2012-13 NCAA Honors & Awards

First Team All-American

Trey Burke, Michigan
Victor Oladipo, Indiana
Otto Porter, Georgetown
Doug McDermott, Creighton
Kelly Olynyk, Gonzaga

Second Team All-American

Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State
Russ Smith, Louisville
Ben McLemore, Kansas

Cody Zeller, Indiana

Jeff Withey, Kansas

All-Defensive Team

Aaron Craft, Ohio State

Victor Oladipo, Indiana

Nerlens Noel, Kentucky
Gorgui Dieng, Louisville
Jeff Withey, Kansas

All-Freshman Team

Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State

Ben McLemore, Kansas
Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA
Anthony Bennett, UNLV
Nerlens Noel, Kentucky

Player of the Year: Trey Burke, Michigan

Top Defender: Jeff Withey, Kansas

Best Freshman: Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State

Coach of the Year: Jim Larranaga, Miami

*And that wraps up the 2012-13 season.  2013-14 Preseason Top 25 is on its way.

2012-13 Conference Honors & Awards

As usual, after the season ended, I ran out of steam prior to posting RBP's annual Conference Honors & Awards.  Because I want to turn to the 2013-14 season (preseason Top 25, conference projections, All-American teams, etc.), I am posting the six power conferences all at once.

All-ACC

Shane Larkin, Miami
Erick Green, Virginia Tech

Reggie Bullock, North Carolina

Ryan Kelly, Duke

Mason Plumlee, Duke

Player of the Year: Shane Larkin, Miami

Top Defender: Michael Snaer, Florida State

Best Freshman: Rasheed Sulaimon, Duke

Coach of the Year: Jim Larranaga, Miami

All-Big East

Shabazz Napier, Connecticut
Russ Smith, Louisville

Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse

Otto Porter, Georgetown

Gorgui Dieng, Louisville

Player of the Year: Otto Porter, Georgetown

Top Defender: Gorgui Dieng, Louisville

Best Freshman: Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova

Coach of the Year: John Thompson III, Georgetown

All-Big Ten

Trey Burke, Michigan
Aaron Craft, Ohio State

Victor Oladipo, Indiana
Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State

Cody Zeller, Indiana

Player of the Year: Trey Burke, Michigan

Top Defender: Victor Oladipo. Indiana

Best Freshman: Gary Harris, Michigan State

Coach of the Year: Tom Izzo, Michigan State

All-Big 12

Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State

Pierre Jackson, Baylor

Ben McLemore, Kansas

Rodney McGruder, Kansas State

Jeff Withey, Kansas

Player of the Year: Jeff Withey, Kansas

Top Defender: Jeff Withey, Kansas

Best Freshman: Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State

Coach of the Year: Fred Hoiberg, Iowa State

All-Pac-12

Jahii Carson, Arizona State
Allen Crabbe, California
Spencer Dinwiddie, Colorado

Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA

Dwight Powell, Stanford

Player of the Year: Allen Crabbe, California

Top Defender: Andre Roberson, Colorado

Best Freshman: Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA

Coach of the Year: Dana Altman, Oregon

All-SEC

Marshall Henderson, Mississippi
Jordan McRae, Tennessee
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia
Laurence Bowers, Missouri

Nerlens Noel, Kentucky

Player of the Year: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia

Top Defender: Nerlens Noel, Kentucky

Best Freshman: Nerlens Noel, Kentucky

Coach of the Year: Billy Donovan, Florida

Field of 68 Bracket

Midwest (Indianapolis, IN)
1 Indiana
16 Robert Morris
8 San Diego State
9 North Carolina
5 Marquette
12 Temple/Kentucky
4 Kansas State
13 Belmont
6 Oregon
11 Saint Mary's
3 Syracuse
14 Valparaiso
7 Memphis
10 Virginia
2 Michigan
15 Montana

West (Los Angeles, CA)
1 Kansas
16 Mercer/Southern
8 North Carolina State
9 Wichita State
5 Notre Dame
12 Louisiana Tech
4 New Mexico
13 Stephen F. Austin
6 Pittsburgh
11 Iowa State
3 Arizona
14 South Dakota State
7 Missouri
10 Minnesota
2 Gonzaga
15 Long Beach State

East (Washington, DC)
1 Duke
16 Norfolk State/Charleston Southern
8 Cincinnati
9 UCLA
5 Saint Louis
12 Creighton
4 Wisconsin
13 Bucknell
6 Butler
11 Akron
3 Michigan State
14 Harvard
7 VCU
10 California
2 Georgetown
15 Niagara

South (Arlington, TX)
1 Miami
16 Northeastern
8 Colorado State
9 Villanova
5 Oklahoma State
12 Arizona State/LaSalle
4 Ohio State
13 Middle Tennessee
6 UNLV
11 Oklahoma
3 Louisville
14 Davidson
7 Illinois
10 Colorado
2 Florida
15 Stony Brook

*Seeding does not reflect games played on Monday, February 25.  The bracket incorporates the seeding from yesterday's Field of 68 post.

Starting Five: Non-Conference Review Edition

1. Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart exploded out of the blocks but has since cooled off a bit.  He's still playing excellent basketball - putting up 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists per game.  In the meantime, UNLV's Anthony Bennett has caught and passed Smart in the race to be crowned the nation's best freshman.  Bennett is doing his best Larry Johnson impression in Vegas (averaging 19.2 points and 8.8 boards per contest) and is the main reason the Rebels have been able to withstand Mike Moser's recent absence due to injury.  Kansas' Ben McLemore also has passed up Smart but trails Bennett for now.

2. In the National Player of the Year race, Doug McDermott gets my vote through the first third of the season.  An argument can certainly be made for Duke's Mason Plumlee, but I would argue that the Blue Devils' big man is surrounded by far more talent than the Bluejays' forward and is asked to do less.  McDermott's numbers are impressive (23.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game), but his headiness and ability to lift his teammates' level of play have been even more important.  McDermott has been pretty flawless thus far, but there's still plenty of basketball to be played.  

3. The Defensive Player of the Year race is more of a landslide at this point, as Jeff Withey shot-blocking has the Jayhawks looking like a contender.  Withey is currently second in the country (after freshman Chris Obekpa of St. John's) at 4.9 blocks per game, but that really doesn't account for all of the shots he's altering.  Shout out to LSU's Anthony Hickey for leading the nation in steals per game.

4. At this point in the season, my All-American ballot would look like this - Trey Burke (Michigan), Isaiah Canaan (Murray State), Russ Smith (Louisville), Doug McDermott (Creighton), and Mason Plumlee (Duke).  My second team is as follows: C.J. McCollum (Lehigh), Nate Wolters (South Dakota State), Brandon Paul (Illinois), Tony Bennett, (UNLV), Jeff Withey (Kansas).  All of these guys were on my radar to start the season, but I wouldn't have believed it if you had told me before the season started that the Plumlee the Middle or Russdiculous would be in the running for All-American honors.

5. RBP's preseason Final Four was Louisville, Indiana, Syracuse, and Kentucky with the Cardinals winning a National Championship.  At this point, RBP's revised Final Four is as follows - Louisville, Indiana, Michigan, and Florida.  We're sticking with Rick Pitino's squad, though our faith had wavered a bit in Gorgui Dieng's absence and in light of Indiana's improved defense.  However, with Dieng's return and the Hoosiers' tendency to play to the level of their competition, we're sticking with our original pick at this early juncture.