2018-19 NCAA Honors & Awards

1st Team All-American
Cassius Winston, Michigan State [jr]
Ja Morant, Murray State [soph]
Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech [soph]
Zion Williamson, Duke [fr]
Grant Williams, Tennessee [jr]

2nd Team All-American
Markus Howard, Marquette [jr]
Carsen Edwards, Purdue [jr]
Brandon Clarke, Gonzaga [jr]
Dedric Lawson, Kansas [jr]
Ethan Happ, Wisconsin [sr]

All-Defensive Team
Matisse Thybulle, Washington [sr]
De'Andre Hunter, Virginia [soph]
Zion Williamson, Duke [fr]
Brandon Clarke, Gonzaga [jr]
Tariq Owens, Texas Tech [sr]

All-Freshman Team
Coby White, North Carolina
Tyler Herro, Kentucky
RJ Barrett, Duke
Zion Williamson, Duke
Ignas Brazdeikis, Michigan

Player of the Year: Zion Williamson, Duke
Top Defender: Matisse Thybulle, Washington
Best Freshman: Zion Williamson, Duke
Coach of the Year: Chris Beard, Texas Tech

2018-19 Preseason All-Americans & Award Projections

First Team
Carsen Edwards, Purdue [jr]
Tyus Battle, Syracuse [jr]
Caleb Martin, Nevada [jr]
Ethan Happ, Wisconsin [sr]
Mike Daum, South Dakota State [sr]

Second Team
Kyle Guy, Virginia [jr]
Cody Martin, Nevada [sr]
Dedric Lawson, Kansas [sr]
Luke Maye, North Carolina [sr]
Udoka Azubuike, Kansas [jr]

All-Defense
Tremont Waters, LSU [soph]
Matisse Thybulle, Washington [sr]
De'Andre Hunter, Virginia [soph]
Ethan Happ, Wisconsin [sr]
Sagaba Konate, West Virginia [jr]

All-Freshman
RJ Barrett, Duke
Keldon Johnson, Kentucky
Nassir Little, North Carolina
Zion Williamson, Duke
Simisola Shittu, Vanderbilt

Player of the Year: Carsen Edwards, Purdue

Top Defender: De'Andre Hunter, Virginia

Best Freshman: RJ Barrett, Duke

Bracket Reaction: Nine Notes

1. This is the first time in the now nine-year history of RBP that the Selection Committee has gotten it right.  So, while the seeding was still a little off, at least the most deserving 68 teams are in the field.

2. The Big Ten has been down this year, and the Selection Committee took notice.  No Big Ten school got better than a 4 seed.  Purdue, the Big Ten regular season champ, picked up the 4, while the league's co-runners-up, Maryland and Wisconsin, received 6 and 8 seeds, respectively.  Confusingly, both Minnesota (5) and Michigan (7) were awarded lower seeds than Wisconsin.  The Wolverines at least won the conference tourney and finished 2-1 versus the Badgers this season.  Minnesota, on the other hand, finished a game behind Wisconsin, failed to advance as far in the conference tourney, and lost twice to the Badgers.

3.  Coming into the tournament as the defending champ with the fewest losses since '92 Duke, Villanova gets rewarded with...Wisconsin as its 8 seed.  The Badgers are the strongest 8 seed since Kentucky in '14.  That year the Wildcats knocked off 1 seed Wichita State in the Round of 32.

4.  Speaking of Wichita State and Kentucky, the Shockers are an extremely strong 10 seed.  First Gregg Marshall's squad will need to get past A-10 regular season champion Dayton, but Kentucky could be looking at Ken Pomeroy's 8th ranked team nationally in the Round of 32.

5.  The Selection Committee did Kentucky no favors, placing the Cats in a region that includes both North Carolina and UCLA.  While the Tar Heels likely will have to contend with either Kentucky or UCLA to advance to the Final Four, the top half of the South Region sets up nicely for Roy Williams' squad.  RBP ranks the Heels' 4 (Butler), 5 (Minnesota), and 8 (Arkansas) seeds as the weakest at each of those positions across the entire bracket.

6. Given their overall records, Vanderbilt (4 games over .500) and Michigan State (5 games over .500) have no business being 9 seeds, even in a weak field.  Both should have been headed to Dayton to play their way into the Field of 64.

