Preseason college basketball power rankings | NCAA Tournament Basketball Tickets

By Jason King
September 22, 2010

College basketball fans who live for March may want to start paying a little closer attention in January and February – especially in the Big Ten.

Entertaining as the race for the national championship will be, the quest for the Big Ten title could turn into one of the more riveting storylines during the regular season.

Michigan State is the favorite, but Purdue and Ohio State will be in the mix as well. The trio tied for the conference title last spring. This year all will be Final Four contenders who are capable of giving the league its first NCAA title since 2000.

With schools such as Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota providing quality depth, the Big Ten was the easy choice for my 2010-11 preseason conference power rankings. Here’s a closer look at each of the Big Six leagues.

BIG TEN

NCAA Tournament teams: Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin

On the bubble: Minnesota, Northwestern

Outlook: This is as strong as the league as been in years. Michigan State – which is seeking its third straight Final Four appearance – will be one of the nation’s top rebounding teams thanks to frontcourt standouts Draymond Green and Delvon Roe. But the play of senior point guard Kalin Lucas will be the key in determining the Spartans’ fate. Other than defensive standout Chris Kramer, Purdue returns all of its key pieces from a Sweet 16 squad that finished 29-6 last season. Ohio State lost Evan Turner, but touted recruit Jared Sullinger joins a cast of four returning starters.

Wisconsin, which returns underrated forward Jon Leuer, hasn’t finished lower than fourth in the league race in nine seasons under Bo Ryan. After missing the NCAA tournament two of the past three seasons, Illinois needs to capitalize on the return of Mike Tisdale, Mike Davis and Demetri McCamey to keep the pressure off coach Bruce Weber. Things should calm down for Tubby Smith at Minnesota following a tumultuous 2009-10 that was marred by off-court problems. Indiana should be vastly improved now that leading scorer Maurice Creek and guard Matt Roth are healthy. Northwestern will attempt to make the NCAAs for the first time in school history without standout Kevin Coble, who has given up basketball. Penn State, Iowa and Michigan will finish at the bottom of the league.

BIG 12

NCAA tournament teams: Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Texas, Missouri

On the bubble: Colorado, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State

Outlook: Just like the Big Ten, the Big 12 appears to have three Final Four contenders in Kansas, Kansas State and Baylor. It’s tough to pick against a team that has won six straight conference titles, so Kansas is the obvious choice as the preseason favorite despite the loss of Cole Aldrich, Xavier Henry and Sherron Collins. The play of the Morris twins and freshman point guard Josh Selby – the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit – will be pivotal to the Jayhawks’ Final Four hopes. Kansas State should challenge their in-state rivals for the league crown. The Wildcats boast the Big 12’s top homecourt advantage. Frank Martin’s team needs to find another guard to take some of the pressure off of standout Jacob Pullen, who no longer has Denis Clemente as his backcourt mate.

On paper Baylor looks to have the best starting lineup in the league with players such as LaceDarius Dunn, Quincy Acy and Perry Jones. Unfortunately the Bears have a huge question mark at the most important position on the court: point guard. The quality of teams drops off a bit after the top three. Texas, as always, will be talented despite the loss of three starters. But the Longhorns continue to fail to live up to expectations. Missouri touts one of Big 12’s top backcourts but doesn’t have much down low. Look for Colorado and Texas Tech to be among the league’s most improved teams. The Buffaloes, who have a new coach in Tad Boyle, have two players who could start for anyone in the country in Alec Burks and Cory Higgins. And Jon Roberson leads a cast of four returning starters at Texas Tech.

BIG EAST

NCAA tournament teams: Villanova, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, West Virginia, Marquette

On the bubble: Georgetown, Connecticut, St. John’s, Louisville, Notre Dame, Seton Hall

