Category: College Basketball

Based off of ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s final bracketology, I’m going to talk about what all of my 2020 NCAA Tournament bracket picks would’ve looked like.

Round of 64

Midwest Region (Indianapolis)

Omaha
1.Kansas over 16.Siena
It’s happened once before, but I don’t see this Kansas team losing the first weekend (or spoiler) until at least the Sweet 16. Maybe not even then. Kansas is loaded, and have the pieces to make a Final Four run.

9.Marquette over 8.Houston
Marquette has explosive guard Markus Howard. Houston doesn’t.

Sacramento
12.Liberty over 5.Auburn
While Auburn had good quadrant one wins, it was tough to see them lose the SEC lead down the stretch. Liberty has become one of if not the top mid major to pick to pull an upset so why not.

4.Wisconsin over 13.North Texas
Wisconsin would’ve played as the top seed in the Big Ten Tournament and rightfully so. They would breeze by North Texas.

Greensboro
11.East Tennessee State over 6.Iowa
Despite All-American big man Luka Garza, East Tennessee State has shown that they are of the elite in mid major college basketball. They pick up a round of sixty-four win here.

3.Duke over 14.Belmont
With Duke playing basically at home, its tough not to pick them to get out of the first weekend.

St. Louis
10.Arizona State over 7.Providence
Arizona State Head Coach Bobby Hurley is an excellent coach and I think that’s why the Sun Devils move on the Round of 32.

2.Kentucky over 15.North Dakota State
After meeting Duke in the Round of 64 a year ago, North Dakota State has no easier task in this one. Kentucky wins by twenty.

East Region (New York)

Cleveland
1.Dayton over 16.Boston University
After defeating Robert Morris in the first four, Dayton blows by them in the Round of 64.

8.Colorado over 9.Florida
Florida was some people’s pre-season number one, and there season ends surprisingly, here.

Greensboro
12.Texas over 5.Butler
After getting past fellow twelve seed Richmond, the ‘Horns pull of a shocker in Greensboro.

4.Maryland over 13.Akron
At times, Maryland played like a top seed. At times they played like a four seed. I have Maryland winning and winning big over the Zips.

Albany
11.UCLA over 6.Penn State
After defeating fellow 11.NC State, UCLA pulls off another shocker.

3.Villanova over 14.Hofstra
Villanova rolls by Hofstra.

Tampa
7.West Virginia over 10.Utah State
Despite struggling at times, West Virginia struggles to a win.

2.Florida State over 15.Northern Kentucky
This might be Leonard Hamilton’s best team at Florida State. Enough said.

West Region (Los Angeles)

Spokane
1.Gonzaga over 16.NC Central
After defeating Prairie View A&M in the first four, Gonzaga defeats NC Central in a snoozefest.

8.LSU over 9.Oklahoma
Despite struggles, LSU’s offense is electric, and that should get them to a win over the Sooners.

Spokane
5.Michigan over 12.Yale
A potential upset pick here, Michigan would not lose this first round game.

13.New Mexico State over 4.Oregon
This is the only upset pick I would make, that I wouldn’t be confident about. But you always have to pick one that you’re unsure about.

Albany
6.BYU over 11.Indiana
Two teams that could score in bunches. BYU scores more.

3.Seton Hall over 14.Eastern Washington
Led by All American Myles Powell, Seton Hall rolls past EWU.

Sacramento
10.Texas Tech over 7.Arizona
In a 50/50 game, Chris Beard’s team is always my pick to win it.

2.San Diego State over 15.UC-Irvine
San Diego State might’ve slowed down to end the season but that might have been a blessing in disguise.

South Region (Houston)

Omaha
1.Baylor over 16.Winthrop
Baylor rolls over Winthrop, dominating the rebounding battle and the game.

8.Saint Mary’s over 9.Rutgers
If Saint Mary’s can beat Gonzaga, I think they can beat Rutgers too.

