ESPN: Expert Predictions for the new season - Basketball Forum : Professional and College Basketball Forums

DistrictBaller · 11-08-2012, 12:41 PM

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bask...ons-new-season

Quote:

Seventeen ESPN experts agreed to make their predictions concerning the 2012-13 season. They kindly ask that you do not reference this page in March (unless they're right, of course).

For the A-10:

Stephen Bardo: UMass
Jay Bilas: St. Joe's
Eamonn Brennan: VCU
Chad Ford: Saint Louis
Fran Fraschilla: VCU
John Gasaway: VCU
Seth Greenberg: St. Joe's
Andy Katz: Temple
Jason King: Saint Louis
Joe Lunardi: VCU
Myron Medcalf: VCU
Dana O'Neil: Butler
Robbi Pickeral: St. Joe's
Bruce Pearl: VCU
Miles Simon: VCU
Dick Vitale: VCU
Jay Williams: VCU

Knobby · 11-08-2012, 01:19 PM

If you do win it more power to ya, but I just can't see VCU winning the conference in year one. This is not the Horizon League and it is not a six game Tournament.

DistrictBaller · 11-08-2012, 01:27 PM

Dana O'Neil says the A-10 can get 6 bids in the video at the link in the original post.

Yeah, I hear that point of view for sure. They're all just preseason predictions. We'll see how it goes! It'll be fun to watch regardless.

DistrictBaller · 11-08-2012, 03:00 PM

Another fairly useless preseason prognostication from SportsIllustrated this time: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...?sct=cb_t11_a0

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SI.com's Seth Davis, Luke Winn, Pete Thamel and Andy Glockner serve up their predictions for the 2012-13 season.

Luke Winn and Andy Glockner both had VCU as dark horses to go to the Final Four.

Under 'Surprise Team':

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Glockner

VCU: The Rams' chances in their debut season in the Atlantic 10 are being understated by some, and they should be an extremely dangerous team come March. They return everyone but Bradford Burgess from last season's Round of 32 squad and added two big-time freshmen to the mix. The overall grind of the A-10 will get them a few nights in January and February, but you do not want to see this team in your NCAA regional. In a year with no truly dominant team expected, the chances of someone popping up in Atlanta are decent, and the Rams are as good a pick as any to make another run.

Under 'Best mid-major team':

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Winn

VCU: Rams' backcourt depth (they have six quality guards!) is unmatched, and it should allow them to play pressure D at an elite level. Look for sophomore Treveon Graham to have a breakout season as a high-usage scorer.

Under 'A bold prediction':

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Thamel

The Atlantic 10 finally sheds any semblance of its mid-major label by landing five teams in the NCAA tournament, more than the top-heavy ACC. The additions of Butler and VCU have been a coup for the league.

Glockner

I didn't quite map it out this way in the preseason bracket projection, but the Atlantic 10 could end up with more NCAA bids than either the Pac-12 or ACC.

DistrictBaller · 11-09-2012, 09:29 AM

This time from Jeff Eisenberg from Yahoo Sports's 'The Dagger'. 68 preseason predictions: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-...tml#more-14658

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1. A team from outside the six power conferences will make the Final Four. Five of those teams are ranked in the AP Preseason Top 25, with VCU, Butler, Saint Louis and a handful of others lurking on the fringes.

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9. Team that will decline the most: Xavier. Chris Mack will have the Musketeers in contention in the Atlantic 10 again before too long, but the loss of Tu Holloway, Dez Wells, Mark Lyons and two members of the freshman class is too much for Xavier to overcome.

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11. Atlantic 10 breakout star: Treveon Graham, VCU. The 6-foot-5 wing averaged 7.0 points in 16.7 minutes as a freshman and showed an ability to get to the foul line. Expect his production to rise this season with Bradford Burgess having graduated.

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27. In a deep Atlantic 10 with six teams capable of finishing first, VCU will emerge from the pack. The Rams have the talent, depth and experience to seamlessly handle the step up in competition from the CAA.

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32. Outside shooting will no longer be a problem for Butler with the addition of Arkansas transfer Rotnei Clarke and freshman Kellen Dunham, but the Bulldogs will miss Chrishawn Hopkins. No other Bulldogs guard has the quickness and athleticism to create off the dribble the way Hopkins could.

11-08-2012, 01:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
Knobby Veteran Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Western Mass Posts: 1,810 Rep Power: 247596	Re: ESPN: Expert Predictions for the new season If you do win it more power to ya, but I just can't see VCU winning the conference in year one. This is not the Horizon League and it is not a six game Tournament. __________________ Well, we were smaller, but at least we were slower!

11-08-2012, 01:27 PM	#3 (permalink)
DistrictBaller Veteran Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 1,121 Rep Power: 47196	Re: ESPN: Expert Predictions for the new season Dana O'Neil says the A-10 can get 6 bids in the video at the link in the original post. Yeah, I hear that point of view for sure. They're all just preseason predictions. We'll see how it goes! It'll be fun to watch regardless. __________________ "We will wreak havoc on our opponent's psyche and plan of attack." - VCU Head Coach Shaka Smart

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