Villanova

Poll: Who is the Most Overrated Top 25 Team?

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:04:35 -0500

Poll: Best Backcourt in the Country?

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:37:13 -0500

Big East Preview: 2009-10

CHN — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:44:33 -0500

Despite losing a ton of talent in the off-season, the Big East is still one of the country's most exciting and talented leagues.. and it features the country's dominant fantasy star: Luke Harangody. Other players to watch include newcomers like Lance Stephenson and Youphtaou Yarou and vets like Scottie Reynolds and Da'Sean Butler.

Conference Rank: 5th

10 year average: 3rd

Big East Page

All-BIG EAST Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Scottie Reynolds	Villanova	Sr
F	Devin Ebanks	West Virginia	So
F	Greg Monroe	Georgetown	So
F	Da'Sean Butler	West Virginia	Sr
F	Luke Harangody	Notre Dame	Sr
Second Team
G	Deonta Vaughn	Cincinnati	Sr
G	Dominique Jones	South Florida	Jr
G	Jerome Dyson	UCONN	Sr
F	Lazar Hayward	Marquette	Sr
F	Wesley Johnson	Syracuse	Jr

Player of the Year - Luke Harangody Freshman of the Year - Lance Stephenson
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
CHN All-Americans Luke Harangody (1st Team) Scottie Reynolds (2nd) Devin Ebanks (4th) Da'Sean Butler Greg Monroe All-Freshman Team Lance Stephenson (2nd) Mouphtaou Yarou (2nd) Dante Taylor (3rd) Alex Oriakhi Peyton Siva Hollis Thompson		Points: Luke Harangody (ND) 23.3 Rebounds: Luke Harangody (ND) 11.8 Assists: T. Jackson/ E.Harvey 4.9 Team: Syracuse 80.2

Big East Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

2	Villanova	Big East	1	NCAA
7	West Virginia	Big East	2	NCAA
17	Georgetown	Big East	3	NCAA
19	Connecticut	Big East	4	NCAA
27	Louisville	Big East	5	NCAA
40	Pittsburgh	Big East	6	NCAA
45	Seton Hall	Big East	7	NCAA
50	Cincinnati	Big East	8	NIT
60	Notre Dame	Big East	9	NIT
67	Syracuse	Big East	10	NIT
74	St. John's	Big East	11	NIT
81	Marquette	Big East	12	NIT
98	Providence	Big East	13	CBI/CIT
114	Rutgers	Big East	14	CBI/CIT
139	South Florida	Big East	15
201	DePaul	Big East	16

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

Poll: Who Will Win the Big East?

Other Big East Content

Big East Fantasy Stats Preview

Big East: Top 25 Players

Big East: Five-Year Ranking

College Basketball Preview - 348 Team Ranking - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

College Basketball: Preseason All-America Team

CHN — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:50:56 -0500

A pair of Kansas Jayhawks lead the CollegeHoops.net 2009-10 Preseason All-America Teams. Guard Sherron Collins is CHN's Preseason Player of the Year, and is joined on the First Team by big man Cole Aldrich. Luke Harangody, a member of our 2009 All-America Team, is the lone returnee. Three freshmen are on the list in John Wall, Derrick Favors, and Avery Bradley. A handful of players from outside the power conferences are included such as Nevada's Luke Babbitt and Butler's Gordon Hayward. Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Purdue, Texas, and West Virginia have multiple players.

CollegeHoops.net Preseason Player of the Year: Sherron Collins (Kansas)

CollegeHoops.net First Team All-American

Sherron Collins	Kansas	SR	G
Kalin Lucas	Michigan State	JR	G
Evan Turner	Ohio State	JR	G/F
Luke Harangody	Notre Dame	SR	F
Cole Aldrich	Kansas	SR	F

CollegeHoops.net Second Team All-American

John Wall	Kentucky	FR	G
Devan Downey	South Carolina	SR	G
Scottie Reynolds	Villanova	SR	G
Kyle Singler	Duke	JR	F
Patrick Patterson	Kentucky	SO	F

CollegeHoops.net Third Team All-American

Willie Warren	Oklahoma	SO	G
Greivis Vasquez	Maryland	SR	G
Manny Harris	Michigan	JR	G
Tyler Smith	Tennessee	JR	F
Derrick Favors	Georgia Tech	FR	F/C

CollegeHoops.net Fourth Team All-American

Jerome Randle	California	SR	G
James Anderson	Oklahoma State	JR	G
Devin Ebanks	West Virginia	SO	F
Craig Brackins	Iowa State	JR	F
Ed Davis	North Carolina	SO	F

