2011 NCAA Final Four Predictions; Houston Mens Basketball Tournament Picks
It's Never Too Early to Forecast for Next Year
I will start with likely favorites that will not make it to Houston next year:
Kansas- Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich are gone, expect a solid rebuilding year that will yield a sweet sixteen appearance at best.
Kentucky-If Wall and Cousins stay not only will I be surprised, I will rewrite this article. Assuming they both leave to get paid, Kentucky will have no chance of getting to the Final Four after a disappointing season with all of the talent in the world.
Duke- Scheyer and Zoubek are key players, and replacing them will not be easy. It will take a better coached season than 2009-2010 to get the Blue Devils anywhere near Houston in 2011.
FINAL FOUR TEAMS 2011:
Michigan State- Michigan State will be twice the team they were during their 2010 run with Izzo's best recruiting class at MSU. Raymar Morgan is the only player of note leaving the team, meaning Lucas, Summers, Lucious, Chris Allen, Delvon Roe, and others will be back and an All-American guard (Keith Appling) and several other highly touted recruits will all contribute for the Spartans. Izzo will have a fun year leading the Spartans to their 3rd straight Final Four.
Purdue- Purdue is back in the hunt for the Final Four with the recent NBA Draft entry removal of E'Twaun Moore and JuJuan Johnson. Robbie Hummel now has his supporting cast back and possibly the starting team in the nation. Depth will still be an issue, but this team has what is takes to contend for a title and make it to the Final Four.
Duke- With Singler returning, Duke is now back in the hunt for a Final Four. I still like Illinois as a sleeper who I removed to put Duke into this slot. Duke has a balanced recruiting class coming in and a solid team to work with, which is all Coach K needs to make a deep NCAA Tournament Run.
North Carolina- Harrison Barnes and Reggie Bullock (both top 10 recruits) will make a huge difference for the Tar Heels after a horrible 2009-2010 season. John Hensen and Tyler Zeller will combine with other young talent to make another Roy Williams Final Four run.
NATIONAL CHAMPION: Michigan State
Their combination of supreme coaching, talent, and vast experience will pay huge dividends and lead to a National Championship for the Spartans.
Recently Removed: West Virginia has been removed from the Final Four list. Ebanks staying in the draft and other holes will prevent the Mountaineers from returning to the Final Four.
Others I like: Kansas State, Syracuse, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Baylor, Florida, Illinois
Published by Michael Luchies
Michael Luchies has a Bachelors of Science degree in Entrepreneurship from Badley University and is the current Manager of Membership Operations for the Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization. Michael was C... View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentLMFAOOOOOOOO FAIL
Haha you all have no wits when it comes to ncaa basketball. All you do is base stuff off of last year. Wow. Oh well. O H !
Don't count Kentucky out again they have the most tallanted class in the nation and they should be a better outside shooting team. all depends if Kanter can play.
I agree. Duke is going to come back firing on all cylinders. I think that they very well may hold the number 1 spot this upcoming season for the longest, if not all season long. Don't forget about Curry who transferred from Liberty also. He will be what duke hasn't had in a long time. A point guard that can drive, shoot, defend, assist, and penetrate defenses
You are nuts?
Duke will have Singler, Nolan Smith, the best PG recriut in the nation(Kyrie Irving). Add the Plumlees and Ryan Kelly, not to mention Joshua Hairston and they will be every bit as good as MSU. I feel they will even be better.
Number 5 is right around the corner. How foolish will you feel when MSU doen't even make it to Houston, let alone win it all.
How can you not even give Purdue consideration? I'm not a fan myself but I'm still a realist.
Kansas made it to the sweet 16 after losing brandon rush, mario chalmers, sasha kaun, darnell jackson, and darrell arthur. Kansas will be loaded next year.
Butler makes it to the Final Four, loses only one starter, has three blue chippers coming in and no mention? Any reason?