I think we're ranked too low at 19, but it'll be fun to 'sneak' up on people for a change
ESPN's Andy Katz has a pre-preseason look at the 2007-08 Men's BB Top 25. Of course, this is all contingent upon key players returning or not. Memphis and UNC are #1 & 2. Duke . . . . #19.
ESPN Top 25
I think we're ranked too low at 19, but it'll be fun to 'sneak' up on people for a change
Memphis??!! Please! If they get beyond the Elite Eight I'll eat my Blue Devil slammer. And Arizona is a wash also. Let's look closely at TN and USC.
I agree that #19 is a GREAT place to start -- so underrated. Nice for a change. GO DUKE.
interesting to see NC State in the top 25. I haven't even hear Brandon Costners name mentioned as even a possibility of going pro, but given his huge run at the end of the year, and the propensity for head scratching early entries from NC State, I thought it might be a possibility. If he returns though, they are contenders, it'll be good to see the big 3 rivalries back in full effect, now if we could just have home and homes between all 3
I think this is one of the hardest Duke teams to rate ever. On the one hand, we have 8 McD AA! That is a ridiculous number. Incoming freshman Singler could be a difference maker, and we have overall ridiculous depth at the 1-3 positions (Paulus, Smith, Scheyer, Pocius, Henderson, Nelson, King, Singler). I also think a healthy Paulus will surprise fans and pundits by being a college star this year. With all the early departures, this depth of talent could make us a top ten team, maybe even higher.
However, there is also a chance that we will be so badly outmanned at the 5 position each game that we will repeat the inconsistent scuffling season we had last year. If there is no Patterson, Zoubek is the only option. Even in the best case scenario, it is hard to imagine him being more than a 25 mpg player. It is also possible that he will not develop past being a 10 mpg player. We just don't know. It is well within the realm of possibility that Thomas and Singler are forced to play long stretches at the 5. That will create quickness matchup problems for the other team, but bigger problems defending Hansborough, Costner, and, on the national scene Love, Dozier/Dorsey, D.J. White, Taj Gibson, etc.
This problem is coupled with the fact that all of our options at the 4 -- Singler, Thomas, McClure, King -- are undersized for that position.
I think 19 is a good place to start. We have a lot of unknowns.
Something like that, although I think Duke started off higher-ranked for the 06-07 season. Still, just because last year was disappointing doesn't mean next year will be.
At any rate, nab PPat and I'd say Duke should definitely be in the top 8. If not, then we're looking at top 16 (i.e. a 3 or 4 seed in the tournament type team)
Memphis is completely deserving of the number 1 ranking.
As usual Andy Katz is a joke. Six Pac-10 teams in the top sixteen? Yeah, OK. And where is Butler? Why the hell is Miami listed in "teams missing the cut"?
I'm surprised he actually listed Davidson though. They're going to be really good.
With that cup-cake schedule they play......THEY SHOULD GO UNDEAFETED!!!
I agree, I was surprised when I saw their non-conference schedule. I'm guessing that it might be the toughest OOC next year, with teams like Tenn and Gonzaga and Arizona, their "weak" opponents being the Holy Crosses, and also playing some tough competition in two preseason tourneys (forget which, I think both are NYC based, so Coaches vs. Cancer?) They're returning everyone, and adding two studs. They'll be favorites to win it all.
They will play Tennesse, Gonzaga, and Arizona. The Zags and Zona were two of the most overated teams in basketball last year. They play against three teams that are decent whoopppyyyy-dooooooo. They also play 16 games in the Conference-USA. But hey, those two games against ECU could be tough.
At the very worst they should lose the three games listed above and NO MORE!!! I'm not saying it is their fault that they play a weak schedule, but you can't say thay are the best team in America just bc they have a great record against that schedule either.
They also play against USC on a neutral court. UAB should be good as well. And they play in a tournament with Kentucky, Oklahoma, and UConn in it. They have true road games against Cincy and Ole Miss. Three of their "bad games" include Holy Cross, Appalachain State, and Pepperdine. Their conference schedule is weak compared to an ACC team but their non-conference schedule is extremely strong and overall it is a good schedule whether you care to admit it or not. Memphis is very deserving of the #1 ranking to start off the season.
I do agree they are deserving of the number one record as I said they should be. With the team they have and the schedule they play they should lose 5 games MAX!!! I will admit they have a harder non-conference schedule than they normally do, but it is not brutal by any stretch of the imagination. As for their overall schedule, it is still weak and they shouldn't lose a game in the Conference-USA. But we could go back and forth all day. You have your opinion and I have mine. I knew they were overated this past year and I think they will be very good next year, I just think their schedule will be their destruction. But as a I stated previously, I have been known to be wrong before.
Of course. The difference is my opinion is well-founded.
See, this is exactly what I'm talking about. How was Memphis overrated last year? They went to the Elite 8, last time I checked, which is exactly what a 2 seed is expected to do.
Did playing in a conference with a harder schedule help Duke against VCU? Texas A&M against Memphis? Wisconsin against UNLV? UNC against Georgetown? Virginia Tech against Southern Illinois? Maryland against Butler? Creighton against Nevada? Arizona against Purdue? BYU against Xavier?
It sounds nice and reasonable to say that playing in a stronger conference helps you come tournament time but if you actually look at the data instead of just saying things you'll see this isn't the case (except that playing in a stronger conference can help you with seeding, of course).