Tampa
5.Ohio State over 12.Stephen F. Austin
Ohio State is a team that is on and off and on and off, but they are extremely talented. They become the second five seed in my bracket to move to the Round of 32.

4.Louisville over 13.Vermont
Louisville struggled like Ohio State at some points this season, but a win over Vermont seems inevitable here.

Cleveland
6.Virginia over 11.Cincinnati
Virginia has Tony Bennett coaching them, Cincinnati does not.

3.Michigan State over 14.Bradley
Michigan State wins setting up a fun match up between two future hall of fame coaches.

St. Louis
10.USC over 7.Illinois
Onyeka Okongwu and Isaiah Mobley dominate the paint for USC en route to an NCAA Tournament victory.

2.Creighton over 15.Little Rock
I didn’t watch much of Creighton this season but they’re at least winning this game.

Round of 32

Midwest Region (Indianapolis)

Omaha
1.Kansas over 9.Marquette
A tempting upset pick, but Kansas like I said earlier has guys that can lock All-American Markus Howard up, so Kansas moves on to the second weekend.

Sacramento
4.Wisconsin over 12.Liberty
A hot Wisconsin team runs into the Liberty Flames. Wisconsin dominates this game.

Greensboro
3.Duke over 11.East Tennessee State
Both Cinderellas in the Midwest Region end here. Duke is too talented of a team and Mike Kyrzewski is too dominant as a coach.

St. Louis
2.Kentucky over 10.Arizona State
A fun game between Kentucky and Arizona State results in a Kentucky ten point win.

East Region (New York)

Cleveland
1.Dayton over 8.Colorado
Led by player of the year Obi Toppin, Dayton rolls by Colorado.

Greensboro
4.Maryland over 12.Texas
Maryland dominates Texas on the interior, setting up a Sweet 16 match up in Madison Square Garden with top seed Dayton.

Albany
11.UCLA over 3.Villanova
This is not the team that would’ve won a third national championship in five seasons for Jay Wright. UCLA moves on to the second weekend.

Tampa
2.Florida State over 7.West Virginia
Florida State rolls by a struggling West Virginia team.

West Region (Los Angeles)

Spokane
8.LSU over 1.Gonzaga
Gonzaga loses in the weekend number one to high scoring LSU.

Spokane
5.Michigan over 13.New Mexico State
Michigan’s offense would have a field day against the Aggies.

Albany
6.BYU over 3.Seton Hall
Seton Hall has fallen! Led by one of the most efficient offenses in the country, BYU rolls to the second weekend with a ten point win.

Sacramento
10.Texas Tech over 2.San Diego State
And another top three seed falls. Texas Tech moves on.

South Region (Houston)

Omaha
1.Baylor over 8.Saint Mary’s
Baylor’s defense gets them a win that maybe they shouldn’t have gotten.

Tampa
5.Ohio State over 4.Louisville
Ohio State sends Louisville packing on a buzzer-beater.

Cleveland
3.Michigan State over 6.Virginia
The best two games of the first weekend of the tournament are both here in the south region (the one above and this one). Michigan State gets a win in overtime.

St. Louis
10.USC over 2.Creighton
Again, the big men step up for USC and send them to Houston and the second weekend of the tournament.

Sweet 16

Midwest Region (Indianapolis)

Indianapolis
1.Kansas over 4.Wisconsin
Kansas wins on a late three from guard Isaiah Moss.

Indianapolis
3.Duke over 2.Kentucky
Duke wins in the best game of the weekend by just two points.

East Region (New York)

New York
4.Maryland over 1.Dayton
Led by their big man play, Maryland neutralizes All American Obi Toppin and moves to the regional final.

New York
2.Florida State over 11.UCLA
Florida State moves to the East Regional Final with a fifteen point, dominant win.

West Region (Los Angeles)

Los Angeles
5.Michigan over 8.LSU
Michigan’s high powered offense leads Michigan to the Elite 8.

Los Angeles
6.BYU over 10.Texas Tech
BYU denies Texas Tech a chance at their second straight Elite 8 let alone a second straight Final Four appearance.

