Three “usual suspects” and a squad that may be primed for a program breakout season make up the next tier of my preseason Top 16 college hoops squads.
So, without further adieu . . .
No. 8 PITTSBURGH
Why: Jamie Dixon’s Panthers lost three starters (accounting for 30 points and 17 points per game) but could still be improved after winning 28 games – 15 in the Big East – and losing that gut-wrenching, third-round NCAA Tournament game with Butler. Dixon has never had a deeper backcourt.
Why not: The Panthers will not win as many conference as they did a year ago if at least one of two former McDonald’s All-Americans, junior Dante Taylor and freshman Khem Birch, doesn’t play like one this season.
No. 7 SYRACUSE
Why: With four starters back from a 27-8 squad (which started 18-0) and an exceptional three-player freshman class, this is the deepest squad Jim Boeheim has coached in a while. He could have three all-conference choices in Kris Joseph, Scoop Jardine and Brandon Triche.
Why not: What if none of the post players in the program – individually or collectively – give the Orange what Rick Jackson (13.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game) provided last season?
No. 6 DUKE
Why: The Blue Devils have enough depth, skill and size – 20-feet, seven-inches of it going by the name of Plumlee – to go along with a Hall of Fame coach which is more than enough to offer someone a reasonable alternative to nodding in unison in support of making North Carolina the favorite to roll in the ACC this season.
Why not: Mike Kryzewski lost his three best players – guards Kyrie Irving and Nolan Smith, as well as forward Kyle Singler – to the NBA last spring. And that’s a lot to lose and not feel a bit of a sting.
No. 5 VANDERBILT
Why: Coach Kevin Stallings returns five starters – three of those nabbing all-Southeastern Conference honors – from the squad that won 23 games, three of those (North Carolina, Marquette and Kentucky) against teams that collected NCAA tourney wins.
Why not: The Commodores lost their opening NCAA tourney games over the last two seasons as Nos. 5 and 4 seeds; have they gotten that unsightly habit out of their system?
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