Top 144 countdown by collegesportsmadness.com, 2020-21 edition
 

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com...p-144-previews



https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18576:

CSM Staff
Mon, 06/22/2020

Even in normal times, ranking the top 144 college basketball teams in the nation is no easy task. This season has even more difficulties with the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline pushed back and many collegiate teams taking more time than usual to finalize their rosters. Regardless, we have tried our best to get the most accurate and current information for each team at the time of posting. Things will change quite a bit for many teams, but within each preview we try to highlight any potential significant departures. In any event, enjoy each of the previews as we count down one per team per leading up to the #1 team revealed on the opening day of the 2020-2021 college basketball season.



Miami of Ohio #144, #4 in the MAC

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18573

I can’t recall. Did Dayton even make this list last year? If so, what was the pick?

#51

Last year’s list

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18572

51 seems more realistic for this year.

(They were only off by about 94% last year.)

if Chase can come back, I'll say we will be
top 20 at the end of the season... without him,
top 35 - 40...IMO

Go Flyers

Surprised to see Miami on there. That's a basketball program and really athletics in general that's really eroded

RI #138, #9 in A10

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18582

Dane Goodwin mentioned, he sounds like a great player.

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18598:

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

2020-2021 Overall Rank: #126
Conference Rank: #13 ACC

Dane Goodwin is also poised for a breakout campaign after a strong year off the bench as a sophomore. Goodwin was instant offense as a reserve, averaging 10.8 points while shooting 37.7% from three on 4.3 attempts per game. Hubb and Goodwin could potentially be one of the higher scoring duos in the ACC.

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18615

VCU #116, #8 A10

After beginning the 2019-20 season ranked in the AP Top 25, VCU underperformed and finished just 18-13 with a conference record below .500. The Rams were 12-3 to start the season and were 17-6 in early February, but lost seven of their final eight contests. VCU and Mike Rhoades must now enter a transition year with all five starters gone. Sophomore Nah’Shon Hyland could be a star in the making, but with a roster that has just one senior, Rhoades will have his hands full in 2020-21.

Ultimately, VCU and Mike Rhoades are likely looking at a season spent rebuilding the team. There is just one senior on the roster, so youth will be an obstacle this season but should pay off in the coming years. The Rams do have a couple transfers sitting out this year and should still have Hyland on the team for three more years. Even though this season could be bumpy, VCU should be back to national relevance soon enough.

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18622:

Mississippi State #113, #12 SEC

...the NBA Draft decision of Robert Woodard hasn’t been made and is critical in their projection for 2020-21. Without Woodard, the Bulldogs will likely be a bottom half SEC team, but with him they could potentially compete for an NCAA Tournament berth.

Anyone care to make a guess at where UD might end up in this countdown. I'll admit I tried one year and failed miserably.

Flyers Will Be
 

4th in the A-10 and 81st in the Madness Poll.

3rd in A10 behind Richmond and St. Louis. 43rd nationally.

Wright State #108, #1 HL...Love projected to break the program's career rebounding record by a wide margin

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18633

#46, behind 1) Richmond and 2) SLU. I assume this list was put together prior to Chase announcing his return. We are a ranked team all season with Jalen back + Chase.

Not so sure about being ranked early. Going to need to rack up W's quickly. I don't disagree that Chase will help, I just dont think he's on any voters radar since he missed so much time.

I went back to compare the 2019-20 top 144 to the final ESPN 25 (and others receiving votes). It appears that the prognosticators added up the number of 5...4...and 3 star players and counted that number then sorted the teams by total.

Their summaries are fine but picking top teams are only accurate when the number of High School studs equals their college performance.

Regardless, I do enjoy reading their analysis...

I’m guessing #52, behind Richmond and SLU. That’s based on my confidence in the prognosticators, not my confidence in the team. I think we deserve to be 15-20 spots higher than that, near the Top 35. The guys will just need to prove it on the court.

