Tag: Andy Katz

Power Rankings: Andy Katz lists MSU as his top remaining team in East Region

In the eyes of college basketball analyst Andy Katz, Michigan State should be clinching a trip to the Final Four this weekend

In the eyes of college basketball analyst Andy Katz, Michigan State should earn a trip to the Final Four this weekend.

Katz released a Sweet 16 power rankings, and he has the Spartans as his highest team remaining in the East Region. Michigan State is listed at No. 9, which is ahead of No. 11 Tennessee, No. 13 Kansas State and No. 16 FAU.

Michigan State will play Kansas State on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET in a Sweet 16 matchup. The winner will move on to the Elite Eight and face the winner between Tennessee and FAU.

Check out the power ranking from Katz below:

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Notre Dame coaching legend Muffet McGraw laments NIL

Try as the Hall of Famer might, she can’t stop the winds of change in college athletics.

As far as Notre Dame legend and Basketball Hall of Famer [autotag]Muffet McGraw[/autotag] is concerned, she got out of coaching at the right time. With the emergence of NIL, one more layer has been added to a college athletics landscape that’s becoming as complicated to understand as tax law.

A few months after receiving the NCAA’s Pat Summitt Award, McGraw sat down for an interview with Andy Katz and discussed various topics. When Katz asked her opinion on NIL, she didn’t hold back:

McGraw seems to begrudgingly accept that today’s college athletes are a different breed. Not only are they looking to get paid, but they no longer have the patience to spend their first season or two on the bench. Loyalty in college sports has become as fragmented as it is at the professional level. The days of simply being happy to get a free ride at a prestigious university through an athletic scholarship are over.

No one can predict how this all ends, but we’re at a real crossroads with college athletics. We probably will see a different landscape in five years, let alone 10. College athletes will go where the money and playing opportunities are, and there’s nothing any coach, recruiter, athletic director or administrator can do about it. The balance of power has shifted at long last, and it’s time to accept that.

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How did the Big Ten do in this week’s Power 36?

Four Big Ten teams made the ‘Power 36’ this week from Andy Katz. Two dropped out of the rankings entirely.

Four Big Ten teams are ranked in this week’s ‘Power 36’ as there has been a fluidity in the conference. Following a wild week in the Big Ten, all this movement shouldn’t be a surprise.

It also shouldn’t be a surprise that much of the movement for the Big Ten involved teams dropping down in the ‘Power 36’ or out of the ranking entirely.

The ‘Power 36‘ was created by college basketball insider Andy Katz, who also appears on the Big Ten Network as an in-studio commentator. He has been bullish on the conference as a whole, including his projections that nine Big Ten teams will make the NCAA Tournament this year.

Rutgers was one of two Big Ten programs to drop out of the ‘Power 36’ this week. Illinois, ranked No. 19 a week ago, got the boot as did Rutgers (formerly No. 28).

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Here is how the ‘Power 36’ shook out this week:

  • No. 6 Purdue (down three spots from the previous week)
  • No. 13 Northwestern (up four spots from the previous week)
  • No. 20 Maryland (down two spots from the previous week)
  • No. 30 Iowa (down seven spots from the previous week)

Future Big Ten program UCLA checked in at fourth overall in Katz’s rankings. USC, another incoming member to the conference, is in at No. 32.

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MSU with probable path to Sweet 16 in latest NCAA Tournament bracket prediction from Andy Katz

Michigan State basketball’s gets a favorable draw in the latest NCAA Tournament bracket prediction from Andy Katz of NCAA.com

Could Michigan State reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019 this year? I’m not particularly high on those chances but this bracket draw in Andy Katz’ updated NCAA Tournament prediction has me thinking otherwise.

Katz released an updated bracket prediction for the 2023 NCAA Tournament on Sunday, which listed Michigan State as a No. 5 seed. This bracket prediction appears to have been released after Michigan State’s loss at Indiana so it seems like Katz is particularly high on the Spartans.

In total, Katz has 10 Big Ten teams dancing in his updated bracket prediction. See where Katz has each of these Big Ten teams in his last bracket prediction, and my thoughts on this potential NCAA Tournament draw for the Spartans below:

MSU basketball listed as No. 7 seed in Andy Katz’ first bracket prediction of season

Andy Katz of NCAA.com believes Michigan State basketball will end up in the same landing spot in the NCAA Tournament as last year

Andy Katz of NCAA.com believes Michigan State basketball will end up in the same landing spot in the NCAA Tournament as last year.

Katz released his first NCAA Tournament bracket prediction of the year on Thursday, and it has the Spartans ending up as a No. 7 seed — just like last year. Katz predicts Michigan State will play No. 10 seed Utah in the opening round of the big dance.

Other Big Ten teams listed in Katz’ bracket prediction are Purdue (No. 1 seed), Maryland (No. 2 seed), Indiana (No. 3 seed), Illinois (No. 4 seed), Wisconsin (No. 6 seed), Ohio State (No. 8 seed), Rutgers (No. 9 seed), Michigan (No. 10 seed) and Iowa (No. 11 seed).

