College Hoops Video

Now that the 2009-10 season is in the books it is time to start looking ahead to what might happen when the NBA Tips and other predictions start again in November of this year.

Duke head off for their summer vacation as the team to dethrone, and there are going to be plenty of challengers from the upper class as well as the mid-majors, who came so close to pulling off a shock NCAA Tournament win with the Butler Bulldogs.

There are plenty of star players leaving college for the NBA but one of the luckiest teams in terms of returning players seems likely to be the Michigan State Spartans, who fell victim to those Bulldogs in the semi-finals.

The Spartans will return nine of their 10-man rotation from a season that ended 28-9, and with Purdue and Ohio State likely to be a little weakened from 2009-10, they should be favourites to win the Big Ten title.

The biggest boosts came last week when Durrell Summers and, more surprisingly, Kalin Lucas both confirmed that they would return for their senior season, one in which they hope to go a game better than the year just completed and make it to the Championship game.

Summers averaged 19 points during the tournament but he admitted: “I’ve got dreams of playing in the NBA, but I would rather win a national championship and graduate first. I want to accomplish all those dreams instead of just one.”

Lucas failed to make it to the end of the season, rupturing his Achilles tendon in March. He has already had surgery to correct the injury and can now look ahead to his rehab as he aims for a third successive All-Big Ten selection. Something Basketball betting pundits believe he can achieve.

The Spartans started last season as pre-season No 2 in the polls, and they could well end up one better than that this time given the strength of their returnees and a strong recruiting class put together by coach Tom Izzo.

Raymar Morgan, the only absentee from last season’s team, will of course be a loss and there are worries about Delvon Roe’s knee (he has also had surgery), but recruits Adreian Payne and Keith Appling give the Spartans two players who could have an impact straight away and should certainly be part of an extremely strong line-up.

2009 Michigan State Spartans Basketball Schedule

Sun 11/1 NORTHWOOD (Exhib.) East Lansing, Mich. 4 p.m.
Mon. 11/9 GRAND VALLEY STATE (Exhib.) East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
Fri. 11/13 FLORIDA GULF COAST East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
Tues. 11/17 GONZAGA  East Lansing, Mich. 8 p.m.
Fri. & Sun. 11/20-11/22 Legends Classic – MSU Host Site East Lansing, Mich.
Fri. 11/20 TOLEDO East Lansing, Mich. 6:30 p.m.
Sun. 11/22 VALPARAISO East Lansing, Mich. 12 p.m.
Fri.-Sat. 11/27-11/28 Legends Classic – Championship Rounds Atlantic City, N.J.
Fri. 11/27 vs. Florida Atlantic City, N.J. 8 p.m.
Sat. 11/28 vs. Rutgers/Massachusetts  Atlantic City, N.J. 5:30/8 p.m.
Tues. 12/1 North Carolina (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)  Chapel Hill, N.C. 9 p.m.
Fri. 12/4 WOFFORD East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
Mon. 12/7 at The Citadel Charleston, S.C. 7 p.m.
Thu. 12/10 OAKLAND East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
Sat. 12/19 IPFW East Lansing, Mich. 12 p.m.
Tues. 12/22 at Texas Austin, Texas 7 p.m.
Wed. 12/30 TEXAS-ARLINGTON East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.