Also, I noticed the new school for one of our transfer targets (Minnesota/Brandon Johnson) just clocked-in at 104, with a projected postseason destiny of the CBI/CIT. I hope he enjoys those bright lights of the P5.
Posted via Mobile Device

Brian Gregory and USF #102/#6 AAC

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18648:


After winning the CBI championship in 2019, South Florida finished just 14-17 last season. That was a young team though and an injury to Alexis Yetna certainly did not help matters. Two years ago Yetna averaged 12.3 points and 9.6 rebounds on his way to earning American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year accolades. With a healthy Yetna back in action, the Bulls suddenly have the dominant force in the paint they need to move up the conference standings.

2019-20 Record: 14-17, 7-11
Coach: Brian Gregory
Coach Record: 48-53 at South Florida, 296-233 overall


By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 62.7 (336th in nation, 12th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 62.7 (20, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 40.6 (320, 11)
Field-Goal Defense: 44.3 (252, 11)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.3 (265, 10)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 30.9 (297, 11)
Free-Throw Percentage: 65.0 (324, 12)
Rebound Margin: 2.6 (106, 7)
Assists Per Game: 10.2 (338, 12)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.7 (306, 11)

I sincerely wish BG and his USF squad well, but I wish he would reconsider his “3 yards and a cloud of hardwood” offensive strategy, for his own sake. It’s hard to excel when half of your game (the offensive half) ranks in the bottom 10% of the country.

I know, I know. “We just have to get better at what we do.” God bless you, BG.
Posted via Mobile Device

A cartoonish strategy is fine when you're at Loyola Marymount and need to garner attention and grab a lucky win here and there. If you want to be a good team you have to do more than 1 thing well. He's better than that, and he could do better at USF if he wasn't so stubborn.

Belmont #101...hc Casey Alexander is working out well for them...he was an assistant at Belmont for 16 years...he leaves to take the Stetson hc job, he was only there for 2 years, did ok there I guess...then he leaves to take the Lipscomb job in Nashville, does fairly well there, then takes the Belmont job also in Nashville...Belmont seemingly does not miss a beat with longtime hc Rick Byrd retiring in 2019

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18650

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case...oaching_record

I drove around Nashville a couple years ago, the Belmont and Vanderbilt campuses are literally right next door/adjoining to each other.

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18652:

Davidson #100/#7

Last season did not go well by Davidson’s standards. They won just 16 games. They have not had a lower win total than that since 2000-2001. They made the NCAA Tournament the following season and started to become the Wildcats program that dominated the Southern Conference for over a decade. Since the move to the Atlantic 10, Coach Bob McKillop’s squad has faced tougher competition and wins have been a little tougher to come by, but the team still has made the NCAA Tournament in four of the five years in the conference when a postseason has been held.

Lipscomb is only a stone’s throw away as well

Nevada #96/#4 MW

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18660:

Nevada did better than most expected during Coach Steve Alford’s debut season leading the program. The Wolf Pack finished tied for second in the Mountain West Conference and picked up some decent wins along the way. Four starters are gone, but that has given Coach Alford the chance to build his team nearly from scratch. That will make this a very young and inexperienced team, but a team that has potential to surprise a few people along the way.

Duquesne #80/#6

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18698:

It has been over a decade since Duquesne has been to the NIT. It has been much longer since they reached the NCAA Tournament. The Dukes have seen steady improvement under Coach Keith Dambrot though and ended last year’s shortened season with 21 wins. All of that has been building up to the 2020-2021 season though. The Dukes return all five starters and seven of their top eight scorers. Duquesne played a pretty easy schedule last season and struggled at times in the Atlantic 10, but this more experienced group should at least be able to get Duquesne back to the NIT and be competitive in the A-10.

Interesting.......The Dukes ahead of Pitt (81), Washington (82), Wichita State (84), Penn State (87), Cal (88) and Va. Tech (90).

Hopefully I am wrong in projecting UD as a 0 along with everyone else. Vaccine or no season.

UMass #72/5...NIT projection

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18715:

Massachusetts finished just 14-17 overall last season, but that was still the best record they have had under Coach Matt McCall’s three years leading the program. Last year the Minutemen struggled through the tough part of their non-conference slate and from there it took some time for the team to find their way in A-10 play. However, by the end of the 2019-2020 campaign, Umass was playing pretty good basketball. The hope is that Umass can keep that momentum going and compete for an NCAA Tournament berth in 2020-2021.