Outlook: Three different Big East teams (Villanova, Connecticut and West Virginia) have advanced to the Final Four the past two seasons. But no one would be surprised if the conference didn’t have a representative there in 2011. Too many programs were hit hard by graduation and early NBA draft defections. Villanova, Pittsburgh and Syracuse will likely be included in the Preseason Top 15 of most publications, but plenty of question marks surround each school. Villanova has a promising player in the frontcourt in Mouphtaou Yarou but, otherwise, the Wildcats don’t have much depth down low. Syracuse lost three starters, meaning the Orange will have to depend heavily on freshmen. And Jamie Dixon’s Pittsburgh squad continues to be an NCAA tournament disappointment (although there are many close to the Panthers program who believe that trend will end this March). West Virginia has a lot of nice parts but no star power thanks to the loss of Da’Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks. Same thing goes for Georgetown, where Greg Monroe has played his last college game. Louisville should be good a year from now once it gets all of its standout recruits into school but, as of now, the 2010-11 Cardinals don’t appear to be much of a threat. Marquette’s Buzz Williams is one of the top coaches in the country, so expect the Golden Eagles to be back in the NCAA tournament. St. John’s and Seton Hall should be in the mix, too, thanks to the energy provided by the arrival of new coaches Steve Lavin and Kevin Willard. Both coaches inherited talented and experienced teams.

SEC

NCAA tournament teams: Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee

On the bubble: Georgia, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt

Outlook: The number of quality teams at the top of the league is the reason the SEC beats the ACC for fourth place. Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee are all preseason Top 20 teams. Duke and North Carolina are the only schools that can make that claim in the ACC (although Virginia Tech could’ve before it lost J.T. Thompson to a season-ending knee injury earlier this month). The SEC got four teams into the NCAAs last season and could surpass that mark in 2011, which the aforementioned teams all getting in along with Georgia, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. The battle for the SEC East title should be a dogfight. Kentucky will be a strong team without Enes Kanter and a Final Four-contender with him. Florida returns all of its key pieces and Tennessee needs players such as Scotty Hopson and Tobias Harris to make fans forget about the mess surrounding coach Bruce Pearl. Second-year Georgia coach Mark Fox is hoping a roster that includes two future pros (Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie) is good enough to get the Bulldogs into the NCAA tournament. Vanderbilt, which hasn’t won an NCAA tournament game since 2007, will be led by NBA prospect Jeffery Taylor. As good as the SEC East will be, the SEC West might be atrocious. Mississippi State should be strong if Dee Bost is deemed eligible and if Renardo Sidney lives up to his billing. But after that the division appears weak. Arkansas, LSU and Auburn all had losing records last season.

ACC

NCAA tournament Teams: Duke, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Florida State

On the bubble: North Carolina State, Maryland

Outlook: The return of standouts such as Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith make Duke the favorite to repeat as NCAA champion. Heck, the Blue Devils may be even better than last year thanks to the arrival of guard Kyrie Irving and the addition of Liberty transfer Seth Curry. Unfortunately, Mike Krzyzewski’s team won’t be challenged much within its own league. North Carolina should be vastly improved after missing the NCAA tournament last spring. Freshman Harrison Barnes is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft after this season. Sophomore forward John Henson is poised for a breakthrough season after coming on strong near the end of his freshman year. After that the ACC looks shaky. A knee injury to Virginia Tech forward J.T. Thompson earlier this month was a massive setback for the Hokies, who should still be strong as long as players such as Malcolm Delaney and Dorenzo Hudson perform up to expectations. Looking for a sleeper team? Try North Carolina State, where a talented recruiting class – C.J. Leslie picked the Wolfpack over Kentucky – will join standout Tracy Smith in a quest to save Sidney Lowe’s job. Florida State returns four players who averaged more than eight points. New coaches will roam the sidelines at Clemson, Boston College and Wake Forest. All are expected to struggle in their first year.

PAC-10

NCAA tournament teams: Washington, Arizona

On the bubble: Arizona State, UCLA

Outlook: Clearly the worst Big Six conference in 2009-10, the Pac-10 will be better this season. But not much. One definite bright spot should be Washington, which lost Quincy Pondexter but returns every other key piece of last season’s Sweet 16 team. Isaiah Thomas is one of the top point guards in the country and Venoy Overton is one of the best defenders. Arizona missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in 25 years last season, but second-year coach Sean Miller should get the Wildcats back into the Big Dance in 2011. Led by future first-round draft pick and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Derrick Williams, Arizona returns four starters along with a pair of recruits (shooting guard Daniel Bejarano and Jesse Perry) who will contend for significant playing time.

Freshmen Josh Smith and Tyler Lamb should play a major role for rebuilding UCLA, which should get back on the winning track after going 14-18 last season. Arizona State and Washington State could also contend for NCAA tournament berths. The Sun Devils lack star power but are well coached. Washington State, meanwhile, touts one of the country’s top scorers in Klay Thompson. At USC, the Trojans are counting on transfer Jio Fontan to provide a boost when he becomes eligible in December.

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