Season preview: HoopsHD interviews USC G Jonah Mathews

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We continue our season preview coverage with USC G Jonah Mathews. It was quite a sporting Sunday in Los Angeles yesterday: the Rams beat the Packers to remain the only undefeated team in the NFL, the Dodgers (fresh off winning the longest World Series game ever on Friday) lost to the Red Sox in Game 5, the Clippers scored 136 points while pummeling the Wizards, the Galaxy came up 1 goal short in a loss to the Dynamo, and Alec Martinez scored the game-winning goal for the Kings with 55 seconds left in a win over the Rangers. UCLA & USC both lost home football games on Saturday but their basketball teams both hope to make it back to the postseason next March. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Jonah about making a sneaker switch and being a great 3-PT shooter.

You play for Coach Andy Enfield: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him? He lets us play and is not a stickler so he lets us make all the decisions on the ball. He never takes us out if we make a mistake.

You played in 35 games as a freshman: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? We only had 10 guys on the roster but I prepared to contribute and play a role. The upperclassmen just showed me the way.

Last January you were struggling with your shot until switching to a new pair of sneakers: are we ever going to see you wear anything except Jordans in the future?! Nike called Coach Enfield and said I could not wear them…unfortunately!

You shot 42.3 3P% last season: what is the secret to making shots from behind the arc? Just repetition. I get into the gym every day and just take shots that I will take during a game, which helped my confidence.

In the 2018 Pac-12 tourney semifinals you scored a career-high 27 PTS/8-10 FG in a win over Oregon: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? I felt good before that game, saw 1 go in, and that helped me get going. I played against the Ducks twice before during the regular season so I felt comfortable against them the 3rd time.

In the 2018 NIT you had a 5-PT 2-OT win over UNC Asheville and then a 4-PT loss to Western Kentucky: what did you learn from your postseason run that will help you this year? You have to come ready to play every game because people are out to get you. We almost lost both of those games so we have to be locked in from the start.

Your non-conference schedule includes games against Vanderbilt/Texas Tech/Nevada/TCU/Oklahoma: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? All of them are good teams but Nevada will be ranked in the top-10. They all play in big conferences so we have to come ready to play. We cannot fool around and have to get some wins.

Bennie Boatwright missed 17 games as a sophomore due to a knee sprain and then the final month of last season due to a left patella injury: how is his health doing at the moment? He is determined to rehab his injuries and has gotten back to doing sprints. He should be back to contact drills in a couple of weeks and is progressing well.

Your father Phil is a college basketball coach and your brother Jordan plays pro basketball in Denmark: who is the best athlete in the family? Easily me because I can do everything: I am the best for sure!

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? I want to be 1st-team All-Pac-12 on both offense and defense. It really hut to miss the NCAA tourney last year so we have to be hungry. I hope we can win a conference title and then make a deep run in March.

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Tulane head coach Mike Dunleavy Sr.

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We continue our season preview coverage with Tulane head coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. Duke fans might know him as the father of 2001 NCAA champ Mike Jr. and Quinnipiac fans might know him as the father of head coach Baker but his storied career dates back several decades and involves many Hall of Famers. He played for a great coach named Frank M. at South Carolina (McGuire, not Martin), played with Dr. J in 1 NBA Finals and with Moses Malone in another, and coached Magic Johnson in an NBA Finals. He led the NBA in 3P% in 1983 and was named NBA Coach of the Year 20 years ago. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Dunleavy about his colossal career and fantastic family.

You played for Hall of Fame coach Frank McGuire at South Carolina: what made him such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? First of all, he was great recruiter. Secondly, it was his style of play. Coach McGuire coached Wilt Chamberlain in the NBA when he averaged 50 points per game and recorded the only 100-point game in NBA history. A lot of the things we learned were pro things, which was very positive. During my freshman year we had four future pros in addition to 7-footer Danny Traylor: myself, Kevin Joyce (1st-team All-American, 1972 Olympian), Brian Winters (NBA All-Star), and Alex English (NBA Hall of Famer).