Check out the complete bracket prediction from Katz below:

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Andy Katz ranks Texas A&M as one of the “most improved teams” for the 2022 college basketball season

Andy Katz ranks Texas A&M as one of the “most improved teams” for the upcoming 2022 college basketball season

The 2022 college basketball season is set to start on Tuesday, Nov. 7th, and for Texas A&M, led by 4th-year head coach Buzz Williams, the expectations for a squad returning close to 100% of their 2021 roster could not be higher, and Aggie fans couldn’t be more excited.

As the starting five including players such as guard Tyrece Radford, guard Wade Taylor IV, forward Henry Coleman, and guard Manny Obaseki,  virtually remains the same except for guard Quenton Jackson who departed for the NBA at the end of last season. The program also gained four talented and experienced players in the transfer portal including guard Dexter Dennis, forward Julius Marble, guard Andersson Garcia, and guard Khalen Robinson.

On Wednesday, NCAA.com’s Andy Katz ranked “The top 11 most improved teams in men’s college basketball” which happened to include Texas A&M ranked in the No. 5 spot, as Katz explained,

The Aggies missed the NCAA tournament in 2021-22, but with four starters back led by Tyrece Radford and Wade Taylor IV, that shouldn’t be an issue this time for Buzz Williams.

Safe to say we’ve been waiting for Andy Katz to show the Aggies some love after finishing strong last season, losing in the final seconds in the NIT Championship game against Xavier, and providing that they belonged in the NCAA Tournament no matter what the selection committee believed.

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Where Tyler Wahl landed on Andy Katz’s list of top Big Ten players

Where does the Badger forward land?

Senior forward Tyler Wahl will undoubtedly be one of Wisconsin’s leaders on both ends in the 2022-23 season.

As a junior, the Minnesota native averaged 11.4 points to go along with 5.9 rebounds per contest while playing 30.5 minutes per game. All of those numbers were career-high marks. Heading into the season, NCAA March Madness and Big Ten Network reporter Andy Katz had Wahl as his No. 12 overall player in the Big Ten conference.

Wahl is an anchor for Wisconsin on both ends, with his connective passing, essential rebounding, post scoring, and versatile defensive talents. Here is why Katz decided to have Wahl high up on the list:

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Andy Katz pegs Iowa forward Kris Murray as top breakout star for 2022-23 season

According to Andy Katz, Iowa once again has the next breakout star in college basketball.

Another breakout star in Iowa City? Yessir, If men’s college basketball analyst Andy Katz is to be believed!

Basketball analyst for NCAA.com and just overall respected basketball mind Andy Katz recently released his list of the Top 15 Men’s College Basketball Breakout Stars, and he is projecting another Iowa Hawkeye to be this year’s big breakout star.

1. Kris Murray, Iowa: His twin brother is with the Sacramento Kings. Kris Murray is the go-to guy now with the Hawkeyes. – Katz, NCAA.com.

Short and to the point, we love it!

Keegan Murray was, of course, the big breakout star in college hoops last year. After a fairly quiet freshman campaign, Murray rose to superstardom in his sophomore year. Leading the Hawkeyes to their third conference tournament championship, Murray averaged 23.5 points per game and was named the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year.

He probably should have won the Big Ten Player of the Year award, but hey, sometimes you have to give it to the player who was inferior in pretty much every statistical category including efficiency! He was a consensus first-team All-American before being drafted fourth overall by the Sacramento Kings in this recent draft.

There were many fears that his twin brother Kris would join him in pursuit of the league this offseason, Murray at one point declaring for the draft. While he did (thankfully) opt to return, it is obvious there is buzz around the junior forward. He showed great flashes, especially against Big Ten competition. He scored over 20 points against Indiana and Purdue, dropping 19 against Michigan as well.

With the success of his brother, there is an increased spotlight on the junior forward to deliver this year. A lot of publications are pegging him as the next breakout player as well. There is a ton of hype around coach Fran McCaffery’s team heading into the year, and the leader spot of this team is open for the taking.

All eyes will be on Murray for 2022-23.

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WATCH: Tom Izzo joins BTN analyst Andy Katz to discuss upcoming season, recent recruiting success

Hear what Tom Izzo had to say about his team heading into the upcoming season, recent recruiting wins and conference expansion

Michigan State basketball head coach Tom Izzo joined Andy Katz on Thursday to discuss his team’s preparation for the 2022-23 season, conference expansion and more.

Check out Katz’ discussion with Izzo below:

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.

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WATCH: Andy Katz interviews Badgers’ G Jordan Davis

Jordan Davis catches up with Andy Katz

While the Wisconsin basketball summer storylines have belonged to Johnny Davis and the NBA draft, his brother Jordan is ready to take a needed leap for the Badgers next season. 

College basketball reporter Andy Katz caught up with Jordan on the Big Ten Network earlier this week, and Johnny’s brother shared how proud he was for the No. 10 pick in the 2022 NBA draft while also relaying that he is ready to put in the work to improve. 

Davis played sparingly last season, averaging 6.5 minutes per game over 27 contests. He will likely be asked to play a much larger role this season, and explore the upcoming season with Katz: 

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