The college basketball season is just getting started. Teams are evolving and will face a long journey, but results still count and will go into the process of seeding and selecting teams for the NCAA Tournament. What information and what revelations are worth taking note of?
Duke Looks Like The Real Deal
There are few teams more loaded with high-end talent than Duke. Marvin Bagley looks like a top-five pick in next June’s NBA Draft. Grayson Allen is back after a distraction-filled junior season, giving him a fresh start and a chance to become the player many expected him to be a year ago. Guard Trevon Duval, in Duke’s first two games, handed out 20 assists and committed just one turnover. Even though Duke was playing markedly inferior competition, that’s a special stat line for someone playing his first collegiate games and getting used to a very new situation under the watchful eye of Mike Krzyzewski. Duke displayed a level of sharpness which suggests that it can carry that form into the rest of its season, in which case everyone else in the Atlantic Coast Conference will be playing for second place.
Four SEC Teams Stood About Above The Rest
The SEC is a solid and deep conference, and in the first weekend of the season, four teams made initial statements. Kentucky moved through two wins with a rugged defense which did not exist at such a high level 12 months ago. The 2016-2017 version of Kentucky was a long-term project on defense and didn’t find a comfort zone at that end of the floor until late February or early March. This team already knows how to defend.
Florida looked very crisp in its opening victory, with transfer Egor Koulechov from Rice looking even better than advertised. Florida has new pieces which can form the nucleus of a team every bit as strong as the one which made the Elite Eight last season.
Missouri beat Iowa State despite a quiet game from superstar recruit Michael Porter, Jr. The balance and versatility of the non-Porter Tigers is exactly what head coach Cuonzo Martin needs to see from his team in the first month of the season.
Texas A&M made the most impressive statement of the opening weekend, beating West Virginia in a blowout despite missing its best player, forward Robert Williams, and point guard J.J. Caldwell. A&M probably scored the most significant win of the entire first weekend.
Indiana Will Be In For A Very Rough Season
The Hoosiers got rocked, 90-69, in their first game by Indiana State. Indiana lost three highly talented stars plus some pieces from is supporting cast. That’s a ton of losses to sustain in one offseason cycle. The Hoosiers had to rebuild from scratch under previous head coach Tom Crean several years ago, and they will do that this year under new coach Archie Miller.
The FBI Probe Is Impossible To Minimize Or Downplay
This probe, which rocked the college basketball world in the offseason, is not over. More schools and more assistant coaches might get ensnared, which could cause NCAA Tournament ineligibility but also distract teams and coaching staffs in the course of the season. You’d have to think that this is weighing heavy over some coaches and assistants as we speak. This is the great variable which no one can easily answer. Yet it looms over all the activity on the court – it could change everything in a flash, but no one can pinpoint when or how certain events will alter the flow of the season.
Arizona And USC Appear Formidable
The Wildcats are very long and tall and powerful in the paint – it will be extremely hard to score on them as the season progresses. They looked like a tough team to solve in their opening games. USC blew out its first opponent and showed the balance and depth that will give head coach Andy Enfield a lot of options in the next few months.
The 2018 March Madness futures are out. There has been plenty of news to keep up with in the offseason but keep an eye on the betting lines as they move around at Diamond Sportsbook! Get the latest college basketball betting lines right here.
