2018-19 Conference Honors & Awards

All-AAC
Laquincy Rideau, South Florida [jr]
Corey Davis, Houston [sr]
Jeremiah Martin, Memphis [sr]
Shizz Alston, Temple [sr]
Jarron Cumberland, Cincinnati [jr]

Player of the Year: Corey Davis, Houston
Top Defender: Tacko Fall, Central Florida
Best Freshman: Jayden Gardner, East Carolina
Coach of the Year: Kelvin Sampson, Houston

All-ACC
Ty Jerome, Virginia [jr]
RJ Barrett, Duke [fr]
De'Andre Hunter, Virginia [soph]
Cam Johnson, North Carolina [sr]
Zion Williamson, Duke [fr]

Player of the Year: Zion Williamson, Duke
Top Defender: Zion Williamson, Duke
Best Freshman: Zion Williamson, Duke
Coach of the Year: Buzz Williams, Virginia Tech

All-Big East
Markus Howard, Marquette [jr]
Shamorie Ponds, St. John's [jr]
Myles Powell, Seton Hall [jr]
Phil Booth, Villanova [sr]
Eric Paschall, Villanova [sr]

Player of the Year: Markus Howard, Marquette
Top Defender: Justin Simon, St. John's
Best Freshman: James Akinjo, Georgetown
Coach of the Year: Jay Wright, Villanova

All-Big Ten
Cassius Winston, Michigan State [jr]
Carsen Edwards, Purdue [jr]
Ignas Brazdeikis, Michigan [fr]
Ethan Happ, Wisconsin [sr]
Bruno Fernando, Maryland [soph]

Player of the Year: Cassius Winston, Michigan State
Top Defender: Josh Reaves, Penn State
Best Freshman: Ignas Brazdeikis, Michigan
Coach of the Year: John Beilein, Michigan

All-Big 12
Mikai Mason, Baylor [sr]
Barry Brown, Kansas State [sr]
Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech [soph]
Marial Shayok, Iowa State [sr]
Dedric Lawson, Kansas [jr]

Player of the Year: Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech
Top Defender: Tariq Owens, Texas Tech
Best Freshman: Jaxson Hayes, Texas
Coach of the Year: Chris Beard, Texas Tech

All-Pac-12
Payton Pritchard, Oregon [jr]
Jaylen Nowell, Washington [soph]
Matisse Thybulle, Washington [sr]
Tres Tinkle, Oregon State [jr]
Robert Franks, Washington State [sr]

Player of the Year: Matisse Thybulle, Washington
Top Defender: Matisse Thybulle, Washington
Best Freshman: Luguentz Dort, Arizona State
Coach of the Year: Mike Hopkins, Washington

All-SEC
Tremont Waters, LSU [soph]
Quinndary Weatherspoon, Mississippi State [sr]
Grant Williams, Tennessee [jr]
PJ Washington, Kentucky [soph]
Daniel Gafford, Arkansas [soph]

Player of the Year: Grant Williams, Tennessee
Top Defender: Chuma Okeke, Auburn
Best Freshman: Tyler Herro, Kentucky
Coach of the Year: Rick Barnes, Tennessee

Virginia Wins National Championship...

while running Tony Bennett's amazingly efficient system that also supposedly dashes all hopes of tournament success for the Cavaliers.  (I guess we can go ahead and lay that theory to rest.)

2015-16 RBP Preseason Rankings

1) Virginia
2) Kansas
3) North Carolina
4) Kentucky
5) Michigan State
6) Duke
7) Gonzaga
8) Maryland
9) Oklahoma
10) Utah
11) Iowa State
12) Villanova
13) Wichita State
14) California
15) Michigan
16) Arizona
17) Wisconsin
18) Louisville
19) Indiana
20) LSU
21) Purdue
22) West Virginia
23) Georgetown
24) Butler
25) Notre Dame

2014-15 NCAA Honors & Awards

1st Team All-American

Delon Wright, Utah [sr]

Jerian Grant, Notre Dame [sr]

Seth Tuttle, Northern Iowa [sr]

Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin [sr]

Jahlil Okafor, Duke [fr]