In December of 1980 as a player for Houston you scored a career-high 48 PTS in a 3-PT win over Denver: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”, and was it extra-special to do it against your college teammate English? What really happened in that game is that it was a quiet 48 PTS because I scored double digits in every quarter. Moses Malone was injured that night so Billy Paultz was our center. As he told me, it was because of him that I got open because he screened for me many times and got me great looks. It was just one of those games: it was not like I was just so hot all night. I made 19-30 FG but it was one of those things where the ball just moved and I got open looks and made shots. It had nothing to do with playing against Alex because he did not guard me, but 1 person who was in the mix of people who defended me was Hall of Famer David Thompson. The main thing was that it was a win in a fairly close game.

In 1979 you finished 6th in the NBA with 86.4 FT% and in 1983 you led the NBA in 3P%: what is the secret to being a great shooter? Consistency in shooting the ball same way every time. That year we had 4 guys on my team who were in the top-7 in the league: Calvin Murphy/Rick Barry were #1/#2, and Mike Newlin and I were #6/#7!

You made the NBA Finals twice as a player (once each with Philly/Houston) and once as a coach (with the Lakers in 1991): what was it like to face legends like Bill Walton/Larry Bird/Michael Jordan with a championship at stake? The only time we were favored was during my rookie year when we played against Portland. We had a lot of great players on that team but obviously Portland was a great team as well and played really good team basketball. Bill Walton was really amazing but they also had a great supporting cast. In the Rockets-Celtics series we were major underdogs. We had some injuries but got hot at the end of the year and then won like six games in a row to get into the playoffs, and then we set the record for most road wins.

As someone who had a good view of 2 of the most famous “switching hands” plays in the history of the sport, were you more impressed by Bird in Game 1 of the 1981 Finals (he missed an 18-footer, caught the rebound in mid-air while falling out of bounds, switched the ball to his left hand and flipped it into the basket) or Jordan in Game 2 of the 1991 Finals (he drove to the basket, raised the ball in his right hand, then switched the ball to his left hand and banked in a layup)? I think that Bird’s shot was a tougher shot. I do not think that Jordan had to finish it the way he did: he was just athletic enough to do so.

In 1999 you were named NBA COY with Portland: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? Any time a coach is named Coach of the Year it is really a team award. The main thing that year was that we never lost three games in a row all season long. We really kept it even and played really solid basketball. We were really good defensively and did a good job of sharing the ball.

You won 6 games in your 1st year at Tulane in 2017 but won 14 games last year: how were you able to make such a big improvement from year #1 to year #2? In my first year I was teaching virtually every player and everyone on my coaching staff (except for assistant coach Raman Sposato) what we were going to do. Last year we came back and had 10 guys who were here (giving us 10 other teachers + coaches), so that made it a lot easier for the new guys to pick everything up. That was the big part of experience: when you have a lot more teachers then your players can leave and go home and talk about it and the guys really know what they are talking about.

You lost your top-2 scorers from last year (Melvin Frazier/Cameron Reynolds) and only have 2 seniors on the roster: how will you try to replace all of that offense/leadership? I think that we are going to have depth. It is going to be hard because it is not going to fall on only one guy. We think that we have a couple guys who can pick up and add 2-4 points per game for us, and I think we are going to have the deepest team since I have been here.

Your son Mike Jr. ranks in the top-50 in NBA history with 1304 career 3PM, your son Baker is head coach at Quinnipiac, and your son James is an agent who has several NBA clients: how proud are you of all of their accomplishments? Obviously I am very proud of all of them. Basketball is kind of their livelihood in a sense but it started out with them being good students. They all went to good schools and made good grades and they each have a really good work ethic. Those are the main things. To do anything you have to work hard and stick with it. Nobody has a straight line up: you have to just keep plugging and working.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? It is to take our game to another level. We always want to play fast but this year we would like to play even faster. We want to be fundamentally strong and have got to get better defensively. With our depth we will have more substitution options so we will be able to play faster. We are going to play a lot of young guys so we might be somewhat erratic for a period of time but I think that we will be exciting to watch.

