primary reason for his failure was the lack of discipline on the team. The Sooners were turnover heavy and bad at free throws. They also have the unfortunate circumstance of losing college basketball sensation Tanner Groves, who formerly played at Eastern Washington. Porter Moser will have to do a better job at corralling his talent if he wants to make a tournament push this year. Fortunately, stud Nevada transfer Grant Sherfield should help the team clean up their act. Oklahoma is highly ranked in KenPom this year, and perhaps Moser can prove this team’s mettle in the opening weeks of the season with some key wins.

8. Oklahoma State (N/A AP Poll, 30 KenPom)

Fade the Oklahoma State Cowboys this year. Mike Boynton coaches a great defense, and Moussa Cisse’s great physicality and height helps him be one of the best rim protectors in college basketball. However, the Cowboys were banned from tournament contention last year, and the year before that, the hype was less on the team and more on future NBA 1st overall pick Cade Cunningham. Simply put, this team feels complacent. The Cowboys have been uncreative on offense since the departure of Cunningham (as shown by their statistically low offensive metrics rating in KenPom), and the talent on this team besides Cisse leaves a bit to be desired when compared to other teams in the conference. Make no mistake, this is a legitimate team with tournament possibilities, but the Cowboys may experience a rocky start to conference play while they adjust both their offensive gameplan and mentality to some of the best defenses college basketball has to offer.

9. Kansas State (N/A AP Poll, 77 KenPom)

From Downtown is going against the grain by placing this team above West Virginia. Kansas State loses Nigel Pack - the number 1 recruit in the transfer portal - to the outstanding team at Miami FL. However, what Kansas State has that some other teams in the Big 12 lack is a new identity and a strong desire to succeed. This program is making big changes - the main one being acquiring Jerome Tang at the head coaching position - and the Wildcats landed an interesting recruit in Keyontae Johnson - a former Florida Gator who has not played since 2020 - to hopefully help lead them to national relevance once again alongside returning forward Ismael Massoud. Kansas State making the tournament this year would be a surprise, but expect flashes of greatness from a team strongly attacking the rebuilding process.

10. West Virginia (N/A AP Poll, 73 KenPom)

Bob Huggins’ mettle as a coach is indisputable. However, the team had total system failure in the latter half of 2022. West Virginia’s modern identity is one of losing against opponents they should beat. Most notably, the 2021 season saw the Huggins led team lose to Syracuse in the round of 32, and the 2022 season saw them lose 15 of 17 to end the season. To make matters worse, Huggins is losing a majority of the team that made up last season, and is essentially starting over from scratch. This team is being rated highly primarily because of Huggins’ proven ability as a coach, but the talent simply is not there when compared to the rest of the conference. In addition, as great as Huggins has been, he pales in comparison to future hall of famers Scott Drew and Bill Self as the old guard of the Big 12. This season will demonstrate that, although Huggins is great on his own, West Virginia as a program is lacking in excitement, which will make it difficult to coach his new group of guys towards relevance in the upcoming season. Expect Huggins to pull through and deliver some upsets, but not much more than that.

As the days count down before the season begins, From Downtown is here to bring previews of each major conference in the sport. For true fans of college basketball, From Downtown will be here to provide the latest and greatest in articles and podcasts. Check out our Pac-12 breakdown coming out later this week!