2nd Team All-American

Kris Dunn, Providence [soph]

Joseph Young, Oregon [sr]

Buddy Hield, Oklahoma [jr]

Georges Niang, Iowa State [jr]

Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky [fr]

All-Defensive Team

Kris Dunn, Providence [soph]

Gary Payton, Oregon State [jr]

Sir'Dominic Pointer, St. John's [sr]

Jordan Mickey, LSU [soph]

Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky [jr]

All-Freshman Team

D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State

Justise Winslow, Duke

Stanley Johnson, Arizona

Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky

Jahlil Okafor, Duke

Player of the Year: Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin

Top Defender: Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky

Best Freshman: Jahlil Okafor, Duke

Coach of the Year: Tony Bennett, Virginia

Field of 68

*Seeding and invites do not project what I believe the Selection Committee will do.  Rather, this entry reflects what the Selection Committee should do.

1 seeds
Kentucky
Wisconsin
Virginia
Arizona

2 seeds
Villanova
Duke
Notre Dame
Gonzaga

3 seeds
Kansas
Iowa State
Maryland
Northern Iowa

4 seeds
Oklahoma
North Carolina
Louisville
Baylor

5 seeds
Wichita State
Utah
Southern Methodist
Michigan State

6 seeds
West Virginia
Arkansas
Oregon
Providence

7 seeds
Virginia Commonwealth
Georgetown
Dayton
Butler

8 seeds
Xavier
Ohio State
Cincinnati
Iowa

9 seeds
San Diego State
Davidson
Purdue
North Carolina State

10 seeds
Oklahoma State
Texas
Indiana
St. John's

11 seeds
Boise State
LSU
Mississippi
Georgia
Miami
Brigham Young

12 seeds
Stephen F. Austin
Wofford
Wyoming
Valparaiso

13 seeds
Buffalo
Harvard
Georgia State
UAB

14 seeds
UC Irvine
New Mexico State
Belmont
Manhattan

15 seeds
Eastern Washington
Albany
North Dakota State
Northeastern

16 seeds
North Florida
Texas Southern
Robert Morris
Coastal Carolina
Lafayette
Hampton

2013-14 Preseason Conference Projections

AAC

1. Louisville

2. Connecticut

3. Memphis

4. Cincinnati

5. Temple

6. Houston

7. SMU

8. South Florida

9. Rutgers

10. Central Florida

All-AAC
Shabazz Napier, Connecticut [sr]
Russ Smith, Louisville [sr]
Sean Kilpatrick, Cincinnati [sr]
DeAndre Daniels, Connecticut [jr]
Montrezl Harrell, Louisville [soph]

Awards
Player of the Year: Russ Smith, Louisville
Top Defender: Russ Smith, Louisville
Best Freshman: Keith Frazier, SMU

ACC
1. Duke
2. Syracuse
3. Notre Dame
4. North Carolina
5. Virginia
6. Pittsburgh
7. Maryland
8. Georgia Tech
9. Boston College
10. Florida State
11. North Carolina State
12. Wake Forest
13. Miami
14. Clemson
15. Virginia Tech

All-ACC
Olivier Hanlan, Boston College [soph]
Joe Harris, Virginia [sr]
PJ Hairston, North Carolina [jr]
CJ Fair, Syracuse [sr]
James Michael McAdoo, North Carolina [jr]

Awards
Player of the Year: CJ Fair, Syracuse
Top Defender: Okaro White, Florida State
Best Freshman: Jabari Parker, Duke

Big East
1. Georgetown
2. Creighton
3. Marquette
4. St. John's
5. Villanova
6. Providence
7. Xavier
8. Seton Hall
9. DePaul
10. Butler

All-Big East
Bryce Cotton, Providence [sr]
D'Angelo Harrison, St. John's [jr]
JaKarr Sampson, St. John's [soph]
Doug McDermott, Creighton [sr]
Davante Gardner, Marquette [sr]

Awards
Player of the Year: Doug McDermott, Creighton
Top Defender: Chris Obekpa, St. John's
Best Freshman: JaJuan Johnson, Marquette