South Region (Houston)

Houston
5.Ohio State over 1.Baylor
Baylor falls to Ohio State team because of the dominance rebounding the ball for Ohio State.

Houston
3.Michigan State over 10.USC
USC’s run ends at the hands of Cassius Winston and the Spartans.

Elite 8

Midwest Region (Indianapolis)

Indianapolis
1.Kansas over 3.Duke
Kansas becomes the lone one seed into the Elite 8 and the only one into the Final Four.

East Region (New York)

New York
2.Florida State over 4.Maryland
Leonard Hamilton’s team runs through Maryland to get to the Final Four.

West Region (Los Angeles)

Los Angeles
6.BYU over 5.Michigan
Two high powered offenses collide. BYU wins in a hard fought overtime game.

South Region (Houston)

Houston
3.Michigan State over 5.Ohio State
In a Big Ten match up, Michigan State rolls to the Final Four.

Final Four

Atlanta
1.Kansas over 2.Florida State
Kansas shows why they are one of the best teams in the country with a low scoring win over Florida State.

Atlanta
3.Michigan State over 6.BYU
Cassius Winston is not going out now. Winston leads the Spartans to a national championship berth.

National Championship

Atlanta
3.Michigan State over 1.Kansas
The pre-season number one team defeats the overall number one seed in an excellent farewell game by Michigan State’s Cassius Winston.

National Champion:Michigan State

Dayton Forward Obi Toppin won the 2019-2020 Men’s College Basketball Naismith Player of the Year Award Friday. Toppin is the first Flyer to ever win the award. Toppin averaged twenty points and almost eight rebounds during his sophomore campaign. The finalists for the award included Kansas’s Udoka Azubuike, Seton Hall’s Myles Powell, Oregon’s Payton Pritchard, and Iowa’s Luka Garza.

Former five-star forward Johnny Juzang announced he was leaving Kentucky via the transfer portal. He averaged almost three points in his lone season in Lexington.

Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte announced that men’s basketball coach Shaka Smart will remain as Texas Head Coach, stating “Shaka’s our coach.”

AP co-SEC Player of the Year Mason Jones announced he would be entering the 2020 NBA Draft. While the Arkansas guard did not sign with an agent it seems evident he will not be back in Fayetteville next season.

Sacred Heart grad transfer Forward EJ Anosike announced he was committing to play his final year of elgibility at Tennessee. The 6-6 forward averaged sixteen points and twelve rebounds in his final season at Sacred Heart.

Canada’s top high school basketball prospect Josh Primo announced his commitment to Alabama on Friday. Primo is a six-five guard with a six-nine wingspan.

Here are ESPN’s 2020 College Basketball Class Rankings during a second recruiting dead period due to the coronavirus pandemic:

1.Kentucky
6.BJ Boston (#1SF) Chatsworth,CA (Sierra Canyon)
8.Terrence Clark (#3SF) Wolfebro,NH (Brewster)
25.Devin Askew (#7PG) Santa Ana,CA (Mater Dei)
30.Isaiah Jackson (#5PF) Pontiac,MI (Waterford Mott)

2.Duke
15.Jalen Johnson (#4SF) Glendale,WI (Nicolet)
18.Jeremy Roach (#4PG) Leesburg,VA (Paul VI)
23.DJ Steward (#6SG) Chicago,IL (Whitney Young)
24.Jaemyn Brakefield (#4PF) Jackson,MS (Huntington Prep)

3.North Carolina
11.Day’Ron Sharpe (#2C) Winterville,NC (Montverde)
14.Walker Kessler (#4C) Fairburn,GA (Woodward)
17.Caleb Love (#3PG) Saint Louis,MO (Christian Brothers)
39.RJ Davis (#8PG) White Plains,NY (Archbishop Stepinac)

