Everybody has an opinion, and some are better than others. Andy Katz is well-regarded as an expert on all things college basketball, so what he says should be taken seriously — to an extent.
The BTN, FOX and NCAA analyst released a very, very early ranking of college basketball teams for next season in his Power 36 for the 2020-2021 season. The words are kind from Katz, but the ranking of No. 35 isn’t much of a compliment for Ohio State.
Here’s what Katz says about the Buckeyes’ chances next college basketball season.
“The Buckeyes lost Luther Muhammad to the transfer portal after Kaleb Wesson announced he was declaring for the draft. But the core of Kyle Young, E.J. Liddell, Duane Washington, Cal transfer Justice Sueing and Harvard transfer Seth Towns means the Buckeyes aren’t going anywhere.”
I don’t know that I’d agree with being ranked No. 19 and a likely five seed in the NCAA Tournament and the end of this season, to falling to the 36th best team in the country as “not going anywhere,” but I digress.
WAY-Too-Early Power 36 for 2020-21 from @TheAndyKatz, as heard on the #MM365 pod! 👀
1. Gonzaga
2. Baylor
3. Villanova
4. Creighton
5. Iowa
6. Wisconsin
7. Kansas
8. Michigan
9. Kentucky
10. Virginia
11-36. 👉 https://t.co/4z0MepaYeF🎧 https://t.co/zpcSxPxl97 pic.twitter.com/DukweFAsBL
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) April 8, 2020
Katz’s top five consists of Gonzaga, Baylor, Villanova, Creighton, and Iowa. He has three Big Ten teams in the top ten with Michigan also appearing at No. 8.
I know Ohio State lost a trio of players via transfer, and Kaleb Wesson to the NBA, but the ranking of No. 35 seems awfully low when you start looking at what’s still coming back. Seth Towns and Justice Sueing are a talented duo that should plug right into the mix with significant minutes, maybe even start.
You still have C.J. Walker running the point, coming off a season in which he began to be more assertive and provide a boost in scoring, and Duane Washington should be able to fill it up from deep. Also, expect E.J. Liddell to continue the momentum he showed at the tail end of last year, and the team gets Musa Jallow back as well into the rotation.
It should be a pretty deep team with a lot of interchangeable parts. One that can play multiple styles, but does lack a proven, traditional big man.
Either way, there’s a lot of unknowns as far as how this team gels, but that’s almost every team in college basketball. We think things are going to be just fine, and in fact better than what Katz projects, but we’ll just have to see how it all plays out.