Kent St

After wins over Belmont and Presbyterian moved Mike Krzyzewski into a tie with Bob Knight for the most wins in college basketball history, many at Madison Square Garden were hoping that the Duke head coach would become the record-holder with a win over Michigan State on Tuesday night. But while some went as far as to almost assume the game to be a coronation of sorts, Tom Izzo's Spartans refused to back down.

After going over the teams expected to win their regular season titles, we move on to talking about the top freshmen in each conference. Will all automatically take over and become the stars of their respective teams and leagues? It's tough to say at this point in the season, but that doesn't mean that we can't discuss it. Below are the picks for final 16 conferences, and Part One can be found here.

MAC: Kris Brewer (Kent State)

With the college basketball season finally on the horizon, the game that's been overlooked by many in conference realignment will once again have the center stage. Perennial contenders will once again make a run at a national title while some new faces will pop up as well. The first four-part preview will focus on the conferences, and more specifically who will win each of the 32 leagues.

While many tend to ignore the "other" postseason tournaments in March due to the overwhelming popularity of the NCAA Tournament, there's an awful lot to be gained from said events especially if a team has a lot due back the following season. So similar to those bowl games outside of the BCS in college football, teams gain valuable practice and game experience. Below are ten teams (in alphabetical order) who fit the mold, including one that didn't play in the postseason at all, and could make some noise in 2011-12.

(1) Alabama (25-12, 12-4 SEC)

Score two wins for the Colonial Athletic Association, with VCU winning at Wichita State and Drexel defending their home floor with a win over Kent State in Friday's Sears BracketBusters contests. VCU needed a pair of Joey Rodriguez free throws with eight tenths of a second remaining to win a game they nearly handed over after leading by nine at the half. Rodriguez racked up 11 assists to go along with 15 points. Bradford Burgess scored 17 to lead the Rams, and Joe Ragland scored 15 to lead the Shockers.

Overall Rank: #105

Being the best player on a Top 15 team is a recipe for earning CollegeHoops.net's Mid-Major Player of the Year honors. Gordon Hayward averaged 15.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg, and 1.8 apg in leading Butler to a 28-4 record. He's joined on the Mid-Major First Team by CAA Player of the Year Charles Jenkins, Cornell leader Ryan Wittman, and big men Keith Benson of Oakland and Art Parakouski of Radford.

 

 

Kent State Golden Flashes

Mid-American Conference (23-9, 13-3)

 

Brendan Bowers will be in Cleveland all week covering the MAC Tournament for CollegeHoops.net.

Upset of the Day:  Ohio Bobcats beat Kent State 81 – 64

 

Brendan Bowers will be in Cleveland all week covering the MAC Tournament for CollegeHoops.net.