4.Michigan
13.Isaiah Todd (#3PF) Richmond,VA (Word of God Christian)
36.Hunter Dickinson (#7C) Hyattsville,MD (DeMatha)
71.Zeb Jackson (#14SG) Toledo,OH (Montverde)
76.Terrance Williams (#14PF) Washington,DC (Gonzaga College)

5.Tennessee
16.Jaden Springer (#3SG) Charlotte,NC (IMG)
26.Keon Johnson (#5SF) Bell Buckle,TN (The Webb)
73.Corey Walker (#12PF) Jacksonville,FL (Hargrave Military)
NR.Malachi Wideman (#29SG) Sarasota,FL (Riverview)

6.Arkansas
38.Moses Moodey (#10SG) Little Rock,AR (Montverde)
82.KK Robinson (#20PG) Little Rock,AR (Oak Hill)
83.Davonte Davis (#18SG) Jacksoville,AR (Jacksonville)
88.Jaylin Williams (#13C) Fort Smith,AR (Northside)

7.Gonzaga
5.Jalen Suggs (#2PG) Minneapolis,MN (Minneheha)
54.Dominick Harris (#11SG) Murrieta,CA (Rancho Christian)
59.Julian Strawther (#17SF) Henderson,NV (Liberty)

8.Oklahoma State
3.Cade Cunnigham (#1PG) Arlington,TX (Montverde)
52.Rondel Walker (#11PG) Oklahoma City,OK (Putnam City West)
NR.Montreal Pena (#41PF) Arlington,TX (James Martin)

9.NC State
44.Josh Hall (#11SF) Hickory,NC (Moravian Prep)
62.Cam Hayes (#14PG) Greensboro,NC (Greensboro Day)
NR.Shakeel Moore (#24PG) Greensboro,NC (Moravian Prep)
NR.Ebenezer Dowuna (#22C) Newman,GA (Heritage)

10.Texas Tech
21.Nimari Burnett (#4SG) Chicago,IL (Prolific Prep)
31.Micah Peavy (#6SF) Houston,TX (Duncanville)
NR.Chibuzo Agbo (#32PF) San Diego,CA (Saint Augustine)

It was confirmed that both the 2020 men’s and women’s NCAA Tournament Brackets will not be released this “Selection Sunday” March 15,2020. The NCAA said that while the men’s committee started working on a bracket, the women’s committee had not started working to complete a tournament bracket out. They also stated that the bracket would not be up to its full standard due to the cancellations of all of the major conference tournaments. We will have to wait until Sunday March 14,2021 to have our next Selection Sunday. And before that we will get the fifth edition of the “bracket preview” on CBS, five Sundays before the sixty-eight are selected with the top sixteen teams announced in the committees eyes on February 7,2021.

2020 four-star point guard Eric Gaines committed to LSU during his official visit. With Gaines being a late bloomer, he took his official visits to other schools like Dayton, Georgia State, and Saint Louis. Gaines has a chance to play immediately at LSU next season.

Here are the teams with a chance at a one seed by conference entering the weekend of February 28-March 1. Just a note that not all conferences have a chance to get a one seed so they won’t all be listed.All bracketology references will be referring to Joe Lunardi’s latest ESPN Bracketology on February 28,2020.

Atlantic-10
Looking at the top of the Atlantic-10 Standings
1.Dayton 27-2 (16-0)
2.Rhode Island 20-7 (12-3)

Dayton
Led by potential player of the year Obi Toppin, the Flyers have to win out to even have a chance on the one line. With even a single loss, Dayton not be on the one line but likely as a three seed. Dayton is seeded on the two line currently by most bracketologists.

ACC
Looking at the top of the ACC Standings
1.Florida State 24-4 (14-3)
2.Louisville 23-6 (14-4)
3.Duke 23-5 (13-4)

Florida State
The number six ranked team in the AP Polls last Monday, strengthened their case for a top seed with a comeback win over number eleven ranked Louisville who Joe Lunardi had as a three seed entering the week. With a loss by current four overall seed San Diego State, Florida State can make a move onto the top line depending on what happens with the lone two seed ahead of them in Maryland.

