College Basketball '08-'09: What we've learned since the preseason. - ehh's Blog

ehh's Blog

College Basketball '08-'09: What we've learned since the preseason.

Posted on February 25, 2009 at 06:27 PM.

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1. North Carolina (72) 0-0 1,800
2. Connecticut 0-0 1,661
3. Louisville 0-0 1,638
4. UCLA 0-0 1,487
5. Pittsburgh 0-0 1,319
6. Michigan State 0-0 1,311
7. Texas 0-0 1,259
8. Duke 0-0 1,250
9. Notre Dame 0-0 1,243
10. Gonzaga 0-0 1,162
11. Purdue 0-0 1,099
12. Oklahoma 0-0 987
13. Memphis 0-0 977
14. Tennessee 0-0 920
15. Arizona State 0-0 645
16. Marquette 0-0 592
17. Miami (FL) 0-0 570
18. USC 0-0 414
19. Florida 0-0 403
20. Davidson 0-0 347
21. Wake Forest 0-0 312
22. Georgetown 0-0 311
23. Villanova 0-0 256
24. Kansas 0-0 233
25. Wisconsin 0-0 196

We've learned a lot since this first poll of the '08-'09 season was released back on November 10th.

- North Carolina is not the clear-cut best team in the nation, let alone a contender to be one of the best teams in the last ten years of college hoops.

- Notre Dame was a one hit wonder and the biggest bust in the country. The Irish have showed a complete lack of toughness and defensive prowess. A seven-game losing streak was the low point for the Irish, a preseason Top 10 team who is likely NIT-bound baring an automatic berth.

- Other disappointments include Texas, Gonzaga and Tennessee.

- Stephen Curry, everyone's favorite March Madness stud from '07-'08, is really good but he certainly is not a point guard. Given the PG duties by Bob McKillop, Curry has seen his assist numbers go up from three per game last year to six this year. His A/TO ratio is improved though he's averaging nearly four turnovers per game. His shooting is what's suffered the most, his FG% is down three-points while his 3PT% has dropped over 6%, leaving him at a pedestrian 37%. Davidson is certainly not a lock for an at-large bid and with Curry out with an injured ankle we may be without another great March performance from Curry.

- Blake Griffin is the real deal. A man amongst boys, Griffin has used his freakish athletic ability to dominate the competition while leading OU's best team since the Hollis Price days. Griffin is averaging 23 points and 14 rebounds, his personal highlight was a 40 pt, 23 reb game against Texas Tech.

- The freshman classes of '06-'07 and '07-'08 were really, really special - even with the age limit rule it does not guarantee a dominant freshman class. Two years ago we welcomed our first mandatory freshman class under David Stern's new rule. We witnessed Kevin Durant dominate the college game like no one has done since arguably Pete Maravich. We saw Greg Oden's monsterous potential (now in question due to constant injuries) as he led Ohio State all the way to the National Championship game. For an encore, last year we saw Michael Beasley nearly mimic Kevin Durant's lone college season while Derrick Rose did his best Oden imitation in leading Memphis to the title game. Others such as OJ Mayo, Eric Gordon and Kevin Love dominated games and their respective schools. This year has been vastly different as no freshman has dominated, let alone several freshman. Throughout the year there were a few different candidates for Freshman of the Year. Greg Monroe had an early lead but Georgetown's collapse and unselfish style of play has hurt his case. Tyreke Evans has been strong for Memphis, averaging 17 points, five boards and four dimes - though his scoring as increased against lesser-CUSA opponents. Sylven Landesberg has been tough for Virginia, putting up 18 points, six rebounds and three assists per game.

- The NCAA Tournament is going to be a wide-open crap shoot. This year�s field of 65 is going to be as much of a crap shoot as any year in recent memory, much like �05-�06 when the Final Four did have a single #1 seed. All the top teams have shown serious flaws and are susceptible to an early round upset. Don�t be surprised if a team not currently in the Top 10 is cutting down the nets in Detroit.