7.  The Selection Committee released its 1-68 rankings of the tourney field.  Comparing those rankings to RBP's rankings (see previous post), we can see who the Committee is overvaluing and undervaluing.  The Selection Committee is overvaluing -- Vanderbilt (+13), Michigan State (+13), Minnesota (+12), Butler (+11), and Seton Hall (+8).  It is undervaluing -- Wichita State (-13), Wisconsin (-12), Middle Tennessee (-12), Nevada (-8), and Vermont (-8).  RBP and the Selection Committee agreed on Villanova (1), ETSU (52), South Dakota State (64), and Mount St. Mary's (68).

8. Here are the teams included in RBP's preseason top 25 that did not make the tourney -- Indiana (4), Syracuse (14), California (17), Connecticut (21), Texas (22), and Texas A&M (24).

9. With a healthy Chris Boucher, Oregon comes out of the Midwest and is RBP's pick for the title.  Without Boucher, the Ducks' third leading scorer and the Pac-12's top shot blocker, the Ducks will be hard-pressed to advance beyond the Sweet 16.

Big Ten Honors & Awards

With no Big Ten schools advancing beyond the Sweet 16, it's officially time to take a look back at the season that was. Remember that honors and awards take into account the entirety of the season, rather than just Big Ten conference play.

All-Big Ten

Jordan Taylor, Wisconsin
#11 Junior Guard 6-1 195
18.1 ppg 4.7 apg 4.1 rpg

Talor Battle, Penn State
#12 Senior Guard 6-0 170
20.2 ppg 4.4 rpg 2.9 apg

E'Twaun Moore, Purdue
#33 Senior Guard 6-4 190
18.0 ppg 5.1 rpg 3.2 apg

JaJuan Johnson, Purdue
#25 Senior Center 6-10 220
20.5 ppg 8.6 rpg 2.3 bpg

Jared Sullinger, Ohio State
#0 Freshman Center 6-9 280
17.2 ppg 10.2 rpg .541 FG%


Player of the Year: Jared Sullinger, Ohio State
The big-bodied freshman edges Purdue's JaJuan Johnson by the slimmest of margins based largely on his ability to impose his will on the perimeter-oriented college game as a true post presence.

All-Defense

Jordan Taylor, Wisconsin
#11 Junior Guard 6-1 195

Aaron Craft, Ohio State
#4 Freshman Guard 6-2 195

David Lighty, Ohio State
#23 Senior Guard 6-5 220

Draymond Green, Michigan State
#23 Junior Forward 6-7 230

JaJuan Johnson, Purdue
#25 Senior Center 6-10 220


Defensive Player of the Year: JaJuan Johnson, Purdue
David Lighty and Aaron Craft deserve special recognition for their tenacious perimeter defense, but Johnson,the former Baby Boiler, earned the top spot in the defensively-minded Big Ten after averaging 2.3 blocks per contest and anchoring Matt Painter's stingy Purdue D.

Freshman of the Year: Jared Sullinger, Ohio State
Sullinger is a no-brainer here, but fellow Buckeye Aaron Craft and Michigan's Tim Hardaway Jr. also had excellent freshman campaigns.

Coach of the Year: Thad Matta, Ohio State
Matta is the choice for guiding Ohio State to a two-loss regular season, the Big Ten regular season and conference tourney titles, and the overall number one seed in the NCAA tourney, but Purdue's Matt Painter gets a tip of the hat for yet another strong showing (as does Michigan's John Beilein for taking a team that RBP predicted would be "epically bad" to the second round of the NCAAs).

And now for some regionally appropriate hip-hop.

2010-11 Outlook: Big Ten

Projected Order of Finish

1. Michigan State - Izzo's roster is overflowing with talent, and yet another trip to the Final Four is well within reach.

2. Ohio State - Extremely talented freshman class is more than just Jared Sullinger.

3. Wisconsin - Badger big men Jon Leuer and Keaton Nankivil team up to form one of the country's most formidable post tandems.

4. Purdue - Losing Robbie Hummel for the season removes the Boilermakers from national title contention, but the return of seniors JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore means Matt Painter's squad could still make noise in March.

5. Illinois - Bruce Weber has plenty of talent and excellent depth, but can the Illini play with intensity and focus for 40 minutes?

6. Minnesota - In just his fourth season at the helm, Tubby Smith has assembled a deep roster with a nice combination of skill, size, and athleticism.

