Basketball opponents ranks (with synopses)

[boilerzz]

According to CBS Sports 1-351 rankings:

Non-conference opponents:

4. Villanova
The Wildcats are capable of going back-to-back. The only pieces lost are Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu. Fordham stud transfer Eric Paschall enters the rotation, while Josh Hart is on the short list of preseason National Player of the Year favorites. Kris Jenkins, Jalen Brunson, Phil Booth, Mikal Bridges, Darryl Reynolds -- they're all back. Looks like another No. 1 seed to me.

16. Louisville
The Cardinals are raw but talented, led by Donovan Mitchell, who will probably be appointment television. Ray Spalding and Deng Adel round out a trio of talents that will be good enough to keep Louisville's defense active and a true pain the you-know-what for opponents. The school is still under investigation by the NCAA, but chances are last year's self-imposed postseason ban will suffice, meaning this is a tourney team come March.

50. Texas Tech (Possibly)
Chris Beard returns home to what, truly, is his dream job. But Tubby Smith did wonders last season. Tech was one of the most overachieving teams -- maybe the biggest one. Beard took Little Rock to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He'll get Tech going in time, but let's not presume he'll be taking Tech to the dance again.

52. Notre Dame
Mike Brey is the only man with the potion to kill Coach K-led teams. But Notre Dame, which was a second-weekend team last season, will have a big drop this year. At least Steve Vasturia, V.J. Beachem and Bonzie Colson are around. The Irish will pull off a few big wins, but I think they're an NIT group this year.

81. Arizona State
Bobby Hurley will need two more years to turn ASU into a top-50 program. The Sun Devils are unproven up front. Tra Holder is the go-guy. The Curtain of Distraction is one of the best sights in college hoops.

95. Auburn (possibly)
Bruce Pearl is going to have the Tigers roaring in a year, but this team is going to stall a bit thanks to losing Cinmeon Bowers and Tyler Harris. Mustapha Heron will be a top-25 freshmen this year in terms of stats produced and value to his team.

124. Georgia State
I would be shocked if Georgia State didn't win 20 this season. It went 16-14 a year ago, has Indiana transfer Jeremy Hollowell ready to step in and perform, and five of the six biggest volume production guys are back on the roster. College hoops can always use more Ron Hunter. Yes, the Sun Belt is good enough at the top to have three teams in the top 125 in college hoops.

132. Morehead State
This team went 23-14 last season and appears to be the threat to Belmont in the OVC for the campaign ahead. To beat the likes of Belmont you'll need four-year players and 3-point shooting. Morehead State has both -- and it's really good at crashing the glass.

143. Utah State
Jalen Moore is aces. He'll lead the Aggies, who have the second-best home-court advantage in the Mountain West to SDSU. USU was 7-11 in league play last season -- I think the record will be flipped in 2016-17.

199. McNeese State
Jamaya Burr will be the go-to guy for a Cowboys club that's a sleeper in the Southland. The defense HAS to get better, but I will note this club played the third-hardest non-conference schedule in America last season. It was better than its 9-20 mark suggested.

224. NJIT
Jim Engles brought this program from nothing and got it out of independent, into a conference ... and now he's coaching at Columbia. So Brian Kennedy, Engles assistant, takes over. Damon Lynn and Tim Coleman will be heavy producers for a Highlanders team that I suspect scoots back without Engles.

261. Cleveland State
Rob Edwards is a bright spot for the Vikings, who I am taking a big chance on here by putting them so high, relatively speaking. Gary Waters has done a lot with a little before.

302. Norfolk State
A 12-4 team in the MEAC last season, Norfolk State loses so much (top three scorers) this team can't crack the top 300.

306. Western Illinois
Not enough on either side of the floor to warrant putting Western Illinois much higher than this. Garret Covington will be asked to carry the team.

 

[boilerzz]

B1G teams:

8. Michigan State
It's the highest-rated freshman class Tom Izzo's ever had: Miles Bridges, Josh Langford, Cassius Winston, Nick Ward. If those four play up to their talent this season, then look out. MSU will have a scoring savant in Eron Harris, a 3-point specialist in Matt McQuaid, a reliable on-ball defender in Tum-Tum Nairn and a season-long stopgap in the post in Gavin Schilling. Ben Carter's health/return is the X-factor.

10. Indiana
The Hoosiers have a tremendous offense, led by Thomas Bryant down low and the return of James Blackmon on the wing. Yogi Ferrell graduated and Troy Williams left early for the draft, but expect Indiana to get pop from OG Anunoby, Juwan Morgan and Collin Hartman, when the latter returns from injury. Will be a fun team on offense again.

12. Wisconsin
Almost everyone is back from a Badgers team that won 22 games and has the Big Ten preseason player of the year in Nigel Hayes. Bronson Koenig will wind up being the team's most important player, I think, and Ethan Happ is going to establish himself as a top-20 guy in the Big Ten by the time we get to league play. We're going to be talking about Wisconsin this season as much as just about any team not named Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina or Villanova.