Honorable Mention

Al-Farouq Aminu	Wake Forest	SO	F
Luke Babbitt	Nevada	SO	F
Talor Battle	Penn St	JR	G
Trevor Booker	Clemson	JR	G
Avery Bradley	Texas	FR	G
Da'Sean Butler	West Virginia	SR	F
Denis Clemente	Kansas State	SR	G
Malcolm Delaney	Virginia Tech	JR	G
Jimmer Fredette	BYU	JR	G
Gordon Hayward	Butler	SO	G
Robbie Hummel	Purdue	JR	F
Damion James	Texas	SR	F
JaJuan Johnson	Purdue	JR	C
Jerome Jordan	Tulsa	SR	C
Tasmin Mitchell	LSU	SR	F
Greg Monroe	Georgetown	SO	F
AJ Ogilvy	Vanderbilt	SO	F
Larry Sanders	VCU	JR	F
Jon Scheyer	Duke	SR	G
Isaiah Thomas	Washington	SO	G
Jarvis Varnado	Mississippi St	SR	F
Nic Wise	Arizona	SR	G
Terrico White	Ole Miss	SO	G
Chris Wright	Xavier	JR	F

Other CollegeHoops.net Preseason Awards

- Preseason All-Freshman Team

Preseason All-Freshman Team: 2009-10

CHN — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:12:32 -0500

CollegeHoops.net's Preseason All-Freshman Team is led by Kentucky uber-prospect John Wall. Wall's teammates DeMarcus Cousins & Eric Bledsoe also make the 2nd and 3rd team respectively. The list is dominated by power-conference players, but 3 make it from non-BCS leagues: La Salle's Aaric Murray, San Diego St's Kawhi Leonard, and Greg Smith of Fresno State. Besides Kentucky, other teams with multiple players include Arizona, Duke, Georgia Tech, UNC, Oklahoma, and Texas.

CollegeHoops.net Preseason Co-Freshman of the Year: John Wall (Kentucky)

CollegeHoops.net First Team All-Freshman

John Wall	Kentucky	G
Avery Bradley	Texas	G
Kenny Boynton	Florida	G
Xavier Henry	Kansas	G
Derrick Favors	Georgia Tech	F/C

CollegeHoops.net Second Team All-Freshman

Abdul Gaddy	Washington	G
Lance Stephenson	Cincinnati	G
Keith Gallon	Oklahoma	F
DeMarcus Cousins	Kentucky	C
Mouphtaou Yarou	Villanova	F/C

CollegeHoops.net Third Team All-Freshman

Eric Bledsoe	Kentucky	G
Maurice Creek	Indiana	G
Tommy Mason-Griffin	Oklahoma	G
Jordan Hamilton	Texas	F
Dante Taylor	Pittsburgh	F

CollegeHoops.net Honorable Mention All-Freshman

John Henson	UNC	F
Tyler Honeycutt	UCLA	F
John Jenkins	Vanderbilt	G
Wally Judge	Kansas State	F
Ryan Kelly	Duke	F
Kawhi Leonard	San Diego St	F
Aaric Murray	La Salle	F
Kyryl Natyazhko	Arizona	F
Alex Oriakhi	UCONN	C
Mason Plumlee	Duke	F/C
Durand Scott	Miami	G
Greg Smith	Fresno State	F
Peyton Siva	Louisville	G
Michael Snaer	Florida State	G
Dexter Strickland	UNC	G
Hollis Thompson	Georgetown	F
Mfon Udofia	Georgia Tech	G
Derrick Williams	Arizona	G

Other CollegeHoops.net Preseason Awards

Big East Basketball: Top 25 Players

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:38:22 -0500

Ranking players is more art then science. How do you compare the potential of freshmen with seniors who have already peaked? How much does physical talent come into play versus intangibles and experience? How big a role do numbers play?

In some situations, the bigger challenge is deciding what position to list a player. College basketball is filled with combo guards, wings who can play from the 2 to 4, centers who are really power forwards, and so on.

All of these questions make lists like this fun and debatable.. if you disagree with CHN's rankings, post what you think below.

BIG EAST

PG
1. Scottie Reynolds - Villanova
2. Dominique Jones - South Florida
3. Kemba Walker - UCONN
4. Tory Jackson - Pittsburgh
5. Sharaud Curry - Providence

SG
1. Mike Rosario - Rutgers
2. Jeremy Hazell - Seton Hall
3. Jerome Dyson - UCONN
4. Deonta Vaughn - Cincinnati
5. Corey Stokes - Villanova

- With so many more teams, the Big East is always harder to rank. There is no one dominant player in this group, but many experienced starters. Nova's Corey Fisher was the hardest player to leave off. One newcomer to watch is WVU's Casey Mitchell, a juco shooting guard with high expectations.