Duke
Duke has had a rough February discluding their dominant win over Virginia Tech and a game that they shouldn’t have won at the buzzer against North Carolina. Duke has lost to Wake Forest and NC State, two teams that are on or around the NCAA Tournament bubble. Duke needs to heat up because if they want to play in New York and the east region, they need to start winning some games.

Louisville
With a loss to Florida State on Monday, Louisville is putting themselves in a bad position. But like the other two contending ACC squads, a strong finish to the regular season and an ACC Tournament Championship would give them a good chance at one of the top three seed lines.

Big 12
Looking at the top of the Big 12 Standings
1.Baylor 25-2 (14-1)
1.Kansas 25-3 (14-1)
3.Texas Tech 18-10 (9-6)

Kansas
The top overall seed according to ESPN, Kansas has to hope that Baylor loses so that they can easily land the top seed in the Big 12 Tournament. But the only thing that matters is the likely match up between them and the bears in the conference tournament championship. That game will likely determine the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Baylor
After the loss to Kansas, ESPN has dropped Baylor from the top overall seed line to the number two overall seed line. But the only thing that matters is the likely match up between them and the jayhawks in the conference tournament championship. That game will likely determine the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Big East
Looking at the top of the Big Ten Standings
1.Seton Hall 20-7 (12-3)
2.Creighton 22-6 (11-4)
2.Villanova 22-6 (11-4)

Seton Hall
Seton Hall is the lone team in the Big East with a mostly clear path to get to the top line. They have to hope many teams falter on the top two lines and they have to win out and then win the Big East Tournament title.

Creighton and Villanova
Both teams have to pray that red hot Seton Hall loses to get the top seed in the Big East. Both teams don’t have great shots on the one seed line, though.

Big Ten
Looking at the top of the Big Ten Standings
1.Maryland 23-5 (13-4)
2.Illinois 19-9 (11-6)
2.Wisconsin 18-10 (11-6)
2.Penn State 21-7 (11-6)
2.Michigan State 19-9 (11-6)

Maryland
With a win over Michigan State tonight, Maryland clinches no less than a share of the Big Ten title, their first since 2002. But with a Big Ten Tournament Title, they have a real shot of getting to the one line.

Mountain West
Looking at the top of the Mountain West Standings
1.San Diego State 27-1 (16-1)
2.Utah State 23-7 (12-5)
2.Nevada 19-10 (12-5)

San Diego State
Despite their first loss of the season a week ago, they remained a one seed. One more loss, though, a major conference team could steal it from them.

SEC
Looking at the top of the SEC Standings
1.Kentucky 23-5 (13-2)
2.Auburn 24-4 (11-4)
3.LSU 19-9 (10-5)

Kentucky
With a win over Auburn today, Kentucky would an SEC regular season title. A loss at home versus the tigers today, would totally take them out of the picture to be on one of those top two seed lines.

Auburn
With a win over Kentucky and an SEC Tournament championship, this team has a shot at a two seed.

WCC
Looking at the top of the WCC Standings
1.Gonzaga 28-2 (14-1)
2.BYU 23-7 (12-3)

Gonzaga
Despite the loss to BYU last Saturday, Gonzaga controls their destiny in getting a top seed.

Like father like son. Former UCLA Forward Shareef O’Neal is transferring to his dad’s alma mater, LSU. Shareef will play for his father, Shaq’s old school LSU. In an ESPN article, Shareef said that the death of his father’s old teammate, Kobe Bryant, made “him focus more.” This is after Shareef was diagnosed with “a right anomalous coronary artery and undergoing open-heart surgery to correct the issue” thus missing his first season on campus in Los Angeles. O’Neal was averaging over two points and almost three rebounds per game before his move. Shareef was ranked as the no. 32 prospect in the 2018 ESPN 100.

Led by star (and draft prospect) forward Rui Hachimara’s 20 points, 3.Gonzaga defeated 1.Duke 89-87, telling Duke that they really are human.