It feels as though the NCAA basketball season has just begun, but we are already moving quickly toward the midway part of the season. It’s tough to get a real gauge on who is going to rise and all, as things generally start to change once the conference games come into play. There are some predictions that we can make through the first 10 games or so of the season, though, and that is what we are going to try and do here. We will, of course, re-evaluate all of this as the season progresses, as it’s almost guaranteed that some of these predictions will not pan out as we expect them to.
In Depth Analysis On The Mid-Season College Basketball Championship Predictions
Can Villanova Repeat as Champion?
Villanova are certainly off to a good start, opening the season with 8 straight wins. They will get their first real test of the year on Saturday when they face a ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish team at home. This is a team that definitely has the ability to get back to the top, but it looks as though they are going to have some stiff competition along the way. UCLA have come out on fire with 9-straight wins, but I still think that the biggest threat is going to come from Duke. I’m not quite ready to make a National Champion pick, but if you were to ask me, even at this early stage, if Villanova will win it all again, I would have to say no.
Which Conferences Will be Most Fiercely Contested?
Again, this is another tough one to answer before we get into conference play, but there are already a couple of conference’s that are shaping up for a big battle. The Big East has Villanova, Creighton and Butler all looking very well in the early going, and things might get a little cutthroat in there once non-conference play ends. The ACC and PAC 12 conferences are also shaping up to be tough early on, but if you want a conference battle that might not get as much attention as those, but which will undoubtedly be fun to watch, look at the West Coast Conference. Yes, it may come down to a 2-horse race between Gonzaga and St. Mary’s, but it’s a race that is likely to be neck and neck from start to finish.
Who Will Be the Surprise Team This Year?
I’m not really sure that they can be considered a surprise team given their record last year, but the Oregon Ducks are a team that were dismissed by a lot of people before this season even began. Part of the problem was that they were a number one seed in the tournament, and one that everyone believed would be the first to be bounced. That they were the first number one seed to lose was a sign to many that the Ducks were more than a little overrated. One year older, and probably a good deal wiser, I believe that this team is going to blow away the PAC-12, and then go in and make a deep run in the tournament this time around.
