Here’s a look at 10 of the better leagues in college basketball
— Big East
Rick Pitino is 56-21 in 2+ seasons at St John’s.
His son Richard is the new coach at Xavier, also in the Big East.
St John’s-Xavier play this year January 24/February 9
Right now, Big East is #5 league, their worst ranking in five years.
Big East has only 2 of top 35 teams in KenPom ratings.
Seton Hall is 9-1, but they’ve played schedule #316
5-5 Marquette is ranked #92, their lowest ranking since 2016.
— SEC
SEC is #1 league right now, with 8 of the top 30 teams in country.
Vanderbilt is 9-0; only unbeaten team in SEC. Commodores have four top 100 wins, have the #4 eFG% in the country.
11 of 16 SEC teams are in the top 100 in experience.
Auburn is playing at tempo #176, their slowest tempo since 2012.
Texas A&M is #15 in experience, #339 in continuity; their subs play 8th-most minutes. New coach McMillan was 93-39 coaching Samford the last four years.
Kentucky is a disappointing 6-4; their best win is over #198 Valparaiso.
— ACC
Ranked #4 league right now, their best ranking since 2020.
Duke is 10-0, with five top 100 wins; their eFG% defense is #1 in country.
9-1 Virginia is playing #221 tempo, their fastest pace since 2009.
ACC has six of the top 30 teams in the country.
ACC has six top 100 teams in continuity, four teams outside top 300 in continuity .
— Big 18
7-3 Wisconsin is playing pace #57, their fastest pace this century; over half their shots from the floor this season have been 3’s (33.1%, #191)
Indiana is #1 in country in experience, #347 in continuity- they did lot of poaching.
Nebraska is 9-0, 5-0 vs top 100 foes; going back to last year, they’ve won 14 games in a row.
9-1 Purdue is #21 in experience, #7 in continuity; they’re 4-1 vs top 100 teams.
Michigan is 9-0, with seven wins by 25+ points; Dusty May got Florida Atlantic to the Final Four three years ago, Florida freakin’ Atlantic. Wow.
— Mountain West
Right now, Mountain West is #6 league, their 6th year in a row in top 7.
8 of 12 teams in the league are outside the top 200 in continuity.
Colorado State is 8-2, making 45.4% of their 3’s (#1 in country); half their shots this season have come from behind the arc.
Utah State is 8-1; they’ve played only four home games. Jerrod Calhoun is their 6th coach win 12 years, with only one losing season during that time.
UNLV is 4-5; new coach, lot of new players (#335 in continuity); lot of their big guys have been hurt, but the Rebels have won at Memphis/at Stanford.
Famous birthdays, December 13th:
Dick Van Dyke, 100
Ferguson Jenkins, 83
Dave Hamilton, 78
Larry Kenon, 73
Phil Hubbard, 69
Richard Dent, 65
Gray Zimmerman, 64
Andre Turner, 61
Jamie Foxx, 58
Ricky Nolasco, 43
Taylor Swift, 36
Gleyber Torres, 29
— Big X
Big X is #2 league; last time Big X wasn’t in top 3 was 2011.
Big X has 5 of the top 20 teams in the country.
West Virginia is #4 in experience, #347 in continuity; they’re 6-3 vs schedule #355, losing three of four games vs top 200 teams.
9-1 Houston is playing tempo #357; they’re 9-1, 4-1 vs top 100 teams. Houston’s eFG% defenses #8 in the country.
10-0 Iowa State won by 23 at Purdue; they’re forcing turnovers 26.4% of time (#2).
— American
Right now, they’re #10 league; last year was first time they only got one team in NCAA’s.
Tulsa is 9-1, shooting 41.6% on arc; their only loss was 84-83 at Kansas State.
7-3 UAB is a top 20 rebounding team in country, but they’re shooting 25.7% on arc.
7-3 Tulane has played schedule #305; opponents are shooting 40.4% on arc.
South Florida is playing tempo #20; they’re 6-4, 1-3 vs top 100 teams. Bulls are #28 in country at forcing turnovers.
— Missouri Valley
Right now, they’re #9 league, their best ranking since 2018.
Northern Iowa is 7-2, with the #26 eFG% defense; they’re #4 in continuity. Last two years, Panthers are 26-14 in Valley games.
Last four years, MVC has been a one-bid league, making Arch Madness a bigger deal. Looks like this year will be the same; #75 Belmont is the highest-ranked team.
— Big West
Right now, they’re the #16 league; last year, they were #12, their best rating in years.
Cal Poly. Fullerton. Northridge.
When any of these teams play each other, bet the over. Cal Poly is #2 in country in tempo, Fullerton is #4, Northridge #14.
Last three years, Cal-Irvine is 49-11 in conference games, but Anteaters haven’t made the NCAA’s since 2019. This year, Irvine is #295 in experience.
Long Beach State is 1-9 vs D-I teams; two of their last three losses were in overtime.
Cal-San Diego is 8-1; they’ve got the #10 eFG% in the country.
— WCC
They’re #8 league; next year, with conference re-alignment, we won’t recognize the WCC.
Gonzaga is 9-1, with six top 100 wins, but they lost by 40 to Michigan. Last year was the first time since 2014 that the Zags didn’t make the Sweet 16.
Last four years, Saint Mary’s is 58-7 in WCC games, but they haven’t made the Sweet 16 in the NCAA’s since 2010. This year, the Gaels 9-1, with the #16 eFG% defense.
Santa Clara is 8-2, 3-2 vs top 100 teams; they’re #6 in country on offensive boards.
