How accurate is my projection of Michigan State, Kansas, Duke and Kentucky being the four best squads coming into the 2013-14 season?
The wait to ascertain it isn’t going to be long.
Tuesday night in Chicago, during as terrific a non-NCAA Tournament double-header as we will have seen in a long while, Michigan State plays Kentucky and Kansas takes on Duke.
The double-dip should prove a delight for college hoops fans across the world, as well as the general managers and scouting directors of all 30 NBA franchises.
I wouldn’t be at all startled if the two games produce 15 first-round selections next June – that’s right, one-half of the players, if not more, may be chosen in the first round of the 2014 NBA Draft.
Get the DVRs fired up, folks.
Rank (Last Week) | 2012-13 Record | Comment |
1. Michigan St. | 27-9 | Coach Tom Izzo has a wonderful blend of leadership, veteran depth, post and perimeter strength, and “go-to” players. |
2. Kansas | 31-6 | It might not be the case right now, but this could prove to be the most gifted – and best, period – team Bill Self has coached by March. |
3. Duke | 30-6 | In Rodney Hood, Jabari Parker and Rasheed Sulaimon, Mike Krzyzewski has as good a trio of scorers as there are anywhere other than an NBA roster. |
4. Kentucky | 21-12 | If freshman point guard Andrew Harrison can provide leadership, steadiness and playmaking from his point guard position, then the Wildcats will be in the Final Four minus a major calamity. |
5. North Carolina | 25-11 | As much as is possible with a program of this stature, a lot of observers are sleeping a bit on the Tar Heels and their oh-so-underrated point guard, Marcus Paige. |
6. Ohio State | 29-8 | The Buckeyes returned a whole lot from a team that came very close to getting to play in Atlanta on the final weekend of last season. |
7. Louisville | 35-5 | We might not think so until sometime in March but this could prove to be a deeper squad than the one that one the national title last season. |
8. Florida | 29-8 | There are those who would suggest that the Gators, and not the team located in Lexington, will prove to be the best squad in the Southeastern Conference this season. |
9. Oklahoma State | 24-9 | Marcus Smart is the best all-around college player in the country. Enough said on that topic. |
10. Arizona | 27-8 | Duquesne transfer T.J. McConnell may be an even more important piece to the “Can Arizona get to the Final Four?” question as is freshman Aaron Gordon. |
11. Michigan | 31-8 | Trey Burke may have departed but no even begin to surmise that the Wolverines are no longer capable of making another Final Four run. |
12. Syracuse | 30-10 | Jim Boeheim’s teams are so consistently good as to almost be taken for granted. |
13. Virginia | 23-12 | Here is just another reason as to why the Atlantic Coast Conference has never been deeper in potential Final Four clubs. |
14. Memphis | 31-5 | With all the hype surrounding the freshman classes of Kansas and Kentucky the one that enrolled at Memphis is quite impressive, indeed. |
15. Connecticut | 20-10 | Do the Huskies have the best group of guards in the country this season? My inclination is to suggest “yes”. |
16. Wichita State | 30-9 | Cleanthony Early – just let the name roll off the tip of your tongue. Cool, eh? He’s a heck of a player, as well. And he’s surrounded by a lot of other very good players and the whole crew is overseen by a terrific coach. |
THE NEXT 16 (alphabetically): Baylor, Colorado, Creighton, Gonzaga, Harvard, Indiana, Iowa, Marquette, New Mexico, Notre Dame, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Stanford, UCLA, Virginia Commonwealth and Wisconsin.
Frank Burlison has been covering hoops for 30+ years for a variety of publications.
Follow Frank on twitter @FrankieBur. Also make sure to follow his website at www.burlisononbasketball.com. College coaching staffs interested in Burlison’s scouting service should contact him at [email protected].
