The 2010-11 college basketball season officially began on Monday. The long wait between March Madness and a cluster of high-profile early-season tournaments is over. The hype that came with super-recruits like Harrison Barnes of the University of North Carolina is giving way to actual play. How will the season shake up?
The school on everybody’s mind right now is of course Duke University, the defending champions. The Blue Devils retain most of the key components to last year’s team, most notably senior forward Kyle Singler. They are also the first-ranked team in the nation in the preseason Associated Press poll.
The toughest in-conference tests for Duke right now are ninth-ranked North Carolina and number 23 Virginia Tech University, two teams that failed to make the NCAA Tournament last year. The Blue Devils do have back-to-back games against second-ranked Michigan State University and number 17 Butler University (the team they beat in the national championship) in December, but Duke should be able to cruise to a number one seed in the tournament.
The Michigan State Spartans have no reason to not make a third straight Final Four appearance this year. Only two major players are missing from last year’s roster. Raymar Morgan graduated and guard Chris Allen was kicked off the team. Those two will be missed, but senior point guard Kalin Lucas, do-everything junior forward Draymond Green and athletic senior guard Durrell Summers will be as deadly a combination as ever.
The Spartans have a very tough schedule including Duke, number 13 Syracuse University, number 25 University of Texas and a potential Maui Invitational matchup against the 10th-ranked University of Kentucky. Michigan State is also in the very tough Big Ten conference featuring top 25 teams in The Ohio State University, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Illinois and Purdue University. The Spartans will probably falter down the line in the regular season, but Tom Izzo is still the best tournament coach in the game and should get his loaded roster back to the Final Four.
Kansas State University rounds out the top three teams in the rankings, heading a strong Big 12 Conference featuring Texas, number seven Kansas University, number 14 Baylor University and the 15th-ranked University of Missouri. The Wildcats return top scorer Jacob Pullen and leading rebounder Curtis Kelly from last year’s Elite Eight squad, and are looking to go to the Final Four this season or bust.
Other contenders for the championship this year include Big East representatives the University of Pittsburgh, Villanova University and Syracuse University; all ranked in the preseason top 10; Kentucky, which will have to recover from the loss of its entire starting line-up; Ohio State and Kansas.
Of course, Butler, who came within one shot of winning it all last year, should not be left out. The Bulldogs are ranked 17th, but the nation knows what they are capable of.
One thing is certain: it’s going to be a great season of college basketball.