With the NFL and College Football over or almost over, then it is time to turn attention to the next best sport to watch for the next few months – College Basketball. Let’s review why College Hoops are great, and then get into the season.

College Hoops – Why It’s So Fun

Basketball is a great sport. It takes athleticism, teamwork, and passion. The best athletes in the world now play this great game, which has evolved over time. There are players who are 6’7″ and over 220 lbs. who can jump out of the gym, handle the ball with skill and shoot the rock from all over the court. The college game is better than the NBA for the following reasons:

  • The Fans – The biggest difference between the NBA and NCAA hoops is the passionate fans. Rabid college kids who come to every home game, and most of the time paint their faces and go nuts with every play. The NBA has incredible players, but many stadiums don’t sell out.
  • Length of Season – The regular season is only 27 games or so, which means every game has meaning. The season is a great blend of value, meaning each games matter, but since there is a tournament at the end, teams can schedule challenging games all year long instead of avoiding bumps like in College Football. The NBA is too long, while the College Football teams don’t take schedule risk.
  • March Madness – NCAA basketball has a true champion. One team has to win 6 straight games to win the title. True, the best team may not win each year, as in the NBA, but the excitement of each and every game allows the little guy beat the big school. The upset in the NCAA tournament gives us stories like Loyola Chicago and Sister Jean. It was incredible. Some of the best moments in sports, and the biggest upsets in all of sports have come in the NCAA Tournament.

So, whether you love College Hoops like me or not, I would hope I can help you watch the games more and get ready for your office pool come March.

Each week, I will review KenPom – https://kenpom.com/ , which is a great way to look at teams and their comparative performance. Come March, you will want to use KenPom for your brackets. After taking a deep dive into the numbers, then I’ll highlight match ups in the week to watch including smaller conferences aka Mid-Majors. The smaller conferences have teams that will surprise teams in March, and I like to be ahead of that curve. So, let’s start our 2020 campaign.

KenPom Review

Top 10 Teams:

The Aztecs Are The Lone Undefeated Squad Left
  1. Kansas – The nation’s #1 Defense, and still the 11th best Offense, make the Jayhawks top of the chart, but Baylor has beaten them already in the Big 12.
  2. Duke – Duke has returned to playing great on both ends at 4th on Offense and 8th on D. Beyond Florida State and Louisville, they are dominating the ACC.
  3. Baylor – 1st place in the Big 12, and with a lone loss against Washington in their 2nd game behind the 4th best D in the nation have won 15 in a row.
  4. Zags – The WCC top team is the #1 Offense with their only loss to Michigan in the Battle for Atlantis tournament. Hard to see this team losing until March again.
  5. Dayton – The Flyers are a great team in the A10 behind the 2nd best Offense in the nation. Their early season rigorous schedule should serve them well in March.
  6. West Virginia – The Mountaineers have returned to the national scene behind the 4th best D. Coach Huggins has his team playing great both at home and on the road.
  7. Louisville – The Cardinals were a trendy pick for the title, but after a hot start have cooled off in ACC play, but they are still really good.
  8. Michigan State – Sparty is the top team in the Big Ten with Player of the Year candidate PG Cassius Winston and their 7th ranked Offense. They will be right there come March.
  9. San Diego State – The Aztecs are the lone undefeated team in the nation at 19-0, and have a really good shot to enter the NCAA tournament undefeated coming out of the Mountain West. Their 10th ranked Defense and their athleticism should make them a contender.
  10. Seton Hall – The Pirates and not the Nova Wildcats are the top team in the Big East this year, with PG Myles Powell who can score and they defend this year (12th ranked).

Overrated Teams in the Top 25

I take a look at how the AP Poll compares to Ken Pom. There are teams that are in the Top 25, but not in the Top 25 in Ken Pom. Here are this week’s overrated squads: Auburn 26 KP/16 AP, Villanova 27 KP/9 AP, Colorado 30 KP/23 AP, Illinois 36 KP/21 AP and Memphis 39 KP/20 AP – usually these teams eventually fall out of public favor and lose to better rated teams in KP.

Underrated Teams That Should Be in Top 25

These teams are better than their record indicates, and are teams that will rise or need to watch in March: Ohio State 13 KP/30 AP, Purdue 17/40 AP, Michigan 20 KP/28 AP, Wisconsin 22 KP/31 AP and Florida 25 KP/35 – a lot of Big Ten teams here, which tells you how deep that league is this year (the best conference). Florida always struggles in the public eye, but has good metrics.

Key Match Ups

Kentucky Will Need This Kind of Hustle to Beat Tech Saturday
  • 13 Butler at 9 Nova (-4.5, Total 129) – Tuesday, 1/21 at 7 PM Eastern/6 PM Central – Let’s see if Butler can knock off the perennial Big East champ at Nova. Should be a great game. I like the Bulldogs to cover this one. Nova still probably wins though.
  • 24 Rutgers at 19 Iowa – Wednesday, 1/22 at 9 PM Eastern/8 PM Central – The Scarlett Knights crack the Top 25 for the first time in recent memory. Their stellar D will need to have an answer for Luka Garza in the middle and that Iowa offense. Might be a tough one for Rutgers to overcome on the road in Iowa City.
  • 15 Kentucky at 18 Texas Tech – Saturday, 1/25 at 6 PM Eastern/5 PM Central – The Big 12/SEC Showdown is one of those great cross-conference scheduling events in college hoops. Kentucky is a really good team taking on the title runners up from last year in Lubbock. I like Kentucky to go in and win this one, but not without a physical battle.

Mid-Major Game of the Week

Belmont at Murray State – Thursday, 1/23 at 7 PM Eastern/6 PM Central – The Ohio Valley’s finest square off for the first time this year. These two teams have represented the OVC almost every year for some time now inthe Big Dance. Last year, PG Ja Morant took his team to the 2nd round in the Tourney. So, the conference is not devoid of talent. The Racers are undefeated in conference so far, so the Belmont Bruins will need to try to run with the high scoring Racers. I like Murray to win here, but it is always a grudge match between these two teams.

Alright with a week off before the Super Bowl, check out these games and more to enjoy the action.

Wegs

About the author

I'm a 49 year old, twice divorced guy with a 20 year old. The blog has morphed a bit lately. Not just sports or dating, social commentary and now some stories from my past experience.