Alright folks, if you have been following the blog since it’s start, you probably remember my very first post where I gave my thoughts on the NCAA preseason top 25 along with some predictions of major conference winners and conference players of the year. Let’s just say I was wrong about A TON. If you have been keeping up with the madness, you already know College Basketball has been all over the place. If you have not, hopefully you get a decent idea of what’s happening from this post.
Before we get too deep, there are a few changes that have happened to teams or players who received a lot of love in our first post. I was very high on Memphis, but they lost James Wiseman thanks to the NCAA playing bully. Cole Anthony, my projected ACC conference player of the year has been out since early December and UNC, my projected ACC Conference Champion have struggled mightily without him. So let’s just act as though that prediction never occurred. Okay? Cool.
What I Got Right
UVA FANS!! Hey guys. A few of you had choice words for my prediction that you all were overrated and lucky to be ranked in the top 15. Where are the Hoos now? 12-6 overall, 4-4 in the ACC and unranked. Those 4 ACC losses have come in the last 5 games. So yes, 1-4 in your last 5. Their best win of the year came against UNC and they suck now as stated previously. Granted, they had Cole Anthony at the time. UVA is missing a guy that can do it all. I predicted this. Mamadi has his moments, Braxton Key as well, but point guard Kihei Clark is who has to be better for them to have a chance. He had 10 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in their loss to NC State. Doesn’t look too bad. But that is just the thing, he didn’t look too good either. 3 for 9 from the field, 3 fouls, and 3 turnovers all in 37 minutes which is the most minutes anybody played for UVA that game. A good friend of mine who happens to be a UVA fan says they struggle to close out games. That is where your point guard has to shine and keep the team together. Kihei, it’s on you. Cool? Cool. But I told y’all this way back when, so I hope you did not put too much stock in these guys.
What else was I right about? FLORIDA. I’m on record of having said I didn’t believe in the hype. Florida started the season at a preseason ranking of #6 and just like UVA they now sit at 12-6. The main difference between them and UVA is they just beat undefeated Auburn, but other than that there has not been much else to like. They are 7-1 at home so I guess that is a positive. Transfer, Kerry Blackshear has looked good but we expected that. It is everybody else around him. They turn the ball over a good amount and don’t get many assists. They also sit well outside the top 40 in points scored per game. Not great for a preseason top 10 team. Lucky for them, they face #1 Baylor this weekend with a chance to upset and show the world they still have some left. Most of my Conference Player of the Year predictions are still being hashed out. So far, Cassius Winston, Tres Tinkle, Anthony Edwards, and Markus Howard are all still at the top of their respective conferences and have a chance to win the award. Markus Howard leads the NCAA in scoring which I also predicted so if you all are betting folks, your palms should start itching soon on Markus Howard. Michigan State is in the lead in the B10 and Kentucky is only a game out of the SEC conference lead so we can confidently say we were right about them as well.
What I Got Wrong
If you know me, you know sometimes admitting I am wrong is a task in itself. Reading through my first post and then looking at the landscape of College Basketball made me realize why I do not bet the little money I have on sporting events. Needless to say, I was wrong about almost everything else I said. Sorry guys. As stated earlier, UNC was my worst prediction. They are not a good basketball team currently. But I get a pass because of the Cole Anthony injury. I predicted Boogie Ellis of Memphis to be a big surprise this year. Boogie, the former Duke commit has been a surprise, but for all the wrong reasons. He is averaging a whopping 6.2 points per game while shooting 28% from the field and the 3-point line. He started the season strong, but has steadily fallen off as the season has progressed. Safe to say I was wrong about that one. Next, Tristan Clark. I predicted Tristan Clark from Baylor to win the Big 12 player of the year. It hurts because, prior to his knee injury, he was a literal monster. He was scoring in double figures each game and blocking shots left and right. However, this season he is yet to find his footing. Baylor is the #1 team in the country at the time but their projected leader for the season can’t find his way off the bench. Instead, Jared Butler has taken over the reigns. Arizona, Villanova, and Kansas were also teams I said would win their conferences. Now, none of them are out of the running yet, but man at times they make me look like I don’t know anything about basketball. One game they dominate, next game no-show. All three of these teams have potential to beat anybody and many of their losses are close ones to good teams, but if you look at how they lost, it is just baffling. Arizona has a loss to St. Johns… not okay. Villanova has an embarrassing early season loss to a pretty decent Ohio State team, but they got flat out destroyed. Ironically, meshing all three of these teams together is that they have all lost to Baylor who I don’t think anyone predicted to be this good. But hey, that’s CBB for you.
Moving Forward
I have said College Basketball is chaos this season. It has been very exciting to watch, but depressing for anybody who may have a favorite team that they root for. I for one have given up on watching my Michigan Wolverines with the idea that we will ever win another game this year. If we win, great. If not, great. Since we all know I have been wrong before, I want you to take these end of the year predictions with a grain of salt. Let’s start with a bold (not really) prediction. UNC won’t win the ACC even with Cole Anthony scheduled to return in the near future. Kansas despite their recent fight and suspension of two key guys, will still win the Big 12. Instead of Tristan Clark, my new prediction for Player of the Year is Tyrese Haliburton from Iowa State. He is a skilled, playmaker with tons of NBA potential. I am standing by Villanova winning the Big East as well as Michigan State winning the surprisingly stacked Big Ten. Lastly, I showed a ton of love to Kentucky in my first post and I will take that a step further and say they will be playing in this year’s National Championship. I’ll bet pushups with you.
I hope you all enjoyed this sort of recap/bashing of my own predictions. I got a lot of laughs out of looking back and seeing where I went wrong and where I was right. Share the link if you like it, I will post the link to the original post as well so you can look back and follow along, or if you never read it you can start all over with me. I appreciate the support and you all taking the time to read my thoughts. Much love! – Quis
First Post: https://quistakes.home.blog/2019/10/30/my-first-post-college-basketball-top-25-my-projections/
1st Quarter With Quis 