CBB Preseason Top 25

CBB Preseason Top 25 Oct 18, 2021 21:05:57 GMT Rey Kahuka likes this

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Post by TheGoodMan19 on Oct 18, 2021 21:05:57 GMT

Oct 18, 2021 19:59:47 GMT Rey Kahuka said:

I think you're being a little hard on Gonzaga. They beat good teams during the year and in the tournament. The pressure of going undefeated probably got to them more than the level of competition.

Curious to see how the Duke program responds to that putrid season last year. The last time they missed the tourney was 1994-95, arguably my favorite Duke season ever. Coach K missed most of the season with back surgery (and let's be honest, the team was short on talent to begin with) and they finished the season 13-18. They played 13 ranked teams, lost two double OT games and lost a couple of games at the buzzer. They weren't very good, but they battled their asses off.

Anyway it'll be interesting to see how Coach K bounces back from that. How does he handle it if they have some early bumps in the road?

I'm going to watch as few Baylor games as possible until they change their color scheme from that hideous highlighter motif.

Duke is going to be real fascinating. Missed the NCAA but they were looking good in the ACC tourney before COVID derailed them. 7 foot Mark Williams came on really good down the stretch. This isn't going to be the parade of one and dones that were Duke basketball. Williams, Wendell Moore, Joey Baker, three key upper classmen. The normal ridiculous recruiting class, three 5 star including probable #1 overall draft pick Paulo Banchero. But how will Duke respond to the pressure of the Krzyzewski Retirement Tour? It fires up some teams. John Wooden's last UCLA team wasn't his best but they weren't going to send the legend off on a losing note. Bear Bryant's last Alabama team was a pedestrian 8-4.

EDIT and Duke will be really fascinating next year. Jon Scheyer already has maybe the top recruiting class for his first year. But you never follow the legend. Gene Bartow was 51-10 in his two seasons following Wooden, a Final Four and an Elite 8. and he didn't have a Goodrich, an Alcindor, A Walton. But no title. Bill Guthridge had two final fours following Dean Smith but everyone knew he was a caretaker. Smith's real replacement, Matt Doherty, was a disaster. Joe B. Hall won a title at Kentucky but could never get out of Adolph Rupp's shadow. If Scheyer doesn't get a title in two or three years, his seat will get real warm