7. Northwestern - Junior forward John Shurna is one of the most underrated players in the country.

8. Indiana - Expect the product Tom Crean puts on the floor to be improved, but whether that translates into an improvement in the win column in a tough Big Ten remains to be seen.

9. Penn State - Senior scorer Talor Battle will once again lead an underwhelming Nittany Lions' attack.

10. Iowa - It's going to be another long year for the Hawkeyes.

11. Michigan - Wolverines could be epically bad.

All-Conference

Kalin Lucas, Michigan State, sr, guard
Demetri McCamey, Illinois, sr, guard
E'Twaun Moore, Purdue, sr, guard
Jon Leuer, Wisconsin, sr, forward
JaJuan Johnson, Purdue, sr, center

Player of the Year

Demetri McCamey, Illinois - If this big-bodied point guard in the mold of Deron Williams can get along with Bruce Weber, the Illini could have a special season.

Top Freshman

Jared Sullinger, Ohio State - Only question is whether he will be as dominant on the defensive end as he will be scoring the ball.

Top Defender

David Lighty, Ohio State - Versatile fifth-year senior can defend multiple positions and doesn't make mistakes.

Big Ten Review (09-10)

All-Big Ten

Kalin Lucas, Michigan State
Junior 6-1 190 14.8p 1.9r 4.0a 0.1b 1.2s

Evan Turner, Ohio State
Junior 6-7 210 20.4p 9.2r 6.0a 0.9b 1.7s

Robbie Hummel, Purdue
Junior 6-8 210 15.7p 6.9r 2.1a 1.0b 1.1s

John Shurna, Northwestern
Sophomore 6-8 210 18.2p 6.4r 2.6a 0.9b 0.8s

JaJuan Johnson, Purdue
Junior 6-10 215 15.5p 7.1r 0.7a 2.1b 0.9s

Player of the Year: Evan Turner, Ohio State
The best player in college basketball (and one of the nerdiest) did it all for the Buckeyes this year. The 6-7 junior ran the point (dishing out an impressive 6 dimes per contest), hit the boards (averaging over 9 per game), filled it up on the offensive end (over 20 a game), and played lockdown defense. Forget about leading his team in multiple statistical categories, The Villain led the conference in scoring, finished second in rebounds and assists, and third in steals. Oh, and Turner broke his back on December 5th, missed six games, and returned to lead the Buckeyes - who, while talented, featured a 7-man rotation for much of the season - to a 2 seed and a share of the Big Ten title. Three of Ohio State's 7 losses on the season came during the six-game period Turner was out the injury.

Coach of the Year: Bo Ryan, Wisconsin
It seems that Ryan is finally starting to get the attention he deserves. Every time I see the Badgers in action, the announcers are singing his praises - and rightfully so. His teams execute on offense, play hard-nosed defense, and don't make mistakes. The meat grinder that is the Badgers' halfcourt offense is just as much Ryan's trademark as the Princeton offense is for JT3 or the secondary break is for Roy Williams. His players develop during their time in Madison (witness Trevon Hughes, Jon Leuer, and Jason Bohannon from this year's team), and, seemingly regardless of who is actually suiting up for the Badgers in a given year, they are going to be one of the top 25 teams in the country and compete for a Big Ten championship.

Freshman of the Year: Drew Crawford, Northwestern
Crawford "headlines" an incredibly weak crop of freshmen in the Big Ten. The 6-5 swingman averaged a solid 10 points and 4 rebounds per contest. Crawford's numbers may be underwhelming, but his play was a key factor in Northwestern regrouping after the loss of Kevin Coble. With Crawford, Coble, Shurna, and rising senior Michael Thompson returning, the Wildcats may be dancing next March for the first time in school history.

Defensive Player of the Year: Chris Kramer, Purdue
His stats (3.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 0.4 blocks) do not begin to tell the story of the Purdue senior's impact on the defensive end of the floor. Kramer has twice been honored as Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (as a sophomore and senior) and was named to the conference's all-defensive team each of his four years in West Lafayette. His on-ball defense is a thing of beauty, and the havoc he creates on the defensive end will be sorely missed by Matt Painter. One of the best perimeter defenders to come through the college ranks in the last decade.