Tre Mitchell wasted no time making a big impact in the Atlantic 10. As a freshman the 6-9 center led the team with 17.7 points and 7.2 rebounds. He also added 1.9 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks. Mitchell is efficient and effective in the paint, but he is not opposed to stepping outside and taking some three-pointers either. In fact, last season he was second on the team with 37 made three-pointers. If he can be a little more consistent with his shot, Mitchell will be nearly impossible to defend.

The future is looking bright in Amherst with another solid recruiting class coming in, but for now the Minutemen appear to be another year or two away from making just their second trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1998.

Mitchell will give Crutcher a real battle for POY in the A10. I would imagine he will enter the draft after this year.

Totally agree and was actually surprised he didn't enter the draft this year. The one leg up Crutcher might have is that he cares more about team and therefore UD should have a better record than UMass. Mitchell is all about Mitchell all the time, which could cost them some wins.

Noticed St. Mary’s is at #70. Possibly a down year for the Gaels?
Posted via Mobile Device

We check in at #65/4...I thought we'd be somewhere in the 30's at #3 in the A10 behind Richmond and SLU, so I am surprised.

Who is #3? SBU? UMass, Duquesne, Davidson, VCU, and RI have already been covered.

NIT projection

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18723:

Dayton was one of the best stories of the 2019-20 college basketball season as head coach Anthony Grant led the Flyers to 29 wins, including an 18-0 run through the Atlantic 10 conference during the regular season. Dayton was on track for a potential number one seed and, with Obi Toppin leading the way, the sky was going to be the limit for the Flyers. However, the NCAA Tournament was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Dayton was robbed of their opportunity to make a deep run to the Elite Eight or Final Four.

Yes, the Bonnies are surely the other team in this group's top three. They were the 5-seed in the A-10 last year, and they return their top six guys plus a decent transfer.

I don't mind people rating UD a little lower. Having a chip on your shoulder never hurts.

The University of Dayton is getting no respect in this countdown. This article is full of typos. The have Obi as “One”, Brea as “Bren” and Zimi as “Zuni”. I think this writer was so stressed about putting Dayton so low in the rankings that it forced errors in typing.

With two senior leading guards plus Ibi and 3 capable bigs; this team will do very well this year.

Ok, our bigs need to prove themselves. I will grant that concern to the talking heads.
Posted via Mobile Device

projected us #51 and NIT last year ... Not the most authoritative source out there.
https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/17798

Lest we forget -- nat'l COY coming back, all-american candidate Crutcher, 4-star recruits Chase & Cohill. That's why they play the game. I too like being underdogs. No one wants to play us.

Flat out, no respect!

I think if Chase Johnson is recovered,
he can make a huge difference for the Flyers...

this team could be QUITE strong this year...

Go Flyers!

The good thing is that now that we are #65 we don't need to even watch this year. Sure will save me a lot of time, though.

#65?! Give me a flipping break! That ranking, at worst, should have begun with the #4, not the #6.

Admittedly, our frontcourt has something to prove (Chase, that he’s healthy; Jordy, that he can stay out of foul trouble; Moulaye and “Zuni”, that they can succeed at the D-I level). But I’ll put our top 4 guys at the 1-3 spots (Clutch, Rodney, Ibi, and Dwayne) against any such group in the country, and I like our trio of freshmen on the perimeter as well (Blakney, Frazier, & “Bren”).

Let’s hope their prediction for this year winds-up as far off as last year’s prediction was. #17 in the country would be pretty sweet, given the losses of Ryan, Trey, and “One”.
Posted via Mobile Device

If given the chance, we will prove them wrong.
 

This ranking is not something to get worked up over. We should be concerned what the limp NCAA is cooking up that will allow us to show our talent this season. My biggest fear is that this team (and many others) will get short-changed in some convoluted bubble pack, with the net result being some crazy tournament.

...that only features teams from P5 conferences.

Finished it for you.
Posted via Mobile Device

Truly hilarious. I wonder if this was written prior to the news of Jalen/Chase returning became official. That can be the only possible excuse for this.

