Conference Rankings
1. ACC
The ACC is absolutely stacked this year. They have three top five teams (Duke, Virginia, and Louisville), as well as other ranked teams (Notre Dame and North Carolina). The ACC has two undefeated teams (of just three remaining in all of college basketball) and Notre Dame and Louisville are one loss teams with many good wins. The rest of the conference is not very deep, but NC State and Syracuse have looked solid, and Miami has been ranked for much of the year, and recently took Virginia to double overtime, after previously getting wins over Illinois and Florida. Not to mention Pittsburgh is always solid. The real big surprise in the ACC this year has been Notre Dame, led by possible POY candidate Jerian Grant, who has averaging 17.3 PPG and 6.3 APG. They are top 5 in the country with 85 PPG, and are led by a big four that has averaged over 60 PPG this year (Grant, Zach Auguste, Demetrius Jackson, and Pat Connaughton).
Top conference players (in no order): Jerian Grant, Notre Dame, Montrezl Harrell, Louisville, Marcus Paige, UNC, Justin Anderson, Virginia, Jahlil Okafor, Duke, Malcom Brogdon, Virginia, Angel Rodriguez, Miami, Rakeem Christmas, Syracuse
2. Big 12
The Big 12 has 6 ranked teams (Texas, Kansas, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Iowa State and Baylor), but in my opinion the best has been Oklahoma. Oklahoma may have lost 3 games, but as I said in my last post, have been one of the unluckiest teams in the country, and are a legitimate top 10 team. Kansas has played better as of late, but that loss to Temple by 25 points was horrific, and Texas has not played as well recently, despite getting their star point guard Isaiah Taylor back. West Virginia may be the second best team in the conference led by Bob Huggins, they have just one loss (which was by one point). Iowa State and Baylor are also very good, Oklahoma State has been solid, and TCU has just one loss, which makes up a very very deep conference.
Top players: Buddy Hield, Oklahoma, Isaiah Taylor, Texas, Juwan Staten, West Virginia, Georges Niang, Iowa State, Ricardo Gathers, Baylor, Ryan Spangler, Oklahoma, Frank Mason, Kansas
3. Big 10
The Big 10 has been the number one conference for the past few years, but this year they are not near as good as they have been. They have just 3 ranked teams in Wisconsin, Maryland and Ohio State. Wisconsin is clearly the best team in this conference, but Maryland and Freshman point guard Melo Trimble are not far behind. Ohio State has not shown me much, as they did not have any marquee non-conference wins, but D'Angelo Russell is one of the top freshman in the country. Behind the top 3 teams in the Big 10, Iowa and Aaron White have looked pretty good, with wins over Ohio State and UNC. The one thing I noticed about the Hawkeyes is their incredible passing ability in their win over Ohio State. I rarely saw the ball touch the ground. Illinois was ranked early, but is beginning their mid-season fade (It happens every year!), and Indiana and Michigan State both have looked good in some games, but downright terrible in others (Michigan State lost to Texas Southern, who was 1-8 at the time). The bottom of the Big 10 is very weak this year, and it includes lowly Penn State, hapless Rutgers, and hopeless Northwestern (they still have never made the NCAA tournament).
Top Players: Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin, Sam Dekker, Wisconsin, Dez Wells, Maryland, Melo Trimble, Maryland, D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State, Aaron White, Iowa, Yogi Ferrell, Indiana, Branden Dawson, Michigan State, Caris LaVert, Michigan
4. Big East
The Big East has been the surprise of the conferences this year, as they have come out of nowhere to be a conference with possibly 6 tournament teams. Villanova leads they way, and they have a fantastic array of talent led by quick guards and strong big guys JayVaughn Pinkston and Daniel Ochefu. Seton Hall is the hottest team of late, just recently becoming ranked with wins over St. John's and Villanova. St. John's has lost three in a row, but those three are all to Big East contenders, and the Red Storm are still ranked. Butler has not played as well as of late, but still has wins over Georgetown, St. John's and UNC. Georgetown and Providence round out the top 6.