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews West Virginia assistant coach Erik Martin

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We continue our season preview coverage with West Virginia assistant coach Erik Martin. There are few assistant coaches in the country who have been connected to their boss for as long as Coach Martin has. He first met Bob Huggins more than 25 years ago when he agreed to come to Cincinnati to play for the Bearcats, then worked as an assistant to Huggins at Kansas State before following him to West Virginia. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Martin about almost beating the Fab 5 as a player in the Final 4 and facing the eventual champs last March as an assistant coach in the Sweet 16.

Take me through the 1992 NCAA tourney as a player for Bob Huggins at Cincinnati:
In the Sweet 16 you scored 10 PTS including a pair of FTs with 20 seconds left in a 2-PT win over UTEP: did you think that you were going to make them both, and where does that rank among the highlights of your career? I did think that I would make them both but I remember Hugs getting on me during a timeout for something else that I did. It was big but there is so much else that happened after that. Hugs keeps reminding me that I made them: it was a great moment in my life.

In the 1st-ever Final 4 to feature 4 schools that had previously won a national championship, you had 10 PTS/10 REB in a 4-PT loss to Michigan: what was it like to face the “Fab 5” with a spot in the title game on the line? It was bigger than anything that has ever happened in my life. At the start of the year I do not think that anyone even had us in their top-50. 1 of my teammates told Dick Vitale at Midnight Madness that we planned to reach the Final 4. Dick told us to get some more realistic goals but Hugs told him that we would do it.

In 1993 you led the Great Midwest Conference with 60.3 FG%: what is the key to being a great shooter? Getting a lot of rebounds! We had a great guard named Nick Van Exel: he made a lot of big shots but I tried to get as many rebounds as I could whenever he missed.

In the 1993 NCAA tourney you scored 16 PTS in a 7-PT OT loss to North Carolina: how close did you come to beating the eventual national champ? The refs were awful during that game: I think Coach Dean Smith kicked the scorer’s table and they did not even give him a technical foul. That being said, I give Carolina credit because they beat some really good teams along the way.

You played pro basketball in the US/overseas for 9 years: what is the biggest difference between basketball in the US vs. basketball in other countries? Now there is very little difference: everyone is going to smaller lineups with stretch-fours. Back in my day there was a lack of athleticism overseas so they would get an American to even out their squads. Now it is a fine line because everyone wants to step out and shoot the 3 like Golden State.

In the 2010 Big East tourney as an assistant to Huggins at West Virginia, tourney MVP Da’Sean Butler banked in a 3-PT shot at the buzzer in a 3-PT win over your alma mater and then 2 nights later he made a runner with 4 seconds left in a 2-PT win over Georgetown to clinch the school’s 1st Big East title: where does Butler rank among the most clutch players that you have ever seen, and was is extra-special to win it at MSG with an all-New York area starting lineup of Butler/Wellington Smith/Kevin Jones/Devin Ebanks/Truck Bryant? I gotta go with my guy Nick as the most clutch but Da’Sean was probably #2. We also had guys like Mazzulla who was from Rhode Island: they called us the Metro-neers! After wins at our home arena we play the song “Country Roads” by John Denver, so when they played it at MSG it was electric. I will never forget that: there were grown men in the stands who were crying. It was surreal: everything was happening so fast at the time but it remains 1 of the best days of my life.

In the 2018 Sweet 16 you lost to eventual champion Villanova: what do you think your team learned from that game that can help them this year? I do not know if we learned anything but we need to do a better job of blocking out on the FT line. If we had blocked out on 1 possession in the 2nd half and then made a 3 we could have cut it to single digits. You have to give Villanova credit for withstanding our pressure. They beat each of the top-3 schools in the Big 12 in a row (West Virginia/Texas Tech/Kansas) so I tip my hat to them. The best team probably won the title last year, which does not happen all the time.