Biggest Surprise: Wisconsin
Not a lot of surprises in the Big Ten this year, but the Badgers get the nod here for continuing to outperform expectations. I tend to give Wisconsin the benefit of the doubt, but even I didn't see Bo Ryan's squad as a Top 25-type team this year - let alone a team that would finish one game out of a share of the Big Ten title. It's about time we learned not to doubt this strange team from the North with their blonde buzzcuts and Scandinavian bloodlines.

Biggest Disappointment: Michigan
John Beilein's third season in Ann Arbor was pretty much a fiasco. For some reason, Michigan was ranked 15th in the preseason AP poll. (I'm really not sure I've ever seen a weaker preseason top 25 team.) Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims are talented, but I'm not sure the roster features another quality basketball player. While I thought Michigan would miss the tourney, I didn't expect the Wolverines to finish with a losing record (15-17). With Harris leaving early (presumably to play overseas because he's not an NBA player) and Sims graduating, things will be even worse for Beilein next year - who left a pretty good situation in West Virginia for what has pretty much become a college basketball wasteland.

The Quest

My beloved (minus Michael Porter) Kentucky Wildcats are giving up 20 point leads and possession of the basketball in the N(o one cares) I(ncredibly sad) T(ournament) for underachievers. I thought long and hard about not filling out a bracket and even skipping the majority of the tournament games, as well. As those of you who join my in a bracket pool have learned, I changed my mind.

In order to enjoy the best sports season of the year, I would be forced to find a new team worth rooting for in March. It will be a team with a limited purpose, purely for Marches when Kentucky isn't relevant nationally. The hope is for it to be a one time pairing.

I made some conservative picks. Ultimately, I like Louisville, Pitt, and UNC to all make the Final Four. The only one seed I don't particularly like is the Dyson-less, money-hoarding UCONN Huskies. Thabeet doesn't get my blood moving. UCONN will ultimately rely on Adrien, Robinson, Price, and Walker. A good, but not great group. To add some slight intrigue in the West, I'm not a fan of Memphis, either. For the record, I'm never a fan of any team that boasts a road win against Tulsa as their best conference win. While filling, it appeared to me that the Wild West would be the region I would find the team deserving of my March support.

At this point, I'm looking at Mizzou, Washington, and Purdue as possible sleepers emerging from the West. Lorenzo Romar, Mike Anderson, and Matt Painter are all three respectable coaches who are making a case for major openings at the conclusion of the season. The difference is Painter is a Purdue alum, and I don't see him leaving unless it's for a big-time program with the ability to pay upwards of 2 to 3 million a year. Painter gets the advantage.

Mizzou plays at a blinding pace. Washington has speed in Isaiah Thomas, but ultimately tends to play in a half court type game to utilize Brockman. Purdue is from the Big Ten. Mizzou gets the nod in style of play.

I currently live an hour from Mizzou's campus. Purdue is a couple hours from my hometown. I think Washington is in a different country. Purdue gets the nod because I have no allegiance surrounding my current address.

Sidebar: I wanted the analysis of why I chose the new team to be more in-depth but I'm pressed for time and the tournament just started. Sorry, Chris.

After much analysis, debate, and wet-dreaming I narrowed it down to one creamy team:
My team for the tournament, Chris, is

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PURDUE!

Let me explain.

Sidebar: As I'm writing this, Purdue is up 12 on Northern Iowa. It could be more, but Hummel is shooting left-handed.

I like Matt Painter a lot. I think he is one hell of a coach. They have some young talent that should be there for the next two years, just in case I have to come running back next March. E'Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel are both sophomores who are extremely well-rounded players. Hummel leads the team in rebounding from the small forward position. Chris Kramer is a stud that can lock up almost anyone in the country. He is hard-nosed, played with a face-mask, and dishes out 2.5 assists a game. JaJuan Johnson is really coming along nicely towards the end of the year. He's developed nice hands and a nice 12 foot jumper that kills the weak spot in zones. Nemanja Calasan can get hot from behind the arc and provides offensive spark off the bench. As a whole, Purdue plays great team defense, holding opponents under 60 points a game. I realize they are playing in the offensively-challenged Big Ten, but it's still an accomplishment.

I've got them in the Final Four, knocking out UCONN and Memphis along the way. If they make it, my bracket sets up nicely. I see them having trouble with teams that press as well as Louisville, and accordingly, have them being knocked out by UofL. However, Purdue is poised to make some noise in this tournament and have a group of guys, a coach, and a program that should be easy to get behind. Let's go Boilermakers! I pray I'm not a curse.