The college basketball season is underway, and so far, there have been many great games and exciting finishes. This year’s top players include many talented freshmen like Duke’s Jahlil Okafor and Arizona’s Stanley Johnson, along with proven upper classmen with tournament experience such as Wisconsin’s senior center Frank Kaminsky and Connecticut’s senior point guard Ryan Boatright. Among the major basketball conferences for the 2014-15 season will be the ACC, the Big East, and the Big Ten.
ACC: This year, the ACC has the potential to be one of the toughest conferences in college basketball history. Although it has been criticized for its lack of depth, the top tier of the conference will prove to be among the most dominant in the nation. In addition to having perennial powerhouses at the top like Duke, North Carolina, and Syracuse, Louisville joins the conference to add yet another competitive program and a Hall of Fame coach in Rick Pitino. Pitino joins an impressive list of Hall of Famers, including Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, as well as North Carolina’s Roy Williams and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim.
Duke plans to be at the top of the conference, as they bring in four McDonald’s All-Americans (Okafor, Justice Winslow, Tyus Jones, Grayson Allen) and bring back key pieces from last year, including senior point guard Quinn Cook and junior forward Amile Jefferson. So far, Duke has gotten off to a 7-0 start, with its closest contest coming in Indianapolis against Michigan State on November 18, an 81-71 victory.
North Carolina also figures to be in the mix, led by junior Marcus Paige, a John R. Wooden Award finalist this year, which is the award given to college basketball’s most outstanding player.
Defending conference champion Virginia looks to prove that last year’s 30 win season was no fluke, as head coach, Tony Bennett’s defense-first style will keep them competitive, despite losing key pieces. The Cavaliers’ suffocating defense held Rutgers to just 26 points on their way to a dominating 19 point win on November 29. Louisville and Syracuse will also compete for the title, as they hope to combine athleticism and youth to outwork their opponents.
If the middle of the conference is able to win important non-conference games, the ACC could possibly field 10-11 teams in the NCAA Tournament, something done only by the Big East in 2011.
Predicted order of finish
1. Duke
2. Louisville
3. North Carolina
4. Virginia
5. Miami (FL)
6. Notre Dame
7. Syracuse
8. North Carolina State
9. Pittsburgh
10. Georgia Tech
11. Clemson
12. Florida State
13. Virginia Tech
14. Wake Forest
15. Boston College
Big East: The Big East has surprised many early in the season, as every team currently boasts a winning record, and every team but one has just two losses or less. Aside from defending regular season champion Villanova, not much was expected of the realigned conference heading into the season. However, several teams have proved to be pleasant surprises by knocking off many of the nation’s best.
One of those teams is Georgetown, which nearly shocked the nation as they took second ranked Wisconsin down to the final seconds a day after beating 18 ranked Florida in overtime on November 26. New Jersey’s own Seton Hall has shocked many by starting the season undefeated. The Butler Bulldogs defeated fifth ranked North Carolina in convincing fashion before beating fellow Big East rival Georgetown in the Battle 4 Atlantis on November 28.
Although those three teams have impressed early this season, tenth ranked Villanova is still favored to win the conference. The Wildcats return most of the key pieces from a team that won 29 games a year ago, among them senior forward Jayvaughn Pinkson, who led Villanova with an average of 15.2 points per game last season.
St. John’s also brings back its leading scorer in senior guard DeAngelo Harrison. The Red Storm have also started fast this season, headlined by an upset win against Syracuse at the hostile Carrier Dome on December 6. There 6-1 start suggests that they might end years of subpar performance playing in the talented Big East.
Creighton will hope to reload, rather than rebuild, this year after losing National Player of the Year Doug McDermott a year ago. So far, they have done well, getting off to a hot 6-1. In addition to Creighton, defending conference tournament champion Providence will also figure to be in the race after making their first NCAA Tournament in ten years. Although Villanova seems to be the favorite, there are still a handful of teams who will compete for the conference title.
Predicted order of finish
1. Villanova
2. Butler
3. Georgetown
4. St. John’s
5. Seton Hall
6. Creighton
7. Xavier
8. Providence
9. Marquette
10. DePaul
Big Ten: The Big Ten is always among one of the best conferences in the country, and this year should be no exception. While it may lack the strength at the top as it has in past years, it still has enough firepower from top to bottom to compete with the best in the country.
Second ranked Wisconsin will be the overwhelming favorite to win it this year, as it returns two of the top players in the nation in Kaminsky and junior forward Sam Dekker. This duo leads a group of experienced veterans fresh off of a Final Four appearance a year ago.
Rivaling Wisconsin this year will be Ohio State and Michigan State, which have each gotten off to strong starts. Ohio State is led by freshman guard DeAngelo Russell and senior guard Shannon Scott, both of whom will contend for Big Ten Player of the Year honors. Michigan State brings back two key pieces from last year’s Elite 8 squad in senior forward Branden Dawson and junior guard Denzel Valentine. Those two will lead a balanced Spartans attack under future Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo, who plans to build on last year’s deep tournament run.
The Michigan Wolverines will figure to compete for the title as well, as they also look to replace three starters from last year’s team, including 2014 Big Ten Player of the Year Nik Stauskas.
This year’s sleeper team is Nebraska. After a slow start, Wooden Award Finalist Terran Petteway will look to lead the Huskers back to the NCAA Tournament. In addition to Nebraska, Illinois has surpsrised some by moving into the Top 25 for the first time all season.
This year, the Big Ten unofficially becomes the Big Fourteen after adding Maryland and Rutgers. Maryland has surprised many early on, going 7-0 and fighting its way into the Top 25, despite losing their former leading scorer Dez Wells. Rutgers will try to improve on last year’s 12-21 campaign in the American Athletic Conference, a season which ended with an embarrassing 92-31 loss to eventual conference champion Louisville in last year’s conference tournament. The Scarlet Knights are led by senior and future NBA prospect Myles Mack, who hopes the team gets off to a good start in its first year in the Big Ten.
Predicted order of Finish:
1. Wisconsin
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan State
4. Michigan
5. Maryland
6. Nebraska
7. Iowa
8. Illinois
9. Indiana
10. Purdue
11. Minnesota
12. Penn State
13. Northwestern
14. Rutgers