Your veteran frontcourt looks great with Esa Ahmad/Lamont West/Sagaba Konate: how is the backcourt looking after the graduation of Jevon Carter/Daxter Miles Jr.? It is looking young! They are gym rats so they are always coming in to watch film but they will have to learn a lot of lessons during games. I think that we will be a lot better in February then we will in November. When you have veterans who leave you just need to let the younger guys figure things out.

You are responsible for the development of big men: what is the key to success in the post? 1 thing you have to do is create space: it is all about footwork. There are 100 different ways you can do it. I will keep saying it: I told Sagaba what to do and he just kept doing the work to become a great player. My job is to teach them what to do.

Your non-conference schedule includes games against Florida/Pitt/Tennessee: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? Definitely the game at Tennessee. They are a top-5 team that brings almost everyone back, but after playing road games in the Big 12 we are prepared for that type of environment. It will be an opportunity to show America that we are a good team who deserves a high seed.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? We are different than most schools: Hugs lets the players determine the goals. We want to win the national title but I want our players to get better as both players/people. If all they learned during their time here was about basketball then I did a poor job of preparing them for life. All D-1 athletes deserve more than wins/rings: even if you play in the NBA the ball will stop bouncing 1 day and you need to be prepared for that. I want them to be productive citizens, which sometimes gets overlooked. We need to be role models and teach them to be ready for life.

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Fairfield head coach Sydney Johnson

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We continue our season preview coverage with Fairfield head coach Sydney Johnson. You might think we live in an era where college basketball coaches only view their players as commodities worth paying top dollar for when recruiting them or interchangeable pieces to sub in and out based on who is in foul trouble. However, this image of Coach Johnson and the school’s all-time leading scorer Tyler Nelson from the MAAC tourney title game last March illustrates that there are still some coaches out there who build lasting relationships with their players. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Johnson about the importance of that photo as well as his recruiting philosophy.

You played for Hall of Fame coach Pete Carril at Princeton: what makes him such a great coach, and what is the most important thing that you ever learned from him? The exceptional thing about Coach Carril is that he sees everything both good/bad, which meant that everything mattered. We paid attention to detail and it taught me how to see more of the game (schemes/spacing/etc.). I also learned about togetherness because he pushed us extremely hard to be a great unit.

In the 1996 NCAA tourney you scored a team-high 11 PTS in a 2-PT upset of defending champ UCLA: did you think that the backdoor pass for the game-winning layup in the final seconds by Gabe Lewullis was going to work, and is it true that after the final buzzer Carril mumbled under his breath, “I can’t believe they f—ing did it”? I can confirm that teammates/assistant coaches of mine who were within earshot stated he said that. My dad went to IU so as soon as the buzzer went off I ran to find him in the crowd. UCLA is 1 of the greatest basketball programs of all time but we were a good team as well. We believed in ourselves and were used to Coach drawing up a play during a timeout and then we would go out and make it happen. We broke the huddle and had our winning habits in mind: it all came together.

In 1997 you were named Ivy POY: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? A very close friend of mine once said that I have an ego but not a big ego. I am proud of the award because I put my heart/soul into playing for my coaches and loved my teammates like brothers. The place changed my life and I tried to work hard: nobody owed my anything but it was still really nice to be acknowledged. I am a team guy and appreciated the honor from the rival coaches: I cared deeply about doing the right thing. I still care about it…but do not lead with it in my bio!

You remain the only 3-time captain in school history and still hold the school record for career STL: what is the key to being a good leader and what is the key to being a good defender? I think that the key to being a good leader is listening. It sounds weird but you need to hear what is needed and then be willing to give that. I arrived as 1 of the better freshmen in the league…but then slid over to SG after they recruited Mitch Henderson. The next year we got Brian Earl…and I slid over to the 3rd guard on the court. That is what the team needed because those other 2 guys were really good. To defend you need to be tenacious and study what your opponents do. I also had really good coaching from guys like Armond Hill/JT III who taught me some tricks of the trade. You also need some nastiness to you.

