IHS Daily Basketball Preview- Conference Predictions

[IronHorseSooner]

Before I get into the team-by-team analysis, I want to list what I believe will be the finish in the race. This might not be the way that most experts see it, but based off of what teams have coming back, key recruits, and coaching, this is what I see (in reverse order):

12. Baylor (non-conference cancellation will be devastating, even though they should be better, talent-wise)
11. KSTATE (lost too much talent, basically a one-man team- Cartier Martin)
10. Missouri (inconsistent, may beat a few good teams, loss of Kleiza and Conley is too much)
9. Nebraska (A dangerous team, just ask OSU, who returns best two players- McCray (sp?), Milicic (sp?))
8. A&M (Talented bigman-Jones, and plays with intensity, could challenge for an NCAA slot, loss of Wright will hurt, though)
7. Colorado (Really high on this team, but not enough to challenge top 6, Ashby is a good bigman, Roby is a star in the making)
6. OSU (Curry is outstanding, great recruits, but too young to challenge the elite)
5. Kansas (See OSU, talented, but too young to challenge, next year is their year to gel, how does Rush fit in (and where is his head?))
4. TTech (Jackson and Zeno one of the best guard combos in the game, functional bigmen, Knight almost always has them overachieving)
3. ISU (Stinson is a star, best three-guard combo in the league, needs a bigman to step-up and replace Homan)
2. Texas (Hard choice, but their chemistry and depth (especially at the point) are questions, Is Tucker really the "heart and soul?- we'll have to see)
1. OU (more proven experience, plays with intensity every night, an offensive weapon at every position, hard team match-up with (just ask Chris Paul))

First Team:
Taj Gray, PJ Tucker, Terrell Everett, Daniel Gibson, Curtis Stinson

Second Team:
JamesOn Curry, Richard Roby, Kevin Bookout, Brad Buckman, Aaron Bruce

Just one man in the desert's musings

[King Crimson]

it's a tough year to pick. lots of unknowns. the middle group is a complete tossup IMHO. i think Colorado may finish above one of KU, OSU, Tech...due to scheduling and home-home's with the north teams vs. actually being a better squad. but, you never know with Patton. up here in Colorado, this is a make or break year for him (though it seems every year is--and in the end no one seems to care). he's been recruiting well, according to the papers.

i expect one of the middling teams to have a good year and push OU and UT as the favorites in conference play.

[AustinTXHorn]

CU has the talent...but they're stuck with a f*cking horrible coach.

There are a ton of unknowns. But I think Tech is really the darkhorse in this conference. Knight is starting to get some really good players in there and we all know how he can coach.

I think 8 is way too low for A&M. Gillispie is one of the top 3 or 4 coaches in the conference. He gets the most out of what he has. I think they'll be around 8-8 in the conference like last season.

Quinnie is gone after this year. Finally.

[Salt City Sooner]

"I think 8 is way too low for A&M."

One of very few times you'll see me agreeing w/ a horn. They've got a couple of JUCO's coming in that I've seen that I think will go a long way towards offsetting the loss of Wright once conference play rolls around. It wouldn't surprise me a bit to see them sneak into the top half of the conference.

[soonerspiff]

A&M could get into the top half but at this point I don't know if I'd put them there. I think any of the teams in the middle (4-9) could make some noise in the conference. I agree that it'll probably play out according to which teams have the favorable schedule, and I also think that if anyone underestimates a team this year they'll get bit in the ***. Should be some great conference ball.

[IronHorseSooner]

A&M was a team that I had a hard time placing. I felt confident with putting them at 8, as much as I would've with putting them at #5, the same with Colorado. Both CU and A&M have one thing in common, a PROVEN sophomore, who played well last year in tough conference play (Jones and Roby). Remember, OU has to go to Colorado this year. If KU and OSU's youngsters don't perform as well as advertised (see OU football team as proof of that), CU and A&M could very well finish higher....With all of these question marks this year, it's going to be the team(s) with the least amount of question marks that will do the best- that would be OU, UT, and ISU. These teams are proven (to varying extents), and should finish 1-2-3. The sad thing, if you are a fan of one of those things, is that their record will not be as good as top teams in weaker conferences (like Duke in a down ACC, or MSU in a weak Big 10). However, those teams, like some of the KU teams in the past, will be exposed in the NCAAs, due to lack of constant and quality competition. When Miami is considered a contender for the ACC crown, no offense, that is not good for the ACC. Again, the Big East and Big XII are the top two conferences and look for their teams to do better in the Big Dance because they will have been more tested.