Oregon Basketball Ranked 14th in Preseason Poll
By Alex Weber
Finally! The long boring march from April to November is seeing its welcome end as the college basketball season is officially upon us. Here in Eugene, the hype is real for the 2018-19 Oregon basketball team. Nationally? Well, your AP Voters of the world are all aboard the Bol Bol train as well.
Here’s the official ranking of the alleged 25 best college basketball teams:
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Gonzaga
- Duke
- Virginia
- Tennessee
- Nevada
- North Carolina
- Villanova
- Michigan State
- Auburn
- Kansas State
- West Virginia
- Oregon
- Virginia Tech
- Syracuse
- Florida State
- Mississippi State
- Michigan
- TCU
- UCLA
- Clemson
- LSU
- Purdue
- Washington
Others Receiving Votes: Loyola (Chi) 162, Marquette 124, Indiana 98, Florida 71, Nebraska 35, Maryland 28, Wisconsin 24, Notre Dame 22, Cincinnati 21, Alabama 15, UCF 15, Buffalo 14, Arizona 14, Louisville 11, Miami 10, San Diego St 9, USC 6, Butler 6, Texas Tech 6, Texas 5, Arizona St 3, St. John’s 3, Providence 2, Xavier 2, Missouri 1, NC State 1, Marshall 1, Davidson 1.
So yeah, Oregon is slotted at 14th to open the season after failing to appear at all in the AP’s rankings a year ago; and I think it’s fair. With a solid group of returners and a top recruiting class, there’s enough talent to justify a top-15 spot, but enough uncertainty to keep us from the upper echelon. I think it’s the right spot. Now, for the games. AKA: what really matters.
Too Low
Washington – I think U-Dub might be the best team in the Pac-12 right now. I love this year’s Oregon team, but Mike Hopkins made remarkable strides in merely one season as Huskies head coach. This year, his squad already played a “secret” scrimmage against seventh ranked Nevada in Reno. Quick tangent: why are these scrimmages kept under such wraps? It’s college basketball. There’s no need for secrecy. These scrimmages are treated like the ’92 Dream Team practices at Monte Carlo. I digress…Anyways, Washington won this scrimmage by 18 without Noah Dickerson, a key player and starter. Based on that result and they return almost all of last year’s production, I think Washington may be a top-10ish squad come conference play.
North Carolina – UNC has the best forward combo in the entire country, and I firmly believe either of them could win National Player of the Year. Luke Maye was a 16-10 guy last year and should benefit from better floor spacing and a more free-flowing offense in year two. Nassir Little, next to RJ Barrett, is the most talented freshman in the country and looked will be a massive difference-maker on both ends of the court. He will be in contention for the top pick in the draft next summer. Outside of them, Kenny Williams and Cam Johnson return as double digit scorers with high three-point shooting percentages. I like their core and Roy Boy is still an elite coach. They should be top 5.
Too High
Michigan – Last year’s runner-ups lost nearly all of their major contributors, with Charles Matthews being the only returner. He’ll be great for them this year, clearly. But other than him, Swaggy Poole is probably the only other name you’ve heard of. I think they will struggles at the beginning and may not have the talent to overcome it. Also, they played a summer game against Serbian professional team Mega Bemax and lost. Kentucky beat this team by a score of 100-64, so there’s some reference. I like Beiline and thought he did an astounding job last year. However, he will have an uphill battle to come anywhere close to the title game this season.
Kansas State – Aside from an Elite 8 run, this team was uninspiring. I think they benefitted from a friendly draw and abnormal hot shooting in last year’s tourney, and really aren’t anything to be worried about this year. Almost none of their rotation changed, and as an anti-fan of stagnation, I’m lower on the Wildcats than most.
I. LOVE. BASKETBALL.