CBB: Frequently Asked Questions
1. What two teams will win in the Champions Classic? The Champions Classic always has storylines, but this might be the best group yet. Also four teams open in the top-10, and three of them (Kansas, Kentucky, and Duke) are ranked in the top four. Michigan State is 10th. Not only that, but there are a ton of NBA Draft prospects, headlined by: R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish, Keldon Johnson, and Quentin Grimes. So, who do we think will win the games? We're going to ride with top ranked Kansas, who has a slight advantage over the Spartans, despite Cassius Winston and Nick Ward returning. In the closer, ESPN FPI says Kentucky has a 52.5 percent chance to win. However, we''ll take Duke because of their offensive firepower.
2. Who will win the ACC: Duke, Virginia, North Carolina, or Syracuse? Virginia won the ACC last year and proved they were the best team in the conference when they beat Duke on the road, and then won the conference tournament as well. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, their season ended earlier than expected with an upset in the opening round. The Blue Devils are the obvious choice to dethrone the Cavaliers, and we think they will. Duke has a dominant team with their incoming freshman quartet led by Barrett and Williamson, but beyond that, their depth is unbelievable and they will go far this season. North Carolina's Nassir Little is one of the best players in the country, though, so expect the Tar Heels to make it interesting too.
3. Will the Big Ten get more than four teams in the NCAA Tournament? The Big Ten struggled last season for the most part, and there were a clear cut top four programs: Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, and Ohio State. All four won at least one game in the tournament, and the Wolverines made it all the way to the national title game before going down to Villanova. This year, though, it's kind of a toss up. Everyone knows both of the Michigan schools are going to be in, but it's unclear after that. Purdue is losing a lot, expect Carsen Edwards, and Ohio State has a really inexperienced ball club. Nebraska might be a team to watch, but who really knows? A lot has to go right for the bottom teams to make a run at the NCAAs.
4. Who will stay unbeaten the longest: Gonzaga, Nevada, or Villanova? Both Gonzaga and Villanova have reached the Final Four once in the last two years and are expected to be in contention again this time around. However, Nevada is returning basically their entire team after getting all the way to the Elite Eight last season. In addition to their returners, Nevada has a pretty easy schedule to begin the season. The Wolfpack will be able to stay undefeated the longest because their schedule is easier than the other teams and they are going to be favored in most (if not all) of their matchups. Nevada starts the season with BYU and won't face a Power 5 opponent until their 7th game, when they face USC, which should still be a victory.
5. Which four teams will end up in the Final Four? Between our five writers, we only have nine different teams picked to go to the Final Four. Those nine programs are: Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Nevada, North Carolina, Tennessee, Villanova, and Virginia. There were three teams who received four votes, including the Blue Devils, Bulldogs, and Jayhawks. The fourth spot goes to the defending champions Villanova, but Kentucky was just on the outside. According to CBS Sports, the four teams will the best odds to reach the Final Four are Duke (5-4), Kentucky (5-4), and Kansas (5-4), with Nevada (3-1) rounding out the projected field. Beyond them, Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan State, and Virginia have the next best odds.
Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated.
