{"id":4622,"date":"2014-01-02T11:23:44","date_gmt":"2014-01-02T15:23:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=4622"},"modified":"2014-01-02T11:23:44","modified_gmt":"2014-01-02T15:23:44","slug":"the-new-year-report-conference-previews-part-four","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=4622","title":{"rendered":"The New Year Report – Conference Previews, Part Four"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, we’ve gotten through any conference that any casual fan would care about, so it’s time to get into the weeds for the junkies.\u00a0 Part Four here gives us the two macks (MAC and MAAC) as well as the Horizon and floudering CAA.<\/p>\n

HORIZON<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

The Horizon lost Butler last year without replacement, which hurt.\u00a0 But, this year they traded up in the conference shuffle.\u00a0 They lost the lowly Loyola-Chicago program (off to get throttled in the Valley) and added a very solid Oakland team.\u00a0 This is a wide-open race that should be really interesting all year.<\/p>\n

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  • Preseason Favorite:\u00a0 Wright State<\/em>
    \n<\/strong>The Raiders return 4 starters from a surprise 3rd-place team a year ago and were picked by most as the preseason favorite in the Horizon.\u00a0 But, “favorite” is not a familiar role for Wright State, and they seem to have struggled with it so far, losing games to N.C. A&T and a really bad Miami (OH) team.<\/li>\n
  • Most Impressive:\u00a0 Green Bay<\/em>
    \n<\/strong>With Butler gone and Valpo, Detroit, and Cleveland State rebuilding, Green Bay was thought to be the most likely challenger to preseason favorite Wright State.\u00a0 Well, it looks like the Phoenix are actually the clear team to beat entering conference play.\u00a0 They are 9-3 including a win over UVA.<\/li>\n
  • Most Disappointing:\u00a0 Wright State<\/em>
    \n<\/strong>As noted above, Wright State was supposed to be the team to beat, but have really <\/em>disappointed so far.<\/li>\n
  • “My” Favorite:\u00a0 Cleveland State
    \n<\/em><\/strong>Anton Grady is back from an ACL tear a year ago and he joins last year’s Horizon Newcomer of the Year, Bryn Forbes, and this year’s breakout player, Trey Lewis, to form one of the best sophomore classes around.\u00a0 This team is good this year and could be SCARY good in a year or two.<\/li>\n
  • Potential Sleepers:\u00a0 Oakland, Milwaukee
    \n<\/em><\/strong>Oakland has played a brutal schedule, which means they’re battle-tested and could be a real sleeper in the Horizon race.\u00a0 Milwaukee was picked last in the league, but has looked far from that in non-conference play.<\/li>\n
  • Also Relevant:\u00a0 Valparaiso, Detroit, Youngstown State
    \n<\/em><\/strong>Valpo is always relevant in the Horizon.\u00a0 Detroit lost Ray McCallum, Jr., but still has some talent left.\u00a0 Youngstown is still itching to break through and are on the radar to do so this year.<\/li>\n
  • Dregs: Illinois-Chicago<\/em>
    \n<\/strong>The only bad team in the league actually has one of the best players – Kelsey Barlow, the former Purdue Boilermaker.<\/li>\n
  • The Pick:\u00a0 Green Bay
    \n<\/em><\/strong>With Wright’s struggles, it’s hard to pick them to win, so the next team up in Green Bay.\u00a0 They look like the favorites as we enter league play, but in a conference this wide open, anything can happen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    COLONIAL<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

    The CAA has fallen on hard times not too long after being one of the prize jewels of mid-major basketball.\u00a0 They added College of Charleston this year to try and offset the losses of Georgia State (to the Sun Belt) and, much more significantly, two long-standing pillars in Old Dominion (to CUSA) and George Mason (to the A-10).\u00a0 What is left is a relatively weak conference that still has potential to be good, but won’t be this year.<\/p>\n

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    • Preseason Favorite:\u00a0 Towson<\/em>
      \n<\/strong>Coming off one of the worst season in college basketball history last year, the Tigers really turned it around to finish second in the regular season and may have won the conference tournament if they had been eligible.\u00a0 Adding a high-profile transfer in Four McGlynn to a roster that already has a superstar in Jerrell Benimon made them the preseason team to beat, though I questioned that at the time and still do.<\/li>\n
    • Most Impressive:\u00a0 Drexel<\/em>
      \n<\/strong>I am not sure why Towson was the preseason favorite when Drexel has a ton of talent coming back from an albeit disappointing season.\u00a0 The Dragons seem to me to be – on paper\u00a0– head and shoulders above the rest of the league, and that looks to be evident through the non-conference, as the Dragons have road wins at Illinois St., Elon, Rutgers, and Davidson, as well as a neutral court win over Alabama.\u00a0 They also beat Cleveland State at home and – most significantly – nearly knocked off NUMBER ONE, ARIZONA.<\/li>\n
    • Most Disappointing:\u00a0 James Madison<\/em>
      \n<\/strong>Now they weren’t anywhere near the best team in the league last year, but they did win the tournament and represent the CAA in the Big Dance.\u00a0 But, they are pretty bad this year and not looking to be much of a factor.<\/li>\n
    • “My” Favorite:\u00a0 Delaware
      \n<\/em><\/strong>When you have a backcourt of Devon Saddler and Jarvis Threatt, you have to be taken seriously.<\/li>\n
    • Potential Sleepers:\u00a0 College of Charleston, William & Mary
      \n<\/em><\/strong>CofC has not looked that good, but it’s been against a brutal schedule, so if they can make the adjustment to the new league, they could be dangerous.\u00a0 W&M has still never made the tournament and that streak probably won’t end this year, but they shouldn’t be completely counted out.<\/li>\n
    • Also Relevant:\u00a0 None
      \n<\/em><\/strong>Anyone with any relevance has been mentioned above.<\/li>\n
    • Dregs:\u00a0 Hofstra<\/em>
      \n<\/strong>The Flying Dutchmen\u00a0haven’t had a good year since they stopped being the Flying Dutchmen.\u00a0 Though, that all might change next year when they bring in two stud transfers from last year’s MAAC champion, Niagara (including Juan’ya Green, who is SPECIAL).<\/li>\n
    • The Pick:\u00a0 Drexel
      \n<\/em><\/strong>I like Towson a lot (particularly because of Benimon), but Drexel is clearly the better team.\u00a0 Did I mention that they nearly beat Arizona?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      MAC<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

      At least the MAC has gone away from that terrible divisional format for their conference tournament, so the glaring differences in quality among the two divisions is only a subtle factor in the unbalanced conference schedules and not an in-your-face issue come March.\u00a0 This year, though, the big surprise and probable best team is in the West.<\/p>\n