Top Players: Darrun Hilliard, Villanova, Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova, D'Angelo Harrison, St. John's, Kellen Dunham, Butler, Sterling Gibbs, Seton Hall, JayVaughn Pinkston, Villanova
5. SEC
Everyone is very down on the SEC (other than Kentucky, obviously), but beyond the #1 Wildcats, there still are some talented teams. Arkansas just recently became ranked, and are fantastic on defense with their full court pressure, and Alabama and LSU both could contend for tournament spots (especially LSU). Beyond those 4, there is a lot of potential. Florida is stocked with talent (they just lack wins), Tennessee beat Butler, and Ole Miss took UK to OT. South Carolina could be the big surprise, as they are have won 7 in a row, including wins over Iowa State and Clemson.
Top Players: Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky, Aaron Harrison, Kentucky, Jarrell Martin, LSU, Jordan Mickey, LSU, Bobby Portis, Arkansas, Michael Qualls, Arkansas, Andrew Harrison, Kentucky, Levi Randolph, Alabama
6. PAC-12
The PAC-12 is really just terrible this year. Arizona looked to be on the top tier of teams, but then proved us all wrong by losing to UNLV, who is not having one of their better years. Washington was also undefeated and highly ranked until they lost three in a row, including one against Stony Brook (which sounds like more of an elementary school than a college). Stanford and Utah have actually looked great this year, especially Utah, because of their solid point guard. But neither team has very many big wins. The top 4 teams in the conference, actually haven't been that bad, but for the bottom 8, I cannot exactly say the same. Oregon is probably the fifth best team, but they lost to a struggling Michigan team earlier this year, and their best win is Illinois, a middle to lower end Big 10 team. The thing that shows why this conference is having a down year is that California is in the top half of the conference, yet they just lost to Washington State and Cal State Bakersfield (who started the year 1-10)
Nigel Williams-Goss, Washington, Delon Wright, Utah, Chasson Randle, Stanford, Stanley Johnson, Arizona, TJ McConnell, Arizona, Brandon Ashley, Arizona, Tyrone Wallace, California
The ACC is absolutely stacked this year. They have three top five teams (Duke, Virginia, and Louisville), as well as other ranked teams (Notre Dame and North Carolina). The ACC has two undefeated teams (of just three remaining in all of college basketball) and Notre Dame and Louisville are one loss teams with many good wins. The rest of the conference is not very deep, but NC State and Syracuse have looked solid, and Miami has been ranked for much of the year, and recently took Virginia to double overtime, after previously getting wins over Illinois and Florida. Not to mention Pittsburgh is always solid. The real big surprise in the ACC this year has been Notre Dame, led by possible POY candidate Jerian Grant, who has averaging 17.3 PPG and 6.3 APG. They are top 5 in the country with 85 PPG, and are led by a big four that has averaged over 60 PPG this year (Grant, Zach Auguste, Demetrius Jackson, and Pat Connaughton).
Top conference players (in no order): Jerian Grant, Notre Dame, Montrezl Harrell, Louisville, Marcus Paige, UNC, Justin Anderson, Virginia, Jahlil Okafor, Duke, Malcom Brogdon, Virginia, Angel Rodriguez, Miami, Rakeem Christmas, Syracuse
2. Big 12
The Big 12 has 6 ranked teams (Texas, Kansas, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Iowa State and Baylor), but in my opinion the best has been Oklahoma. Oklahoma may have lost 3 games, but as I said in my last post, have been one of the unluckiest teams in the country, and are a legitimate top 10 team. Kansas has played better as of late, but that loss to Temple by 25 points was horrific, and Texas has not played as well recently, despite getting their star point guard Isaiah Taylor back. West Virginia may be the second best team in the conference led by Bob Huggins, they have just one loss (which was by one point). Iowa State and Baylor are also very good, Oklahoma State has been solid, and TCU has just one loss, which makes up a very very deep conference.