39. Ohio State
The Buckeyes just need to realize how good they can be. Marc Loving, Keita Bates-Diop, Ja'Quan Lyle, Kam Williams. A solid core four there. Thad Matta cleaned house with some transfers. Expect OSU back in the NCAA Tournament after missing last season.

42. Maryland
It's all on Melo Trimble now, isn't it? The frontline from last season is basically gone, and Trimble's going to need all the help he can get from Jared Nickens. Let's see what freshman Kevin Huerter can do, too. Terps are a toss-up team right now.

43. Michigan
The Wolverines bring back necessary pieces -- Zak Irvin, Derrick Walton, Duncan Robinson, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman -- but this team was lost without Caris LeVert relatively often last season. It's going to be methodical and reliable, but is it an NCAA tourney group? Walton should take a jump, and Duncan Robinson might wind up as one of the biggest offensive threats in the Big Ten.

64. Penn State
I'll buy your Penn State stock. A really good recruiting class comes in, plus Terence Samuel is eligible via transfer from UConn, and Shep Garner/Payton Banks will be a steady backcourt. Nittany Lions will make noise in the Big Ten.

65. Illinois
Potential abounds here. Gotta stay healthy. Gotta have guys not get suspended. Malcolm Hill is a star. Jalen Coleman-Lands and Tracy Abrams are ready to help right now. This is your upset-the-apple-cart team in the Big Ten.

85. Iowa
If Peter Jok hadn't opted to return, this would not be a top-100 team. Iowa is going to be low on offense overall, and its backcourt is baby-faced.

86. Northwestern
Bryant McIntosh's moment has seemingly arrived, as Northwestern is on a PR push to get the starting point guard's name and face out there. Hey, he's definitely a top-15 PG heading into this season. It will be a year heavy on good point guards, too.

107. Nebraska
Tim Miles is going to have a team that's good in the passing lanes and should have a reliable point guard in Louisville transfer Anton Gill. Losing Andrew White to Syracuse is a devastating blow.

118. Minnesota
I'll go aggressive on Minnesota here. This was an 8-23 team last season, but Amir Coffey will have pop right away and the team is not going to have the same offensive issues from last year. It's not an NIT team still, but it's going to be markedly better. Nate Mason, junior guard, is going to have a breakout year.

253. Rutgers
Steve Pikiell will need time. The odds are stacked against Rutgers, but firing Eddie Jordan was the right move.


Here is their write-up on Purdue:

20. Purdue
Caleb Swanigan is back, Vince Edwards is better than most realize, and Isaac Haas should step up and produce the way 7-foot-2 college men do. Spike Albrecht, formerly at Michigan, is a grad transfer here. Guard play should be better on the whole as well. Purdue will have an inside-outside-inside attack thanks to Swanigan almost certainly become all-league caliber.


And here is the full list:

http://www.cbssports.com/college-ba...cbs-sports-1-351-college-basketball-rankings/

 

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Norlander has NJIT too low. I think they'll be much better than "224." Also, Notre Dame and Mike Brey know how to attack Matt Painter and Purdue's man-to-man, so that game will probably make Notre Dame look better than "52.", even if Purdue wins.

Also, he probably hasn't seen Carsen Edwards play.

 

[hoosierdog1]

Just don't see IU being that good.Started playing much better after Blackmon went down.

 

[PU52Chevy]

eI spoke with Mike Brey the other day in Baltimore in a hotel lobby and he seemed pretty excited about his young team. (Beachem is a stud)

He also said Matt Painter has done a hell of a job at Purdue and likes this years team.

Anyways if we can get the Villanova win at Mackey and Louisville win life will be good and having us moving up the board and then win the IU and Wisky one's also in Big Ten play......

Boiler Up!

 

[burbo]

MSU- I think I read a little blurb last week that Schilling might be out for awhile with injury, so they could be pretty small across the front line.

 

[paintball1979]

Just don't see IU being that good.Started playing much better after Blackmon went down.

Don Fischer IU's play by play sportscaster says ' most talent and depth he has seen in many moons at IU' per conversation with Dakich. They both agreed Bryant is best big man in country and possible player of the year. Hype Hype Hype bla bla bla.

 

[nagemj02]

eI spoke with Mike Brey the other day in Baltimore in a hotel lobby and he seemed pretty excited about his young team. (Beachem is a stud)

He also said Matt Painter has done a hell of a job at Purdue and likes this years team.

Anyways if we can get the Villanova win at Mackey and Louisville win life will be good and having us moving up the board and then win the IU and Wisky one's also in Big Ten play......

Boiler Up!

They need to win a friggin' game in the Crossroads, so that means it's time to beat Brey and Notre Dame.

Boiler Up

 

[nagemj02]

Yep, Gavin Schilling went down with an injury and will have surgery (today, I believe), so if you add 6'8" grad-transfer Ben Carter's season-ending injury to that, Michigan State is thin in the post. They have 6'8 freshman Nick Ward (yep, another Painter-Izzo recruiting casualty), super-athletic (but still about 6'6" and 220 lbs.) Miles Bridges, and undersized 6'6 sophomore post Kenny Goins. That's basically all of their bigs now if Schilling and Carter miss the entire season.