Best back court in the nation, potential starting lineup of ALL seniors (Jalen, Chat, Ibi, Chase, Jordy), COY, etc. I know there are questions and concerns about the front court, but these should be largely alleviated by Chase coming back. Between Chase, Jordy, Moulaye and Zimi we should be fine, especially when you consider that we will at times run 4 guards.

This ranking highlights a misconception that I think even the most intelligent and well versed college hoops "experts" suffer from: Obi was our team last year. This couldn't be further from the truth. Obi was a role player in a system. A system that he happened to fit perfectly in. Honestly we could suffer more from Trey's departure than Obi's. His defense, rebounding, toughness and leadership could be sorely missed.

Last year's team was one of the best 2-pt offenses in the history of college basketball. Do I think this year's team will top that? No, but do I think there are 64 better teams than Dayton? HELL NO!

My bad, Chase is not a senior. So 4/5 seniors in SL.

Fully agree about both Trey and Obi. Obviously there are quite a few games we lose without Obi, and obviously we're not the #2 team in the country without him. He was the difference maker who could rack up buckets and lead huge runs. And he virtually always played within himself, it's not like the offense was "give it to Obi and clear out." Not by a LONG shot.


But I really worry about the loss of Mikesell and Trey. 2 guys who just knew how to play the game of basketball.

Your prediction just came true. The Bonnies are in at #60 (#3 in A10), projected to be in the NIT.

I would really love it if we put 4 in The Dance this year (Flyers, Spiders, Billikens, and Bonnies). But who knows? With the way this season might go, everyone might get a shot at a ring?
Posted via Mobile Device

SBU with 5 returning players averaging 8.7 ppg or more, hard to believe they are only #60.

Well written!

Wish they were a worse ranking...I love making money in early season betting!!!!!

I have no idea how a rotation of

Crutcher/Chatman/Watson/Johnson/Cohill/Tshimanga/ plus uncertain contributions from Sissoko/Nwokeji plus the three other freshmen

will compare to a rotation of

Crutcher/Chatman/Landers/Mikesell/Toppin/Watson/Tshimanga/Cohill plus limited contributions from Johnson and Matos

but I doubt it'll be so much worse as to drop from #3 to #65.

Can you say, “P5 Bias”?
Posted via Mobile Device

Unfortunately this exists in the general public as well. A friend from home whom I consider to be pretty knowledgeable on the sport is always making little jabs about Flyer competition. Strangely enough he always brings up Richmond which is odd considering they were very solid last year and pretty much everyone has them as a Top 25 team this year. Pro tip: if you want to make fun of the A10 do the tiniest bit of research on who the cellar dwellers are.

This guy has lost his mind
 

BYU checks in at #48. They are losing over 60 points a game. They have 10 new players for the coming season.

There are a few rankings like this one that just don't pass the litmus test. He's smoking some kind of rope.

6 transfers and juco's coming in/becoming eligible, that might be the reasoning. That is a lot of potential firepower.

USC Trojans check in at 45 with the expected number 1 NBA draft pick of next year in Evan Mobley. I see that USC is picked to be 7th in the PAC 12 conference and yet they are expected to get into the NCAA.

One question, I looked at the members list of the PAC 12. On the internet, member names were listed and then there was a list of affiliate members. I am unsure what are the benefits of, or roles of affiliate member schools? As far as I know, the A10 has no affiliate members. I am guessing that affiliate members are schools that are on a list who want to join the league; if any member ops out of the conference.
Posted via Mobile Device

Incorrect. In my experience, affiliate members are allowed to join in sports their primary conference may not sponsor. For instance, UD women's golf is an affiliate member of the MAAC, and belongs for no other sports.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-12...iliate_members

URI has about the same situation as BYU, and this writer put URI at #138. His universe is full of holes when it comes to positioning. However his analysis is interesting to read.

In A10 Field Hockey, there are 2 affiliates. Lock Haven and Saint Francis.