Top players: Buddy Hield, Oklahoma, Isaiah Taylor, Texas, Juwan Staten, West Virginia, Georges Niang, Iowa State, Ricardo Gathers, Baylor, Ryan Spangler, Oklahoma, Frank Mason, Kansas
3. Big 10
The Big 10 has been the number one conference for the past few years, but this year they are not near as good as they have been. They have just 3 ranked teams in Wisconsin, Maryland and Ohio State. Wisconsin is clearly the best team in this conference, but Maryland and Freshman point guard Melo Trimble are not far behind. Ohio State has not shown me much, as they did not have any marquee non-conference wins, but D'Angelo Russell is one of the top freshman in the country. Behind the top 3 teams in the Big 10, Iowa and Aaron White have looked pretty good, with wins over Ohio State and UNC. The one thing I noticed about the Hawkeyes is their incredible passing ability in their win over Ohio State. I rarely saw the ball touch the ground. Illinois was ranked early, but is beginning their mid-season fade (It happens every year!), and Indiana and Michigan State both have looked good in some games, but downright terrible in others (Michigan State lost to Texas Southern, who was 1-8 at the time). The bottom of the Big 10 is very weak this year, and it includes lowly Penn State, hapless Rutgers, and hopeless Northwestern (they still have never made the NCAA tournament).
Top Players: Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin, Sam Dekker, Wisconsin, Dez Wells, Maryland, Melo Trimble, Maryland, D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State, Aaron White, Iowa, Yogi Ferrell, Indiana, Branden Dawson, Michigan State, Caris LaVert, Michigan
4. Big East
The Big East has been the surprise of the conferences this year, as they have come out of nowhere to be a conference with possibly 6 tournament teams. Villanova leads they way, and they have a fantastic array of talent led by quick guards and strong big guys JayVaughn Pinkston and Daniel Ochefu. Seton Hall is the hottest team of late, just recently becoming ranked with wins over St. John's and Villanova. St. John's has lost three in a row, but those three are all to Big East contenders, and the Red Storm are still ranked. Butler has not played as well as of late, but still has wins over Georgetown, St. John's and UNC. Georgetown and Providence round out the top 6.
Top Players: Darrun Hilliard, Villanova, Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova, D'Angelo Harrison, St. John's, Kellen Dunham, Butler, Sterling Gibbs, Seton Hall, JayVaughn Pinkston, Villanova
5. SEC
Everyone is very down on the SEC (other than Kentucky, obviously), but beyond the #1 Wildcats, there still are some talented teams. Arkansas just recently became ranked, and are fantastic on defense with their full court pressure, and Alabama and LSU both could contend for tournament spots (especially LSU). Beyond those 4, there is a lot of potential. Florida is stocked with talent (they just lack wins), Tennessee beat Butler, and Ole Miss took UK to OT. South Carolina could be the big surprise, as they are have won 7 in a row, including wins over Iowa State and Clemson.
Top Players: Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky, Aaron Harrison, Kentucky, Jarrell Martin, LSU, Jordan Mickey, LSU, Bobby Portis, Arkansas, Michael Qualls, Arkansas, Andrew Harrison, Kentucky, Levi Randolph, Alabama
6. PAC-12
The PAC-12 is really just terrible this year. Arizona looked to be on the top tier of teams, but then proved us all wrong by losing to UNLV, who is not having one of their better years. Washington was also undefeated and highly ranked until they lost three in a row, including one against Stony Brook (which sounds like more of an elementary school than a college). Stanford and Utah have actually looked great this year, especially Utah, because of their solid point guard. But neither team has very many big wins. The top 4 teams in the conference, actually haven't been that bad, but for the bottom 8, I cannot exactly say the same. Oregon is probably the fifth best team, but they lost to a struggling Michigan team earlier this year, and their best win is Illinois, a middle to lower end Big 10 team. The thing that shows why this conference is having a down year is that California is in the top half of the conference, yet they just lost to Washington State and Cal State Bakersfield (who started the year 1-10)
Nigel Williams-Goss, Washington, Delon Wright, Utah, Chasson Randle, Stanford, Stanley Johnson, Arizona, TJ McConnell, Arizona, Brandon Ashley, Arizona, Tyrone Wallace, California
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