In the 2007 NCAA tourney you made the Final 4 as an assistant to John Thompson III at Georgetown after Jeff Green banked in a jumper with 2.5 seconds left to beat Vanderbilt and your team overcame an 11-PT deficit in the 2nd half to beat North Carolina in OT: what is your favorite memory from that postseason? It was some of the best coaching that I have ever been around. When Coach huddled us together heading into OT against UNC he was just nodding/smiling and told the guys that we would get it done. It was not a Hollywood moment but rather a sincere connection between the staff and players. In the 2nd round we trailed BC at halftime but just found a way to come back in the 2nd half (and win by 7 PTS). We ran into some pro-level players at Ohio State in the Final 4 (including Greg Oden/Mike Conley) but we were good because we were so in sync.

In the 2011 NCAA tourney as head coach at your alma mater, Brandon Knight made a driving layup with 2 seconds left (his only points of the game) in a 2-PT win by Kentucky: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? I am pivoting to my right and looking at a framed photo of that team on my desk, next to photos of me hugging Tyler Nelson as well as some photos of my family. We loved each other, worked really hard, and executed the game plan against Kentucky the entire game. We were right where we wanted to be but just had a breakdown at the very end. However, it will never ever take away the moments that we had that season.

Your roster includes players from Puerto Rico/Sweden/Lithuania/Congo/Serbia/Tunisia/Egypt: what sort of recruiting philosophy do you have? We want Princeton-offense-skilled players with a high level of competitiveness/intensity. Over the past 2-3 years a number of kids who checked those boxes happened to be international kids. Of our current freshman class, 3 of them are from the US and 1 is from Sweden so it just goes in cycles. Passing/dribbling/shooting/playing really freaking hard is common overseas, whereas 6’8” players in the US who look like LeBron James often get placed under the basket.

Your non-conference schedule includes games against Purdue/Boston College: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? Purdue is a monster test because they stomped us last year (106-64 in West Lafayette). We had 8 newcomers last year so we had a lot to figure out but it was a good lesson for us. I am really interested/excited to see our approach to that environment to see how we comport ourselves. BC is obviously a signature game: we were fortunate to beat them the last time we played them and I am sure they have not forgotten that. Both games will tell me a lot about my team and how they respond to challenges…but the most important thing is how we perform in our league.

Your father played basketball at Indiana and your brother Steve played basketball at Cal: who is the best athlete in the family? I am the youngest so I am on shaky ground if I take any sides! My dad was a phenomenal athlete: he was a high jump state champion and 1 of the better basketball players in the state by his junior year. Last year he was honored as a past All-State player: he combined his athleticism with high aptitude in the classroom.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? The goals are to be the MAAC representative in the NCAA tourney. We have come so close during the past couple of years but I like the strategy we have taken in the program. We have kids who are hungry/aggressive to get it done. It is hard in a 1-bid league but we are not running from that. Last year was my most special year at Fairfield and it reminded me of my Princeton/Georgetown teams. If I can have more seasons like that where the guys change my life, I will be the happiest coach in America!

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Season preview: HoopsHD interviews Nevada preseason All-American F Caleb Martin

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We continue our season preview coverage with Nevada preseason All-American F Caleb Martin. Yesterday the AP announced its preseason All-American team: 5 guys from power conferences (Carson Edwards/Purdue, Luke Maye/North Carolina, RJ Barrett/Duke, Dedric Lawson/Kansas, Ethan Happ/Wisconsin)…and the 1st Nevada player to ever be named a preseason AP All-American. This just makes his resume more impressive, if that is even possible after an incredible junior season: MWC Player of the Year, Sweet 16 appearance, 18.9 PPG, 40.3 3P%. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Caleb about his twin brother Cody and why they decided to return to school instead of stay in the draft.

In the 2015 NCAA tourney as a freshman at NC State you scored 4 PTS while your team held #1-seed Villanova to 31.1 FG% to pull off the 3-PT upset: how were you able to do something that very few teams have done recently (beat the Wildcats in March)? The main thing that stood out to me was our chemistry: everyone knew their roles. I was an energy guy who tried to rebound/play defense.