2010 Michigan State Spartans Basketball Schedule

Sat. 1/2 at Northwestern Evanston, Ill. 6:30 p.m.
Wed. 1/6 WISCONSIN East Lansing, Mich. 6:30 p.m.
Sat. 1/9 at Iowa Iowa City, Iowa 5:30 p.m.
Wed. 1/13 MINNESOTA East Lansing, Mich. 6:30 p.m.
Sat. 1/16 ILLINOIS East Lansing, Mich. 3:30 p.m.
Wed. 1/20 IOWA East Lansing, Mich. 6:30 p.m.
Sat. 1/23 at Minnesota Minneapolis, Minn. 12 p.m.
Tues. 1/26 at Michigan Ann Arbor, Mich. 7 p.m.
Sat. 1/30 NORTHWESTERN East Lansing, Mich. 7 p.m.
Tues. 2/2 at Wisconsin Madison, Wis. 9 p.m.
Sat. 2/6 at Illinois Champaign, Ill. 9 p.m.
Tues. 2/9 PURDUE East Lansing, Mich. 9 p.m.
Sat. 2/13 at Penn State University Park, Pa. 12 p.m.
Tues. 2/16 at Indiana Bloomington, Ind. 7 p.m.
Sat.-Sun. 2/20-2/21 OHIO STATE East Lansing, Mich. 4/8/12 p.m.
Sat.-Sun. 2/27-2/28 at Purdue West Lafayette, Ind. 12/8/4 p.m.
T/W/T 3/2/ 3/3/ 3/4 PENN STATE East Lansing, Mich. TBA
Sat.-Sun. 3/6-3/7 MICHIGAN East Lansing, Mich. 2:30/12/4 p.m.

2010 Big Ten Tournament
Thur.-Sun. 3/11-3/14 Big Ten Tournament Indianapolis, Ind.

So, if there’s anything that is more conjecture than pre-season NCAA basketball rankings, it has to be pre-season Bracketology! Anyway, it wouldn’t be any fun not to project the 2010 NCAA tournament brackets at this point of the summer, so why not!? Kentucky has probably had the most press since North Carolina won the 2009 NCAA tournament with Coach John Calipari taking over from Billy G. Coach Cal has brought the number 1 ranked recruiting class to Lexington, and with it some high expectations from Wildcat fans and a top 5 pre-season ranking! Other big off-season news has been Duke Guard Elliot Williams leaving school to be closer to his Mom in Memphis, and Lance Stephenson finally signing with Cincy! If you have any comments please leave them, and I’ll update this monthly in the third week of the month until its tourney time again!

 

Midwest (St. Louis) Region

Oklahoma City

1   Kentucky

16 Play-In Game

 

8 Michigan

9 Dayton

 

New Orleans

5  Butler

12 Maryland

 

4  Louisville

13 ODU  (CAA)

 

Buffalo

6  Boston College

11 Kansas State

 

3   West Virginia

14  Oakland (Summit)

 

Milwaukee

7   Siena

10 Notre Dame

 

2   Purdue

15 Binghampton (Amer East)

  

West (Salt Lake City) Region

 

Oklahoma City

1   Villanova

16 Long Beach (Big West)

 

8   Georgetown

9    Mississippi St

 

San Jose

5   Minnesota

12 Marquette

 

4  Washington

13 N. Iowa (MVC)

 

Buffalo

6  Pittsburgh

11 Illinois

 

3   Memphis

14 Jacksonville (Atl Sun)

 

Jacksonville

7   Georgia Tech

10 Cincy

 

2  North Carolina

15 Morgan St (MEAC)

 

East (Syracuse) Region

Milwaukee

1   Michigan St

16 Montana (Big Sky)

 

8  Missouri

9  Florida

 

Spokane

5  UCLA

12 Akron (MAC)

 

4   Connecticut

13 Cornell (Ivy)

 

Spokane

6  Wake Forest

11 Gonzaga (WCC)

 

3  Oklahoma

14 Sam Houston (Southland)

 

Providence

7   BYU

10 Wisconsin

 

2  Texas

15 Mt. St. Mary’s (Northeast)

 

 

South (Houston) Region

 

New Orleans

1   Kansas

16 Navy (Patriot)

 

8  Syracuse

9  Florida State

 

San Jose

5   Texas A+M

12 Utah St. (WAC)

 

4   Duke

13 Western Kentucky University (Sun)

 

Providence

6  Ohio State

11 Xavier

 

3  California

14 Charleston (Southern)

 

Jacksonville

7   Oklahoma State

10 LSU

 

2   Tennessee

15 Murray State (OVC)