Big Ten
1. Michigan State
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
4. Wisconsin
5. Iowa
6. Indiana
7. Minnesota
8. Purdue
9. Illinois
10. Penn State
11. Northwestern
12. Nebraska

All-Big Ten
Aaron Craft, Ohio State [sr]
Gary Harris, Michigan State [soph]
Glenn Robinson, Michigan [soph]
Mitch McGary, Michigan [soph]
AJ Hammons, Purdue [soph]

Awards
Player of the Year: Glenn Robinson, Michigan
Top Defender: Aaron Craft, Ohio State
Best Freshman: Noah Vonleh, Indiana

Big 12
1. Kansas
2. Oklahoma State
3. Baylor
4. Iowa State
5. Kansas State
6. Oklahoma
7. West Virginia
8. Texas
9. Texas Tech
10. TCU

All-Big 12
Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State [soph]
Markel Brown, Oklahoma State [sr]
Le'Bryan Nash, Oklahoma State [jr]
Cory Jefferson, Baylor [sr]
Isaiah Austin, Baylor [soph]

Awards
Player of the Year: Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State
Top Defender: Michael Cobbins, Oklahoma State
Best Freshman: Andrew Wiggins, Kansas

Pac-12
1. Arizona
2. UCLA
3. Colorado
4. Stanford
5. Oregon
6. California
7. Washington
8. Arizona State
9. USC
10. Oregon State
11. Utah
12. Washington State

All-Pac-12
Jahii Carson, Arizona State [soph]
Justin Cobbs, California [sr]
Spencer Dinwiddie, Colorado [jr]
CJ Wilcox, Washington [sr]
Dwight Powell, Stanford [sr]

Awards
Player of the Year: Jahii Carson, Arizona State
Top Defender: Josh Huestis, Stanford
Best Freshman: Aaron Gordon, Arizona

SEC
1. Kentucky
2. Florida
3. Tennessee
4. Alabama
5. LSU
6. Arkansas
7. Missouri
8. Vanderbilt
9. Mississippi
10. Georgia
11. Texas A&M
12. South Carolina
13. Auburn
14. Mississippi State

All-SEC
Trevor Releford, Alabama [sr]
Marshall Henderson, Mississippi [sr]
Jordan McRae, Tennessee [sr]
Jabari Brown, Missouri [jr]
Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky [soph]

Awards
Player of the Year: Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky
Top Defender: Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky
Best Freshman: Julius Randle, Kentucky

Top 25

*previous rank in parentheses

1. Syracuse 17-0 (1)
2. Kentucky 15-1 (2)
3. North Carolina 14-2 (3)
4. Ohio State 15-2 (4)
5. Baylor 15-0 (7)
6. Indiana 15-1 (8)
7. Duke 13-2 (6)
8. Michigan State 14-2 (11)
9. Missouri 14-1 (5)
10. Georgetown 13-2 (10)
11. UNLV 16-2 (13)
12. Virginia 14-1 (17)
13. Kansas 12-3 (21)
14. Louisville 13-3 (12)
15. Connecticut 12-3 (9)
16. Murray State 16-0 (18)
17. Michigan 13-3 (19)
18. Florida 12-4 (15)
19. Vanderbilt 11-4 (25)
20. Marquette 12-4 (14)
21. Kansas State 12-2 (22)
22. Mississippi State 13-3 (20)
23. Gonzaga 13-2 (23)
24. San Diego State 13-2 (24)
25. Seton Hall 14-2 (NR)

