The top 10 hoops conferences for 2009-10
Posted: Sunday, September 13, 2009 9:22 PM
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2009-10 season previews
Today’s reality check: Midnight Madness is just over a month away.
All the NFL, college football and U.S. Open stuff is dominating the news, but it’s always a pleasant thought to think how close the college hoops season is.
On that note, it’s time to start previewing 2009-10. Every Sunday, until the season begins, I’ll focus on different topic, including the best freshmen, player of year candidates, All-American team and more. Let’s start with rating the conferences.
The Big East was by all accounts the top NCAA’s top league last season. It featured title contenders in UConn, Pitt, Syracuse, Villanova and Louisville and posted a 17-7 record in the NCAA tourney. North Carolina may have been the top team, but the Big East had better teams overall and far more depth.
Orlin Wagner/AP |
Cole Aldrich and Kansas will be the best of the best conference in 2009-10.
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That’s not the case this year. The best conferences are in the middle of the country.
The Big 12 and the Big Ten are essentially dead even. Both have two or three title contenders, a handful of Sweet 16 caliber squads and only 1 or 2 bad teams. Both feature elite players (Michigan State’s Kalin Lucas, Ohio State’s Evan Turner, Iowa State’s Craig Brackins and Kansas’ Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins).
The conferences are essentially even … but if one’s superior, I go with the Big 12.
The schools in the middle of the pack – Missouri, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Iowa State – should be slightly better than the middle of the Big Ten and teams like Illinois, Penn State, Wisconsin and Indiana. Plus, the Big 12 also has better incoming freshmen in guys like Xavier Henry (Kansas), Avery Bradley (Texas) and Keith Gallon (Oklahoma).
The last deciding factor? Kansas is my pick to win the title. That’s enough to push the Big 12 to the top.
No. 3: ACC
Defending champion North Carolina loses a host of players, but returns Deon Thompson, Ed Davis and Marcus Ginyard (who redshirted last season) to pair with a solid freshman class. Duke’s going to be a Top 10 team, while Maryland and Florida State should be Top 25 schools. Throw in Clemson, Wake Forest and a potentially scary Georgia Tech squad (Derrick Favors, Gani Lawal and Iman Shumpert have that kind of talent) and the conference has better teams at the top. The bottom dwellers are better than the SEC and Big East as well.
No. 4: Big East
The conference won’t be what it was in 2008-09, but how could it be? It’ll have to settle for merely being good, rather than ridonkulous. West Virginia, UConn and Villanova are all Top 15 teams, while Pitt, Louisville and Georgetown should be dangerous. Maybe I’m penalizing the league for not being as overwhelmingly good as last season, but that’s how it goes. And until schools like DePaul, St. John’s, Rutgers and South Florida, the conference will have the worst bottom-dwellers.
No. 5: SEC
Everyone expects big things out of Kentucky, with good reason. The ‘Cats bring in a recruiting class for the ages and have one of the nation’s top frontcourt players in Patrick Patterson. Tennessee and Florida have Top 25 talent, while Vanderbilt and Arkansas could very well be NCAA tournament bound. The wild card is Mississippi State. The Bulldogs could be Final Four good – but they’re still waiting for star prospect Renardo Sidney to become eligible. If Sidney plays, that makes the SEC better than the Big East. It’s a big if.
No. 6: Pac-10
The conference has good teams, but no one is great. Cal, Washington and UCLA could be seen as darkhorses, but all of them have depth issues. Washington and UCLA have key players to replace as well. Oregon State, Washington State and Arizona could be NCAA worthy. Could be. It’s a rebuilding year for the conference.
No. 7: A-10
Xavier and Dayton are both good enough to make the Sweet 16, which elevates it above the Mountain West. Barely. Both leagues have solid squads at the top and junk at the bottom. But it’s the potential of the Musketeers and Flyers – along with potentially solid years from Richmond and Charlotte – that elevates the A-1o to No. 7.
No. 8: Mountain West
Once again, BYU, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV and Utah are the cream of the MWC. All five were worthy of NCAA tourney bids last season, and all five could be again in ‘09-‘10. Yet…the conference lost the majority of its top players and I’m unsure if the incoming players can replace that kind of talent.
No. 9: Conference USA
Memphis won’t run the table again, but Josh Pastner’s team is still tops in C-USA. Houston, Tulsa and UTEP could make a run – and finally make the league give the league multiple bids in the Big Dance again.
No. 10: Horizon
By a hair over the WCC, mostly ‘cause Butler should be better than Gonzaga. Detroit and Wright State also have NCAA tourney hopes. If Patrick Mills would’ve stayed at Saint Mary’s, maybe the WCC gets this spot.
