With College Basketball season upon us, Making the Cut makes 5 bold predictions for this upcoming season.
Duke will win the ACC regular season but Notre Dame will win the ACC Tournament
The Blue Devils are loaded and have plenty of depth for the night in, night out challenge of the ACC but a lot of that talent is youth. When you look at a team like Notre Dame, you get a feel of “we’ve been here” and that will be a big asset the closer we get to March.
Coach Mike Brey got a steal when Bonzie Colson decided to come back to school. Colson was a 17.8-10 guy every night for an Irish team that won 26 games last season. The 1st team Preseason All-American and Preseason ACC Player of the Year will be joined by fellow seniors, Matt Ferrell and Martinas Geben along with junior Rex Pflueger. Ferrell and Pflueger’s shooting will be key to keeping defenses from rolling help side over to Colson.
The Irish defense is underplayed. They aren’t an ‘on ball, shut you down’ defense. They live off of deflections and live ball turnovers. This allows the Irish to get out in transition and open up floor on the offensive end.
As long as the Irish stay efficient on that end of the court, they are built perfectly to win a Conference Tournament.
West Virginia will win the Big XII
Esa Ahmad’s first semester absence (academics) puts this prediction in jeopardy. Even though the bulk of the conference schedule is in the second semester, getting Ahmad re-acclimated with the team will take some time.
But, what Bobby Huggins has going for him in his favor is a senior leader at point guard. Jevon Carter is the heart and soul of the Mountaineers and will play a major role in how West Virginia responds to Ahmad’s absence. Carter’s defensive mentality is infectious especially with back-court mate Daxter Miles Jr.
It’s no secret that the ‘Neers want to get you out of your comfort zone with their defense. Whether that’s by speeding you up or slowing you down, full-court defensive pressure is key but so is rebounding. That’s something Coach Huggins hasn’t been pleased with during the off-season.
The keys to controlling the paint on both ends will be Sagaba Konate, Lamont West and Maciej Bender. All three can pound the boards on both ends and will need to be paint defenders when the press is broken.
6’8″ sophomore Wes Harris should help on the offensive end with his perimeter shooting. Quick turnover baskets and timely three point shooting (along with the defense) are the keys to the Mountaineers winning the Big XII.
Maryland will win either the Big Ten Regular Season or Big Ten Tournament
Not only are the Terps loaded with talent but they will be a more cohesive unit this season for obvious reasons I won’t get into. Coach Mark Turgeon is a little thin upfront, so rebounding against teams like Purdue will be a challenge but they have depth everywhere else.
The one-two punch of Preseason All Conference Justin Jackson and USA Basketball’s Kevin Heurter doesn’t get nearly as much pub as they deserve. The Terps versatility will make it difficult to guard in the halfcourt whether a team is in man or zone.
Point guard, Anthony Cowan can penetrate on ball defenders as well as the gaps in the zone. The ability to kick out to Jackson, Heurter or Jared Nickens makes this team a difficult one to cover.
Follow Making the Cut on Twitter and Instagram at @mtcwithmook
