Today, the Associated Press released their preseason poll for the 2017-2018 season of College Hoops. I still think polls are stupid. The only thing that is dumber than polls is preseason polls (also, keeping Alabama out of your top 25, but I already went into that). Regardless of the level of stupidity, it definitely gives the basketball world something to talk about and look forward to. Fans of ranked teams hope their team lives up to the hype. Fans of teams that got snubbed hope the media is wrong (like they very often are). Literally everyone hopes Duke’s number 1 ranking doesn’t mean another National Championship for Coach K.
With more than 30 games to play, injuries, suspensions, potential impending NCAA sanctions and everything else, no one knows anything right now. Maybe this season, Coach K faking an injury doesn’t give his team a kick in the pants. Maybe Arizona gets their butthole ripped to shreds by the NCAA. This could even be the year the Big 12 figures out how to play against WVU’s press (doubtful). Point is, a preseason poll means nothing, but it’s still a lot of fun to argue about. #EmbraceDebate
Conference Breakdown
This year is fun, too, because the best teams in the nation are spread all across it. The top seven teams in the poll are from seven different conferences. This is why basketball is king. Good luck finding that kind of parity in football. There are really only four conferences in football that mean anything and also Notre Dame. Overall, there are eight different conferences represented in the hoops top 25, and all eight of them have at least two teams in the poll.
All told, the ACC has the most spots (of course) with five. Other than that, the Big 10 has four (more to come on that ridicularity), four conferences sit at three, and our power mid-major conference friends (AAC and WCC) both have two.
In a way, this season has the feel of the insane 2016 season at first glance. That year, there was a a very strong Michigan State team flanked by young but talented Duke and Kentucky teams. Outside of that, a lot of the nation looked about the same talent and skill wise. Looking at the poll this preseason has a very similar feel to me. What that should mean is I should stay far away from predictions, but I’m a sports media guy. Takes are what I do.
The Big East will end with more ranked teams than the Big Ten
I feel like I say this every year, but the Big East is still really, really good. Is it the mythically fantasied “Old Big East?” no, of course not. But, it is still filled with teams from top to bottom (other than DePaul) that can wreak havoc nationally. As it stands right now, Villanova, Xavier and Seton Hall are ranked. Lurking in the “others receiving votes” category are Providence and Butler. Also, Creighton can do something with Marcus Foster still at the helm. At least two of those three teams will be ranked by the end of the season along with Xavier and Seton Hall, which are two teams that both have the ability to finish in the top ten alongside Villanova.
On the other hand, the Big Ten is experiencing a major down year after about four years of dominance. It seems like a lock that they will have a Final Four bid with Michigan State, but outside of that the conference looks extremely shaky. The next-highest ranked team is Minnesota at fifteen, and they won’t be ranked by the time the calendar flips to December (more to come on that). Northwestern is looking to build on their first ever NCAA tournament bid, but probably won’t make it out of the first weekend like last season. Purdue lost what was essentially 50% of their offensive game plan (more to come on this also). Of those final three teams, I think at least two will fall out of the rankings. Maryland and Michigan could both sneak in with some good wins, but the Big East is much stronger overall.
Five out of the last 11 teams will end lower than they are now
Minnesota: The Gophers have Providence in the second game of their season. They will lose that, fall in the rankings, and be eliminated entirely following back-to-back losses against Alabama and Miami. If that’s a stretch, they will lose at least two of those games, which is more than enough to be out of the rankings by the end of November.
Louisville: Quite simply, I refuse to believe this team will be able to keep it together this season. It’s not going to be a Baylor football situation, but they are not going to be able to play to the level expected of them. Honestly, if they ended the year as an eight or nine seed, it wouldn’t even make me blink.
Purdue: The Boilermakers were awesome to watch last year. Their offensive game plan was comprised of roughly a billion threes and a very well-placed hope in Caleb Swanigan dominating the offensive glass. Now, Biggie is gone and they are left with the giant from “Jack and the Beanstalk”, Isaac Haas, at center. As big as he is, his rebounding has never impressed me that much, especially on the offensive end, and his work rate leaves a lot to be desired. If a combination of him and Vince Edwards can find a way to pick up Swanigan’s slack, this is a top-15 basketball team. I just don’t think that will happen.
Someone from the WCC: Gonzaga and St. Mary’s are both good basketball teams that deserve to be ranked. They are both weaker than they were last year, though. St. Mary’s is looking to build on a near-Sweet Sixteen bid, and Gonzaga wants to avoid a championship hangover. Unfortunately for those dreams, neither of them will make it out of the first weekend of the tournament. Gonzaga might even lose a conference game this season if anyone can believe that. Of the two teams, the Zags are more likely to fall below their current ranking of 18, but either one is possible.
Baylor: Fuck Baylor and Big 12 basketball. Manu Lecomte’s three-point percentage is going to dip again since the ball will be in his hands more and Jo Lual-Acuil actually sucks, regardless of what you might hear.
The ACC finishes with four teams in the top ten
Duke is a lock. This is probably the most talented Blue Devil squad since the Jah/Justise/Tyus Championship year. In reality, it might be even more talented than that team. Coach K reeled in four five-star guys, two in the frontcourt and two in the backcourt, for another top-ranked recruiting class. Also, they all join captain Grayson Allen who could be a Player of the Year candidate if he doesn’t act like a bratty seven year old that dropped his ice cream.
North Carolina is a really interesting and very non-North Carolina team. For the first time in maybe three to five years, their strength is not in the frontcourt. The obvious leader is Joel Berry, who is out of commission for a little while, and a lot is expected of Seventh Woods. When Berry returns, the Heels should roll, not to a third straight Championship game, but at least into the second weekend of the tournament.
Miami is exactly what they always are, just better. Ja’Quan Newton (with whom I have been in love with since I watched him throughout his high school career), is looking to cap off a solid college career with his best season ever. He is joined in the backcourt by five-star guard Lonnie Walker and All-America candidate Bruce Brown. The Hurricanes will rely on backcourt scoring and solid frontcourt rebounding on their way to the top ten.
Notre Dame has a chance to be the most efficient offensive team in the country. They are led by seniors Matt Farrell and Bonzie Colson, who are awesome and I love very, very much. They will attack with the same three-point barrage and up-tempo offense on the way to more points than most teams can keep up with.