6 Things to Watch in College Basketball

Russ Smith of Louisville

Last night I was sitting on my couch and engaged in a conversation with a roommate about college basketball and the upcoming season. In my excitement for the season to begin I rushed to the store and bought the newest college basketball preview magazine. What entailed was four hours of poring over endless material for what is sure to be a dynamite season all around.

Change is abound in college hoops and the landscape of the game was drastically altered on July 1 when conference realignment was officially implemented. Say hello to a new Big East and welcome in the American Athletic Conference. Say goodbye to some of the game's best rivalries such as Syracuse-Georgetown and bid adieu to Conference USA as a "power conference" (sorry Middle Tennessee and Old Dominion).

Yes, change is the theme of this year in college basketball, but there's no sense in complaining anymore. This is the way it is. So rather than getting your panties in a bunch about the breakup of the Big East, focus on the new great rivalries that realignment has given us. Notre Dame, Syracuse and Pittsburgh joining the ACC creates some enticing matchups as does Butler, Xavier and Creighton joining the Big East.

Don't feel bad if your head is spinning from all these changes. It's hard to keep up anymore, but here are six things to watch for this upcoming season.

1. Can Louisville repeat as national champions?
No team since Florida in 2006 and 2007 has repeated as national champions, but the ingredients are there for Rick Pitino's Cardinals. Nearly every major piece returns and the big one is Russ Smith. The 6-foot dynamo flirted with the NBA, but opted to return. That means Louisville has it's leading scorer (18.7 ppg) back to go with a great frontcourt. Luke Hancock was the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player and Wayne Blackshear started 34 games last season. Chane Behanan and Montrezl Harrell are two physical presences as well. Kevin Ware, barring any setbacks in his rehabilitation process, should be available by October.

2. Kentucky's freshmen class for the ages
We have grown accustomed to watching John Calipari win with a host of freshmen on his Kentucky roster, but last year his young crop of talent didn't possess the brains or the heart to get the job done. This year, six McDonald's All-Americans enter Lexington in hopes of bringing the national championship back across the state. Some media outlets have pegged Andrew Harrison and Julius Randle as All-Americans and Calipari has mentioned his aspirations of going undefeated. Stay tuned.

3. Can Tom Izzo win another title?
I hate to give Tom Izzo grief for only having one national championship to his name, especially because he has been to six Final Fours. However, his 2000 team is the only one that has hoisted the trophy and that's surprising with how much talent has gone through East Lansing. Like Louisville, Michigan State has several key pieces returning, most notably Gary Harris. Harris is versatile on the offensive end and gets after it on defense. Keith Appling is back to run the point and Adreian Payne will anchor the frontline. There's no reason these Spartans shouldn't be in Dallas.

4. How will Creighton, Xavier and Butler do in the Big East?
All three teams have had plenty of success in recent years, but let's not forget that just two years ago Butler was competing against the likes of Cleveland State. Sure, the Bulldogs had great tournament runs, but can they have success throughout the season playing teams like Marquette and Georgetown? Don't expect much from Butler this season, but Doug McDermott and Creighton could contend for the title. Xavier will most likely be middle of the pack.

5. The inaugural season of the American Athletic Conference
The funny thing about the inaugural season for the AAC is that it's going to look different next season. Louisville and Rutgers are members for this year only and then they will depart for the ACC and Big Ten respectively. Tulsa, East Carolina and Tulane will fill the void and the conference will rely on Cincinnati, Memphis and UConn for national exposure. For this year, the renewal of an old rivalry between Louisville and Memphis should be fun to watch, but again, it won't be here for long.

6. Freshmen sensations Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins
Much has been made about these two players. Parker will suit up for Coach K and Duke after leading Simeon (IL) to four straight state titles. He is smart player who is versatile at the forward position. Wiggins is enrolled at Kansas and was regarded as the nation's top player. Many believe that he will be the number one pick in next year's NBA Draft, but he has the ability to take KU deep into March despite being a freshman.

Yes, college football just started, but it's never too early to prepare for March Madness. There are plenty of storylines as the season commences. Kentucky will be number one in most polls, but there is plenty of experience on the Michigan State and Louisville rosters. Coach K will have Duke primed for a title run and Arizona has a nice mix of new recruits and old veterans.

It may only be September, but it's never too early to let the Madness begin.

Reaction to March Madness: Day 2

FGCU took G'Town completely out of their game and moved on

Day two of March Madness provided plenty of down-to-the-wire finishes, but with those finishes came poor decision making and even worse free throw shooting. Cincinnati and Kansas State are going home early and it's because they didn't execute. Georgetown is heading home because they ran into an ultra-athletic Florida Gulf Coast team that took it to them from the start. Iowa State was very impressive and the Bill Self-Roy Williams match up is on. Here are six observations from Day 2.

1. Free throw shooting is arguably the most important team skill
Cincinnati and Creighton was a close game throughout and that could only mean one thing: free throw shooting would be key. The Bearcats found themselves behind late in the game and had multiple chances at the line to bring the game closer and they failed to do so. With 53 seconds remaining a flagrant one foul was called on Doug McDermott, but Shaquille Thomas missed two crucial free throws that proved costly down the stretch. If you need one stat to see why Creighton won the game then look at free throw shooting. The Blue Jays were 22-25 and Cincinnati was just 4-9.

2. The rules about throwing elbows have to change
Staying in the same game, the play that McDermott received the flagrant one foul for was terrible. I completely understand the NCAA doesn't want players throwing elbows, but it's getting ridiculous. Cincinnati was pressing and they brought an excellent trap at McDermott with 53 seconds left. McDermott didn't really throw an elbow, but he attempted to clear space so that he could advance the ball either by a pass or dribble. However, the referees got him for an elbow and it nearly changed the course of the game. This is a rule that the NCAA will have to look at because I understand it's about player safety, but the rule is far too strict. The ball handler must be able to clear space and that requires him to be strong with the ball and natural strong elbow swings.