SF
1. Devin Ebanks - West Virginia
2. Wesley Johnson - Syracuse
3. Lance Stephenson - Cincinnati
4. Stanley Robinson - UCONN
5. Robert Mitchell - Seton Hall

PF
1. Da'Sean Butler - West Virginia
2. Lazar Hayward - Marquette
3. Anthony Mason Jr - St. John's
4. Herb Pope - Seton Hall
5. Dante Taylor - Pittsburgh

C
1. Luke Harangody - Notre Dame
2. Greg Monroe - Georgetown
3. Samardo Samuels - Louisville
4. Mac Koshwal - DePaul
5. Arinze Onuaku - Syracuse

- Impressive that WVU has the top SF & PF. Herb Pope has surpreme talent, but he might not even start for a deep SHU team. There are a good amount of newcomers on the list, including the likes of Johnson, Stephenson, Pope, etc. One other transfer to watch is Nova's Taylor King, who can light up the score-sheet if given ample minutes.

-- SEC Top 25 Players

-- Pac-10 Top 25 Players

-- Big Ten Top 25 Players

College Basketball Preview - 144 Teams in 144 Days - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

Poll: Who Will Win the 2010 National Championship?

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:30:41 -0500

Villanova Basketball Preview: #2

Joel Welser — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:06:23 -0500

Overall Rank: #2

Conference Rank: #1 Big East Conference

2008-09: 30-8, 13-5

2008-09 postseason: NCAA

Coach: Jay Wright (178-90 at Villanova, 300-175 overall)

Since Coach Jay Wright arrived at Villanova, the Wildcats have been turning into a consistent force in the Big East. There are some big losses in the frontcourt, but few teams can match the talent and depth on the perimeter. The Final Four was nice last year, but this is a team that can reach for even loftier goals.

Key Losses: F Dwayne Anderson, F Shane Clark, F Dante Cunningham, C Frank Tchuisi

Key Freshmen:

There is a reason most recruiting services rank Villanova’s 2009 class as one of the best in the nation. Point guard Maalik Wayns hardly gets mentioned since he will struggle to find playing time in a crowded backcourt. Wing Dominic Cheek is in a similar position, despite being a Top 40 prospect nationally. The real need is in the paint and that is where Mouphtaou Yarou steps in. The 6-10, 250 pound freshman is physically ready to play in the Big East and will be a beast on the glass. Isaiah Armwood and redshirt freshman center Maurice Sutton need to be ready to play some minutes off the bench.

Backcourt:

This is easily one of the most dynamic and talented backcourts in the nation. The return of Scottie Reynolds, who averaged 15.2 points and 3.4 assists last year, is a big boost to the Wildcats. Reynolds could just as easily be off in the NBA, but instead he will be knocking down threes and attacking the basket one more year in Philadelphia. Reggie Redding was a part-time starter last year and his versatility is his greatest strength. Although he will miss the first semester due to a suspension, Redding will be back in December to grab some rebounds, dish out some passes and even block a shot or two. In the meantime the Corey’s will take over. Corey Fisher is a point guard with a scoring mentality. The turnover numbers were a little high, but he should be able to fix that now that he is an upperclassman. Corey Stokes is nearly as effective of a scorer as the other Corey, but he does most of his damage from beyond the arc.

Frontcourt:

The loss of Dante Cunningham is huge. He led the team in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots a year ago and most of the players who would step into the frontcourt are gone as well. The only returning player who saw any significant playing time is Antonio Pena. The 6-8 junior started 20 games last year, but now he will be asked to do much more than average 17.6 minutes, 5.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. The Wildcats expect Pena to be steady and play about 25 minutes per game. If he has a bad year, the frontcourt will be very inexperienced.

Who to Watch:

But there is another option besides Pena or a freshman to man one of the forward positions. Two years ago Taylor King was averaging 5.5 points per game for Duke as a freshman. King showed flashes of his potential with the Blue Devils and had reached double digits in the scoring column six times, but he is stronger now and fits very well in this system. His ability to hit the outside shot and his strength to defend opposing power forwards should give him the early lead on the starting job.