After your sophomore season you and your twin brother Cody decided to transfer to Nevada: what makes Eric Musselman such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him? He is so straightforward with everybody and does not sugar-coat anything. He tells you from your 1st official visit what you can expect and exactly what your role will be. I learned how to be blatantly honest: he has made me a tough-minded player.

In the 2018 Sweet 16 you had 21 PTS/5-11 3PM/3 BLK but Marques Townes made a 3-PT shot with 6.3 seconds left in a 1-PT win by Loyola Chicago: what did you learn from that game that will help you this year? That was the 1st time in the tourney that we started off hot so we might have become a bit complacent. You need to keep your foot on the pedal, especially when you are facing a team with a chip on their shoulder. We just ran out of gas and need to act like the score was 0-0.

Last year you led the MWC with 680 PTS and were named conference POY: what is the secret to being a great scorer, and what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? I just try to move on to the next play if I miss an easy shot. A lot of my confidence comes from my coaches/teammates: they help me execute the plays when it is time to get a bucket. Getting POY was not a specific goal: I just wanted to play well and help get the school back on the map. It was such an honor because there are a lot of great players in this conference.

Your family kept winning awards when Cody was named conference DPOY: what makes him a good teammate, and what makes him a good brother? His unselfishness: he is the size of a PF but plays like a pass-first PG who loves to set everyone up to get their own baskets. It allows me to be more offensive-minded even though I know that he can score. He takes so much pride on defense and knows how to get guys into the right spots in a timely manner. All of that stuff translates to our relationship off the court as well: he looks after my best interests and will give me a different type of perspective. He does not just tell me what I want to hear.

You and your brother declared for the NBA Draft last spring: how did the Draft Combine go, and why did you 2 decide to return to school? The Combine was a good experience: it was fun to play in front of people like that. However, it did not go as well as planned: there are a lot of factors as to how well you can play. I do not think that we could have made a bad decision either way, but it helps to come back to a top-10 team and know that I will get better. The plan this year is to get past the Sweet 16.

You both turned 23 last month: what did you do for the big day? I was just chilling with my brother and hung out with 1 of my boys who came to visit. It was the day after our pro day, which led to a great birthday. We do not do all that wild stuff: just relaxed.

1 of your incoming freshmen is 6’10” McDonald’s All-American Jordan Brown: how is he looking so far? He has a really good feel for the game and plays beyond his age. His touch around the rim is great and he has good hands/footwork. He looks like a McDonald’s All-American and will be fun to play with. He is still working on some little things but he has a majority of it covered because he is such a smart player.

Your non-conference schedule includes games against USC/ASU/Utah: when did your school join the Pac-12, and which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? I have not done too much research on those teams yet but Utah is always a tough place to play at. We have a really good schedule lined up because our coach has a lot of confidence in us and the schedule will prepare us to get to the postseason. We need to see what kind of team we really are.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Everyone’s goal is to make it to the NCAA tourney and win a national title…but it is so hard just to make the tourney. My goals change throughout the season: right now I want to have the best record in non-conference play, but later on my goal will be to win the MWC tourney and make it to the Final 4. We have really high expectations because we know what kind of talent we have. Last year was great but it is over.

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The Hoops HD Report: SEC Conference Preview

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For several years it appeared that the SEC was Kentucky, one or two other tournament teams, and then a bunch of NIT teams.  After putting eight teams in the NCAA Tournament last year that is no longer the case.  The league looks to be as good, or possibly better, than it was a year ago.  Kentucky is a national title contender, and Tennessee and Auburn are both high in the rankings and look to be good enough to compete for protected seeds.  Mississippi State is another team that looks to be much improved, and we expect Florida to be tough as well.  Missouri has been bit hard by the injury bug for the second year in a row, but still has a pretty good team.  Vandy has a really good recruiting class, and even teams that appear to be at the bottom of the league like Ole Miss have reasons to be optimistic.  Watch and/or listen as Chad and the panel run through the entire league.

 

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of our show…

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