3. Wisconsin puts on a clinic for bad offense
Bo Ryan and the Badgers win and no one can dispute the fact that he has built a great program. However, Wisconsin is not built for March because of their inability to score the ball. The suffocating defense is great, but it only goes so far when the team fails to score the ball. Watching Wisconsin try and come back in that game hurt. Like it was mind-numbingly bad how poor they played at the offensive end. They shot 15-59 from the field, 7-30 from three and only Sam Dekker scored in double figures. Wisconsin deserves respect for sticking to their system, but they must find some players who can score the ball or they will continue to exit the tournament earlier than they want.

4. Illinois vs. Colorado was about who wanted to lose more
Have you ever seen so many droughts in one game? It was unbelievable to watch both teams struggle to score a basket. Illinois won the game even though they played bad. It just so happened that Colorado played even worse. Illinois lived by the three, died by the three and then was resurrected by the three late in the game. That's not exactly the recipe for success, but in the tournament it doesn't matter how you win as long as you get the win. Neither team deserved to win the game and the Illini have their work cut out for them against Miami. Another shooting performance like this one will send them home to Champaign.

Howland's days in LA may be over

5. Georgetown is not a safe bet when playing a double digit seed
The Hoyas lost to Florida Gulf Coast who, just three years ago, couldn't even qualify for the tournament. The Eagles didn't just beat Georgetown -- they completely dominated them for much of the game. In the second half the lead was double digits and the Hoyas were never able to make a comeback until the end. It's the fifth year in a row that Georgetown has lost to a double digit seed and it's a disturbing trend for John Thompson III. Florida Gulf Coast was unbelievably athletic and didn't back down from the spotlight. Instead, they took right to G'Town and the Hoyas were the ones who seemed like they weren't ready.

6. It may be time for Ben Howland and UCLA to part ways
Ben Howland had a magnificent run at UCLA for awhile, but times have changed drastically. After two poor seasons the Bruins had something of a revival, but they still underachieved. Howland brought in a dynamite recruiting class and the freshmen did live up to the hype but UCLA was bounced in the second round and ultimately it's a disappointing end to the season. It may be time for Howland to go in a different direction and UCLA may want to start fresh. It seems the success is in the rear view mirror and all is not well in Westwood.

The second round is in the books and it did not disappoint. Harvard and Florida Gulf Coast are the tournament darlings and the West Region is all sorts of messed up. The one seeds are alive, but they all face tough challenges in the third round. Also don't bank on the two seeds all advancing. Duke and Ohio State have very difficult games and the unpredictability is the beauty of this tournament. Also, get yourself prepared for the VCU-Michigan showdown in the morning as it should be something special.

Bracket Breakdown: Midwest

Peyton Siva of Louisville

Over the next three days we are going to do our best to break down the brackets from all angles. There may never have been a tougher field from top to bottom and it is completely open as to who the national champion will be. That should make for a fun three weeks full of upsets, great matchups and buzzer beaters. Without further ado, let's break it down.

The Midwest bracket is excruciatingly tough and contains the overall number one seed. The committee did number one seed Louisville no favors by including Duke, Michigan State and two tough teams in Oklahoma State and St. Louis. However, the third round matchups that Louisville and Duke could have are intriguing. Whoever comes out of the Midwest will have survived a difficult path and could be the favorite to win the national title.

Midwest Region winner: Louisville Cardinals
Louisville is the best team in the nation and they are playing great basketball right now. They have won 10 games in a row since losing the five overtime thriller to Notre Dame. The Cards won the Big East tournament and are definitely battle tested. However, are they ready for some of the battles they will have on their path to Atlanta? In the third round they could have a rematch against a tough Missouri team who they defeated by 23 at the beginning of the season. Mizzou has definitely improved since then and will be a tough matchup. In the Sweet 16 the Cards will have to go through either Oklahoma State or St. Louis and that won't be easy and then in the Elite 8 they will most likely face Duke or Michigan State. Talk about difficult. That said, Louisville is healthy and playing great and should prove to be the class of the Midwest Region.

Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State

Upset Pick: Middle Tennessee over Memphis
Picking Middle Tennessee over Memphis means that the Blue Raiders would have to first beat St. Mary's which is no easy task, but MTU is tough. They compiled a 28-5 record, yet failed to win the Sun Belt conference tournament. However, the committee let them in and now they will play a tough opening round game against another mid-major. My pick is that they beat the Gaels and then take down a Memphis team who is a little down this season.

Potentially Intriguing Matchup: Creighton vs. Duke (Third Round)
If Creighton defeats Cincinnati and Duke handles Albany like they should then the Blue Jays will meet the Blue Devils in the third round. Duke is a national title contender, but Creighton is a tough team led by Doug McDermott. However, he will have his hands full with Mason Plumlee and that will be a great one-on-one matchup to watch. Creighton is a solid team who might just knock off the Dukies earlier than the country expects.

Player to Watch: Marcus Smart, guard, Oklahoma State
Smart tore up the Big 12 in his freshman season, averaging 15.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. A physical specimen, Smart has the all-around game to take the Cowboys to the Sweet 16. The Pokes will need him to be at his best because they are matched up with Pac-12 tournament champion Oregon in the second round and then they will most likely have to play the Atlantic-10 champion St. Louis in the third round.

Bottom Line: The Midwest Region is extremely tough, but Louisville will live up to the overall number one seed and advance to the Final Four.