Final Projection:

But do not be surprised if Yarou starts eating away at King’s minutes. This is a team that returns a lot of talent, but there will be five freshmen who are more than capable of making an impact. Coach Wright also has the possibility of playing small once Redding is back. It was not long ago that the Wildcats ran a four guard offense. As long as Pena, or Yarou, are comfortable being the only big man, Stokes could play the four spot and this team could run up and down the floor all day.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NCAA

Projected Starting Five:

Corey Fisher, Junior, Guard, 10.8 points per game

Scottie Reynolds, Senior, Guard, 15.2 points per game

Corey Stokes, Junior, Guard, 9.3 points per game

Mouphtaou Yarou, Freshman, Forward, DNP last season

Antonio Pena, Junior, Forward, 5.1 points per game

Next Top 144 Teams
3		4		5		6

College Basketball Preview - 144 Teams in 144 Days - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

Big East Basketball: 5-Year Ranking

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:05:22 -0500

BIG EAST 5-YEAR STANDINGS

CHN's annual 5-year ranking answers a simple question is in a simple manner: Who has been the best team in the Big East over the last five years?

Teams get points for league wins, making the postseason (NIT or NCAA) and winning games in the Big Dance. NIT wins are meaningless here, as are non-conference wins. Also, league tournaments wins are not taken into account. (An original trial-scoring system included points for conference tourney wins. But the flukish nature of these tourney's did more harm than hurt: ie, 2008 Georgia, 2006 Syracuse, and 2004 Maryland ended up getting too much credit despite the reality that they were mediocre to sub-par teams.)

100 total points is set up to be the equivalent of batting .300 in baseball.. anything above and beyond is all-world stuff. 50 points is mediocre and you only start to get bad below 40 points.

Pos.	Was	Team	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	Wins	Gms.	Points

1	2	Louisville	14	6	12	14	16	62	84	74	Win %
			Final Four	NIT	2nd Round	Elite 8	Elite 8			31	Post Pts.
			*CUSA							105

2	4	Villanova	11	14	9	9	13	56	84	67	Win %
			Sweet 16	Elite 8	1st Round	Sweet 16	Final Four			32	Post Pts.
										99

3	1	UCONN	13	14	6	13	15	61	84	73	Win %
			2nd Round	Elite 8	X	1st Round	Final Four			24	Post Pts.
										97

4	3	Pittsburgh	10	10	12	10	15	57	84	68	Win %
			1st Round	2nd Round	Sweet 16	2nd Round	Elite 8			24	Post Pts.
										92

5	5	G'Town	8	10	13	15	7	53	84	63	Win %
			NIT	Sweet 16	Final Four	2nd Round	NIT			23	Post Pts.
										86

6	6	WVU	8	11	9	11	10	49	84	58	Win %
			Elite 8	Sweet 16	NIT	Sweet 16	1st Round			23	Post Pts.
										81

7	9	Marquette	7	10	10	11	12	50	84	60	Win %
			NIT	1st Round	1st Round	2nd Round	2nd Round			13	Post Pts.
			*CUSA							73

8	7	Syracuse	11	7	10	9	11	48	84	57	Win %
			1st Round	1st Round	NIT	NIT	Sweet 16			12	Post Pts.
										69

9	8	Notre Dame	9	6	11	14	8	48	84	57	Win %
			NIT	NIT	1st Round	2nd Round	NIT			9	Post Pts.
										66

10	10	Cincinnati	12	8	2	8	8	38	84	45	Win %
			2nd Round	NIT	X	X	X			5	Post Pts.
			*CUSA							50

11	13	Providence	4	5	8	6	10	33	84	39	Win %
			X	X	NIT	X	NIT			2	Post Pts.
										41

12	12	Seton Hall	4	9	4	7	7	31	84	37	Win %
			X	1st Round	X	X	X			2	Post Pts.
										39

13	11	DePaul	10	5	9	6	0	30	84	36	Win %
			NIT	X	NIT	X	X			2	Post Pts.
			*CUSA							38

14	15	St. John's	3	5	7	5	6	26	84	31	Win %
			X	X	X	X	X			0	Post Pts.
										31

15	14	Rutgers	2	7	3	3	2	17	84	20	Win %
			X	NIT	X	X	X			1	Post Pts.
										21

16	16	South Fla.	5	1	3	3	4	16	84	19	Win %
			X	X	X	X	X			0	Post Pts.
			*CUSA							19

Was = Last year's rankig

-Ties are broken by favoring conference winning %

Big East Thoughts

- UCONN manages to drop to 3rd despite making the Final Four. The Huskies 2004 title comes off the books, as does down years from competitors Louisville & Villanova.

- Villanova's made the Sweet Sixteen in 4 of 5 seasons. No other Big East team can claim that.

- Now that Northwestern made the NIT last year, South Florida and St. John's are virtually alone as BCS teams not to have made the postseason.

- Syracuse, surprisingly, has basically been a middle of the pack Big East team over this span.

Postseason Points

NIT = 1

NCAA 1st Round = 2

NCAA 2nd Round = 4

Sweet = 6

Elite 8 = 8

Final Four = 10

Final = 11

Champs = 12

Other 5-Year Rankings

ACC

Big 12