IN: Seton Hall
OUT: Wisconsin

Notes: Big Ten/ACC Challenge

1. I see you, Indiana. Off to a 7-0 start, Tom Crean's squad is playing like a team that could make a run at a NCAA tournament bid. When Mo Creek went down with his third serious injury since arriving in Bloomington prior to the start of the season, it looked like another long year was in store for the Hoosiers. While Indiana was expected to be more competitive, a run at the NCAA tourney seemed out of reach. After beating a solid NC State team in Raleigh, though, the Hoosiers appear to be, dare I say it, a good basketball team. While the Big Ten's performance the last couple nights suggests the Big Ten may, in fact, be able to challenge the Big East for conference supremacy, I actually like the Hoosiers' chances of finishing in the top half of the conference. Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and probably Michigan look definitively better than the Hoosiers. Minnesota gutted out a victory over Virginia Tech tonight, but Tubby Smith's team is going to struggle without Trevor Mbakwe. I'm not sold on Illinois. And Northwestern and Purdue look comparable to the Hoosiers. Indiana has six quality players in Cody Zeller, Victor Oladipo. Will Sheehey (one of the more underrated players in the country), Christian Watford, Jordan Hulls, and Verdell Jones. They've got a couple of nice roll players to go along with their core six, and I like freshman Remy Abell going forward. To get an idea of just how much the talent level has improved at Indiana since Tom Crean arrived, consider big man Tom Pritchard. A steady post player who was arguably one of the Hoosiers best players as a freshman when he averaged 29 minutes and almost 10 points per contest, he's now a senior averaging playing just over 9 minutes a night. It's possible Crean will need Pritchard when conference play begins. I expect the Hoosiers' Achilles' heel to be their rebounding. While Zeller possesses an even better offensive game than I expected, he's going to get pushed around by Big Ten bigs. Christian Watford, another nice offensive player, hasn't shown much interest in hitting the glass and is limited athletically. Those worries can wait for now, though, as the Hoosier faithful have cause for optimism for the first time in three long years.

2. Despite falling to the Tar Heels by 3 in Chapel Hill, Wisconsin looks very good. Heading into the night, the Badgers owned the nation's second best defensive efficiency rating (according to Ken Pomeroy). The Badgers' defense frustrated the Tar Heels early. And, as has become customary, previously unheralded Badgers have stepped into leading roles for Bo Ryan. This year, it's Ben Brust, Jared Berggren, and Ryan Evans who have provided support to the nation's best point guard, Jordan Taylor. (Josh Gasser and Mike Bruesewitz also return after playing significant minutes last year.) I'm especially impressed by Berggren who finished with 14 points, 5 rebounds (3 offensive), and 3 steals and looked like he belonged on the same stage as Tyler Zeller and John Henson. Bottom line - Bo Ryan reloads in Madison every year. If tonight's game is on a neutral floor, that's likely a Badger victory.

3. North Carolina has issues. They beat a very good Wisconsin team tonight and deserve credit for that. Not every night is going to be a blow out, especially when facing a top 10 opponent. However, if you've watched the Tar Heels this season, you know they look out of sync and, at times, uninspired. Carolina looks like an impressive collection of individual talent, but the Heels have yet to look like a dominant team. That may seem like unfair criticism for a team ranked 5th in the nation who now has wins over Wisconsin and Michigan State (and whose only loss is to a good UNLV squad in Las Vegas). I'm not suggesting ol' Roy won't right the ship. I'm just pointing out that this isn't what we expected when we saw UNC's roster before the season began.

4. Michigan State knocked off a good Florida State team tonight in a matchup of two of the best defenses in the country. After the Spartans closed out a disappointing 2010-11 campaign and opened up this season with back-to-back losses to North Carolina and Duke, I think some of us may have written off the Spartans. That may have been premature. They looked good against a stingy Seminoles squad, and Izzo's team has a lot of upside. Draymond Green, averaging a double-double to go along with 3 assists per game, is the Spartans best player, but it's State's young guys who will decide the type of season the Spartans will have. Sophomores Keith Appling and Adreian Payne look much-improved, and freshman Branden Dawson could be special. I'm no longer sleeping on the Spartans.

5. The Big Ten's 8-4 advantage gave the conference its third consecutive Challenge victory. One bright spot for the ACC was Virginia's victory over a ranked Michigan squad. Rather than being a case of Michigan being overrated, I came away from the matchup thinking I had underestimated Virginia. A number of pundits had picked Tony Bennett's Cavaliers to finish in the top half of the ACC. I picked them to finish seventh but really didn't think Bennett had the personnel to make a run at the NCAA tourney. In what appears to be a weak ACC, the Cavs look like the fourth best team in the ACC (despite a neutral court loss to TCU). Mike Scott, the Cavs' All-ACC forward, looks like a new man after losing 20 pounds. He's averaging 15 and 10 and may make a run at conference player of the year.