Fair enough...BYU is coming off the 2020 season when they were a projected 5 seed, URI was Kenpom #65...sometimes teams that have had recent success get more favorable press...granted that BYU lost 51 ppg...also, the URI writeup was done prior to their transfers getting waivers being announced

Just for fun, and to fight off boredom
 

I thought it would be an interesting read from one year ago to see how our Flyers were projected to finish. I would like to see his analysis of UD on March 10, 2020. It would be a great read.

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/17798

Richmond #30/#2...NCAAT projection...5 senior starters

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18768:

Last season in the A-10 was all about Dayton. This year could belong to Richmond. The Spiders are coming off a 24-7 season and return their top seven scorers. That is all seven players who averaged over a dozen minutes per game. Last season Coach Chris Mooney took a team that was supposed to finish towards the middle of the pack in the conference and made them the clear second team in the A-10. With five senior starters, Spider fans are not just looking for their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011, but to replicate that Sweet Sixteen run too.





SLU #29/#1...NCAAT projection

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18772:


Two years ago Saint Louis reached the NCAA Tournament. Last year they again won 23 games before the season was cut short. And nearly everybody from that deep squad is back. Coach Travis Ford’s team finally started shooting the ball better and continued to play their typical tough defense. The Atlantic 10 is going to be absolutely brutal this year, but this Billikens team has the depth and talent to find themselves on top of the standings when all is said and done.

It defies logic to pick SLU over Richmond for first place, but then this entire projection is full of guesses, and biases. It's only one spot, but if I am Richmond I am ticked, and aghast that I am not in the top 25.

SLU returns a lot, but their free throw shooting will cost them some games, and I'm not at all sold on Travis Ford. Same with Chris Mooney. Until proven otherwise, our COY CAG will be the class of the A10. What did Charlie Weis say, schematic advantage? Ha ha!

So I guess no one in Richmond is calling for Mooneys head any longer?

Agreed. Richmond should be the preseason favorite to take away our crown as A10 Champs. 24-7 last year, AND the top 7 scorers all returning? To borrow from ESPN, come on, man!
Posted via Mobile Device

Rutgers comes in at 23 on this countdown. I see that Ron Harper Jr. is on this team. Yes, that is the son of Ron Harper who played at Miami of Ohio that Dayton once recruited. The father had a 15 year career in the NBA while winning five NBA titles with the Bulls and Lakers.

Louisville comes in at 22 on this countdown. I see that Aidan Igiehon (6'10" 245) is on the roster. He was a former Dayton targeted recruit. As a freshman in 13 games with an average of 4.7 minutes per game he only averaged 1 point. If he had gone to Dayton, would he have gotten more playing time? I think that with Landers, Mikesell and Toppin, he would not have been giving that much more playing time. But, this year, Louisville had a big turnover of players; so the door is wide open for him getting more playing. Of course, as it worked out, if he had gone to Dayton, it would have been open on the front court, as well. Its another coulda' or shoulda'. I was very hopeful about Igiehon and then disappointed that Dayton didn't land him. It seemed like his recruiting just exploded at some point.

LSU #18...not a single word about Coach Wade getting tripped up in the FBI investigation, it's like it never even happened, no effective oversight of college basketball by the NCAA, Congress needs to step in

Florida States come in at #14. I see that the roster includes two guys who are 7’1”.
Posted via Mobile Device

The government does not need to get involved with college basketball. I’m not a big NCAA fan, but we don’t need government sticking their nose into college basketball. They are not the answer to everything in our lives, far from it!

Who do you believe should be involved? IRS?

Some of the most feared words in the country, "I'm from the government and I'm hear to help"

Hopefully, this isn’t a legitimate question, but the IRS is a department of the government.

Oh ok, so LSU, Arizona, etc. just get to continue to cheat their rears off, and we have to continue getting jobbed. Great plan you have there. The NCAA is not going to do anything to them other than slap them on the wrist.

Illinois #11, been a while since they were ranked this high.

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18829

Will someone please tell these countdown people that the link for Northwestern is for the women’s team not the men’s team, please!

Am I the only one that noticed this?
Posted via Mobile Device

Northwestern plays basketball?

The very first NCAA men’s championship was held at Evanston!!

All done, Baylor #1, let the games begin.

https://www.collegesportsmadness.com...p-144-previews