College Hoops Preview 
by Jacob Oberdorf, Staff Writer
December 8, 2010
Now that all the college football conference championships have been played and all the bowl games are set we have a three-week layoff until the bowl games are actually played. All you diehard football fans are probably wondering what you are going to do with your down time. To me there is no better way than to get into college basketball mode.
Most of you may or may not know that we are a month into the college basketball regular season. Therefore, when you watch a game, you may have no idea what to expect from the teams you choose to watch. But worry no more! I am going to give you a preview of the top conferences in the college basketball world.
The first conference is the Big East, always one of the strongest conferences in the country. This year seems to be no different. Currently the Big East has six teams in the AP Top 25. They include #3 Pitt (7-0), #7 UCONN (5-0), #8 Syracuse (6-0), #12 Villanova (5-1), #16 Georgetown (6-0) and #25 Notre Dame (7-0). The favorites in the Big East Conference are the Pitt Panthers with four out of five returning starters from last year, a team which seems to be very deep in the bench.
A surprise team in the Big East so far this year is the UCONN Huskies that went from being unranked to the #7 team in the country after beating two top 10 teams in the first month of the season. The Huskies are led by senior guard Kemba Walker. Even though we are very early into this season, Walker is pleading his case for “Player of the Year” by putting the Huskies on his back. But the season is very long and teams get beat up as time goes on, so don’t count out Syracuse, Villanova, Georgetown or even West Virginia quite yet.
The next conference is the Big 10, which many experts expected to be the strongest conference in the country. The favorites in the Big 10 are the Michigan State Spartans who have made a trip to the Final Four six out of the past eight years under Coach Tom Izzo. The Spartans are a veteran group with three returning starters and five of their top six players upperclassmen. Some other teams to watch in the Big 10 are the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Purdue Boilermakers, and the surprising Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Illinois Fighting Illini.
Next is the SEC which ranks right up there with the Big East and Big 10 as the strongest conferences in the country. But this year it seems to me that there really isn’t a clear cut favorite to with the conference championship. Last year’s champion Kentucky Wildcats have another strong team but are very young. The Wildcats have replaced all of their starters from last season, a situation which may pose a problem down the stretch for the Wildcats considering their lack of experience.
Another competitor in the SEC is the Tennessee Vols. Tennessee has a strong team this year but are haunted from losing Coach Bruce Pearl because of recruiting violations. One more team to watch in the SEC is the Florida Gators.
Wrapping up the East Coast conferences is the ACC which holds the clear favorite for the National Title in Coach K’s Duke Blue Devils. Duke is the defending national champs and is said to have a more talented team this year than they had last season. The team has two of the best seniors in the country in SG Nolan Smith and SF Kyle Singler. Also the Dukies have family ties in their starting lineup with Brothers Mason and Miles Plumlee protecting the paint. And to top it off, they have arguably the best freshman starting at PG in Kyrie Irving. It is quite clear that this year’s ACC champion is going to have to come through Cameron Indoor Stadium. The only real “threat” to Duke this year seems to be the North Carolina Tar Heels. After not making the NCAA tournament last year, the Tar Heels are looking to rebound with an experienced group of players.
Moving across the country, the Big 12 Conference seems to have many national title contenders within its boundaries. The favorites in this conference are the Kansas Jayhawks. The Jayhawks have a veteran group of players and quietly moved up into the top five in the most recent college basketball polls. The Jayhawks also have the longest home win streak in the country on their side. Along with the Jayhawks are the Kansas State Wildcats and Baylor Bears. Kansas State has more of a younger team but is led by the best point guard in the country in senior Jacob Pullen. The Wildcats seem to always put up a strong fight when they play their in-state rival Jayhawks.
Rounding out my preview is the Pac 10 with its team-to-beat the Washington Huskies. The Huskies have four out of their five starters from last year returning so experience is on their side. The Huskies also like to play a more up-tempo game and tend to wear down teams that aren’t accustomed to that type of play. The top player on the Huskies roster is PG Isaiah Thomas, who averaged 17 points per game along with 3.2 assists per game to lead the team.
This year in college basketball seems to be very exciting. So tune in to all the games and see if my preview is accurate come March.
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