December 2 Bracketology

1. Arizona  vs  16. Southern/Norfolk St.
1. Purdue  vs  16. UMBC/LIU
1. Duke  vs  16. Siena
1. Michigan  vs  16. Northern Kentucky
2. Connecticut  vs  15. Colgate
2. Louisville  vs  15. Tennessee Martin
2. Iowa St.  vs  15. St. Thomas
2. BYU  vs  15. South Alabama
3. Alabama  vs  14. East Tennessee St.
3. North Carolina  vs  14. Austin Peay
3. Michigan St.  vs  14. Northern Colorado
3. Kansas  vs  14. UNC Wilmington
4. Gonzaga  vs  13. New Mexico St.
4. Houston  vs  13. Buffalo
4. Texas Tech  vs  13. Cal Baptist
4. Kansas  vs  13. High Point
5. St. John's  vs  12. McNeese St.
5. Kentucky  vs  12. Belmont
5. Tennessee  vs  12. UC San Diego
5. Arkansas  vs  12. Yale
6. Nebraska  vs  11. George Mason
6. Iowa  vs  11. Tulsa/Seton Hall
6. Vanderbilt  vs  11. Texas/Baylor
6. Indiana  vs  11. Ohio St.
7. USC  vs  10. Wake Forest
7. Missouri  vs  10. TCU
7. Auburn  vs  10. SMU
7. NC State  vs  10. Saint Mary's
8. Butler  vs  9. Georgia
8. Florida  vs  9. Oklahoma St.
8. LSU  vs  9. Virginia
8. Utah St.  vs  9. Clemson
 
First Four Out Dayton
First Four Out Wisconsin
First Four Out Washington
First Four Out Villanova
Next Four Out Boise St.
Next Four Out Texas A&M
Next Four Out Saint Louis
Next Four Out VCU
Also Considered          Colorado St.
Also Considered          UCLA
Also Considered          Colorado St.
Also Considered          Mississippi

ACC-SEC "Challenge"

 Tonight is the start of the ACC-SEC Challenge.  Last year the ACC went 2-14, getting molly-whopped.  This year should be more competitive but I still expect the SEC to pull away easily.  The highlight games of the night are Duke vs Florida and North Carolina vs Kentucky.

The great game don't end there as there are great games elsewhere.  Iowa travels to Michigan State and although Iowa isn't ranked, they are undefeated.  Michigan State is the darling of the media at the moment with a lot of them lumping them in with Michigan and Purdue.  Don't be fooled, they are a tier below.

At Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas hosts Connecticut with Darryn Peterson potentially making his return.  This is the game of the night after Duke-Florida.

Have fun watching the games tonight and get ready as conference play kicks off.  A new Bracket will be out later today.

One Month Re-valuation

The Good:

Gonzaga and probably Michigan.  St. John’s is 0-2 against good teams.  Tennessee looks the part.

The Bad:

Kentucky has issues.  Kansas will not outperform pre-season expectations.

Worst call is Marquette.  No jump from any player on the roster and arguably the worst defensive team of the century for Marquette.  Rotations on defense?  Eraser in the middle?  None of that.  This is a poorly developed and poorly coached team one month into the season.

New Final Four:

3 stay but take Kentucky out and replace with Arizona.  Gonzaga over Michigan

The Only 2025-26 College Basketball Preview of Substance

All I ask of this season is utter chaos in the coaching ranks like we have seen on the football side. Let’s extend the fiscal irresponsibility and emotional bad vibes to hoops as well.

Three that are overrated:

UCLA: Firing coaches, you say? What school fits the criteria I outlined above?  UCLA does and Mick Cronin is a miserable man with bad vibes. After his first 0-2 trip east in Big 18 play this year, the wheels will start in motion as Mick looks for an escape path.

Iowa State: Ok, this hurts. Local guy makes good. Great friend’s kid is a sophomore at Ames so I’m cheering for them for multiple reasons but 44 pre-season in KenPom offense and 48 in T-Rank? Get an offensive coordinator, T.J. Yes, pre-season analytics don’t mean a ton until we have real data but historical precedence of T.J. at Iowa State says that’s a problem for them.

St. John’s: 7 in T-Rank, 16 in KenPom to open the season. 5th in the AP. Lots of expectations for this team but UConn reclaims the Big East throne and we get a lot of interesting Rick Pitino pressers.

Three that are underrated:

Kansas: They go as far as Darryn Peterson takes them and he can take them to a Final Four. Love Tre White here. Love Melvin Council here. A KU team whose sum of parts will equal a return to a Big XII title.

Gonzaga: It’s possible we’re at the Mark Few decline stage but the last year in the WCC feels like they should go out with a bang. Graham Ike is worth a flyer for NPOY. Zags move to the whatever the hell league they’re joining next year deserves a big send off. Vibes, folks.

Marquette: Homer pick, so to speak but they are flying under the radar nationally. If this were a team of transfers, we’d probably rate them higher (H/T Cracked Sidewalks). But because they’re returning everyone and there isn’t a bona fide star that we see, I think they’re being overlooked. Shaka has basically taken the Bo Ryan path where many seasons, we looked at the Badgers roster and said, ah-ha!, this is the season they unravel. Won’t be surprised if this is a top-3 Big East team.

Final 4:

Kentucky

Gonzaga

Tennessee

Michigan

National Champ: Kentucky over Michigan

Final Four Picks

Final Four:
Duke
Houston
Michigan
Texas Tech

Championship Game:
Duke over Michigan

2025-2026 First Bracketology

1. Houston  vs  16. Long Island/Norfolk St.
1. Florida  vs  16. Vermont/Colgate
1. Purdue  vs  16. Siena
1. Duke  vs  16. Oakland
2. Texas Tech  vs  15. Florida Gulf Coast
2. Connecticut  vs  15. Montana
2. Kentucky  vs  15. South Dakota St.
2. Tennessee  vs  15. Southern
3. Louisville  vs  14. Little Rock
3. St. John's  vs  14. James Madison
3. BYU  vs  14. Furman
3. Kansas  vs  14. Charleston
4. Gonzaga  vs  13. Northern Iowa
4. Michigan  vs  13. UC Irvine
4. Iowa St.  vs  13. Utah Valley
4. Kansas  vs  13. High Point
5. Alabama  vs  12. McNeese St.
5. Baylor  vs  12. Liberty
5. UCLA  vs  12. Akron
5. Arizona  vs  12. Yale
6. San Diego St.  vs  11. Saint Mary's
6. North Carolina  vs  11. Dayton/Memphis
6. Wisconsin  vs  11. Marquette/Iowa
6. NC State  vs  11. Washington
7. Mississippi  vs  10. Indiana
7. Vanderbilt  vs  10. Clemson
7. Auburn  vs  10. Oregon
7. Missouri  vs  10. Texas
8. USC  vs  9. Creighton
8. Michigan St.  vs  9. Utah St.
8. Mississippi St.  vs  9. Arkansas
8. Texas A&M  vs  9. Ohio St.

Less Than a Week Away

 We are less than 1 week away from the beginning of the NCAA Men's Basketball Season and our first bracket is coming out later today.  Picks and predictions will be on the docket for later this week and on Monday it all gets going.  Should be a great, wide open season.