The Calm Before the Storm

College basketball is back. The beginning of the season provides interesting matchups and early adjustments. Today there are no D1 games on the schedule, but tomorrow the games start rolling in. Teams will be finding out what they have and how they can improve. Here are the games we are looking forward to.

The Potential Red Line Upset

Georgetown @ Old Dominion

KenPom Prediction: 64-63 Georgetown

2010 Interesting Fact: Old Dominion won more NCAA Tournament games (1) than Georgetown (0)

Georgetown kicks off the season with a tough one. Last year, ODU played at a slow pace and grinded out games on defense. The mentality paid off as they defeated Notre Dame 51-50 in the first round of the NCAA Tourney. This is a rematch of the game last year at the Verizon Center. ODU won that one 61-57. Georgetown will not be looking past the Monarchs this season.

The Team with Upside

Seton Hall @ Temple

Kenpom Prediction: 71-65 Temple

2010 Interesting Fact: Seton Hall (32nd in the nation) averaged nearly 10 more possession per game than Temple (336th in the nation).

Seton Hall is a big unknown coming into the season. They have the players to be competitive in the Big East, but don't have program stability just yet. This game is another rematch from last season. In that game, Seton Hall blew an early second half lead as Temple won 71-65. Seton Hall does not have a very challenging non-conference schedule, so this will be one of the best times to get a look at them. However, Lavoy Allen and company are certainly favored at home.

The Player Worth the Price of Admission

Wofford @ Minnesota

KenPom Prediction: 70-61 Minnesota

2010 Interesting Fact: Noah Dahlman was in the top 300 in shooting (eFG), offensive rebounding (OR%), taking care of the ball (TO%), and getting to the line (FTRate). Basically, he's really good.

Wofford will have a chance to start their season with an upset at Williams Arena. Last year Wofford ended the season in the Tourney with a close loss to Wisconsin prior to winning 13 straight SoCon games in a row. Dahlman is excellent and Minnesota is an interesting team themselves. Give the SoCon some love and tune in to watch one of the best players most have never heard of.

Big East: 2010-11 Preview

A team to review from last year:
Marquette

Once upon a time there was a team who graduated Jerel McNeal, Wesley Matthews, and Dominic James. They weren't supposed to be good. They ended up being good. The end. This story has been on replay since Buzz Williams's team emerged as a contender in the Big East last season. Marquette had a great offense and a pretty good defense. They made shots and didn't turn the ball over. They played in many close games. 17 games were decided by five points or less. The Eagles went 8-9 in those games. Ultimately, they lost an 80-78 battle to Washington in the first round of the Dance.

Once upon a time there was a team who graduated Lazar Hayward, Maurice Acker, and David Cubillan. They weren't supposed to be good (ranked 10th in Big East here). Sounds familiar, right? It will be tough to duplicate last year for Marquette, but I'm not picking against them.


A flaw to consider...
Villanova's fouling

This is not breaking news. Even your little sister knows Villanova fouled way too much last year. Scottie Reynolds was the best on the team at not fouling last year. Without Scottie, the problem is certainly not going to get any better without working on it. Mouph Yarou, Maurice Sutton, and Isaiah Armwood are three young big men who could be called upon to produce more this season. All three, however, showed they too like to foul when in the game. Villanova will know doubt be good, but will continue to beat (foul?) a dead horse.


A team that will get more attention than their body of work merits...
UConn

The Huskies got a lot of attention last year for an 18-16 team. ESPN seemed to have them perpetually right on the bubble because of their reputation. Regardless, UConn played solid defense last season. They will likely be worse on defense this season. Calhoun did not use his bench very often and now he has a lot of inexperienced (yet talented) players. With Dyson, Robinson, and Edwards all lost to graduation, it seems like a rebuilding year is probable. Ater Majok, however, will not be part of the process.


A team that will get less attention then their body of work merits...
Seton Hall

The Pirates could score with ease last year. There really is no reason to think that will change this year. Hazell, Theodore, and Robinson are all back with ORtg's well over 100. Seton Hall will be one of the top teams in the Big East when it comes to putting the ball through the hoop. An improved defense would carry the Pirates into the NCAA Tourney. Whether they can improve or not is the million dollar question. Mississippi transfer, Eniel Polynice, should help the defense to some extent. Seton Hall is certainly a team with a high degree of variance, but could turn themselves into Big East contenders in a perfect world.


PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Tim Abromaitis, Notre Dame

Picking out the top five players, let alone the top player, in a league this good and deep is brutal. Still, someone has to win. In the case Abromaitis's 2009-10 season was too good to ignore. He was one of the best shooters in the nation and didn't turn the ball over. No one can reasonably expect another 127.8 ORtg as the complete go-to guy this season, but he should once again be one of the most efficient scorers in the country. Cases could be made for about ten other guys to win this "award". Tim, make us proud.

Best of the Rest:

1) Corey Fisher, Villanova
2) Jimmy Butler, Marquette
3) Austin Freeman, Georgetown
4) Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall
5) D.J. Kennedy, St. Johns
6) Kevin Jones, West Virginia
7) Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh
8) Scoop Jardine, Syracuse


BREAKOUT PLAYER: Maalik Wayns, Villanova

Wayns showed a lot of promise in his freshman season for the Wildcats. The 6'1" rookie shot 49% from two, 32% from three, and 81% from the foul line. Turnovers bothered Wayns some. He turned the ball over just over 1/5 of possessions. Wayns was a big part of the Nova offense when he was in the game. He had a %Poss of 23.3 and an ORtg of 102.8. A big chunk of Scottie Reynolds' minutes will presumably go to Wayns. He showed last season that he can compete in the Big East. Most importantly, he has plenty of room for improvement. Wayns is an excellent breakout candidate entering his sophomore season.

Best of the Rest:

1. Casey Mitchell, West Virginia (18.5 %Min, 102.8 ORtg, 24.3 %Poss)
2. Dominic Cheek, Villanova (33.5 %Min, 109.9 ORtg, 18.2 %Poss)
3. Mookie Jones, Syracuse (12.8 %Min, 118.2 ORtg, 22.4 %Poss)
4. Dalton Pepper, West Virginia (14.8 %Min, 112.5 ORtg, 20.3 %Poss)
5. Augustus Gilchrist, South Florida (38.1 %Min, 104.8 ORtg, 25.3 %Poss)**

**Gilchrist missed significant time last season due to injury.

Tiered rankings sure to be wrong: