Tag: College Hoops Today

Notre Dame dead last in Jon Rothstein’s ACC preseason power rankings

Oof.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports has begun his conference previews on his website, College Hoops Today. The ACC is the first conference he’s looking at, and you probably can guess where he has Notre Dame given the state of the program. Yes, he’s picking the Irish to finish last out of 15 teams in 2023-24.

It’s disheartening to see but also not a surprise. Virtually the entire roster is different with only a few bench holdovers from 2022-23. [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] is the new coach, and he had to pick from the transfer portal’s scrap heap just to have enough players to field a team. Even those players had little experience compared to your typical college basketball rotational player.

To be fair, it’s not completely terrible. Rothstein lists [autotag]Carey Booth[/autotag] as an impact freshman and [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag], who was with Shrewsberry at Penn State, as an under-the-radar transfer. But for everything else, this is going to be a rough season. In fact, it probably will take two or three years before Shrewsberry has the team he wants.

Here’s hoping the Irish do anything to make it worth everyone’s while to watch them this season. That’s going to be tough.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Report: Texas A&M basketball to begin home-and-home series with Ohio State

Texas A&M’s success last year is beginning to reap more rewards, as reports have indicated the Aggies will begin a home-and-home series on the hardwood versus Ohio State next season.

Texas A&M basketball made their mark with a wildly successful 2022-23 basketball season, and although their postseason campaign ended prematurely in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, their achievements are beginning to reap more rewards.

According to College Hoops Today, multiple sources have informed that the Aggies will partake in a home-and-home series with Ohio State, with the first matchup due on November 10 in Columbus, Ohio. The subsequent return game will be in College Station during the 2024-25 season.

There is yet to be a timetable for an official announcement.

The home-and-home series has been one of the great fruits of inter-conference play, with two schools from opposing conferences going head-to-head as a means of either reigniting an old rivalry or putting an attractive matchup on paper to the test.

When it’s all said and done, the conference helps two power-conference schools beef up their respective schedules.

 

The Buckeyes are coming off a 16-19 (5-15 Big Ten) record last season, finishing 13th in their conference while ranking 49th in KenPom. It was a down year, by all means, after they finished 20-12 (12-8 Big Ten) the year prior and advanced to the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

As the Buckeyes look to rebound next year, what better way to sharpen their iron than facing one of the breakout teams of the 2022-23 season?

Buzz Williams’ Aggies finished 25-10 (15-3 SEC) last year en route to making their second consecutive SEC title game and punching their ticket to March Madness for the first time since 2018. With many of their starters coming back, headlined by All-SEC guard Wade Taylor IV, many outlets have already pegged A&M as a Top 25 team in a handful of way-too-early prediction rankings.

The SEC and Big Ten flexed their competitive depth after leading the 2023 NCAA Tournament with eight team bids respectively, so it’s exciting to see this home-and-home series with the Aggies and Buckeyes coming to fruition.

At the very least, we get to see two renowned athletic programs go at it on the hardwood. A possible best-case scenario? We witness the beginning of a thrilling inter-conference rivalry for years to come.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Pete on Twitter: @PeteThreee

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Notre Dame makes Jon Rothstein’s early top 45 for 2021-22 season

A prominent college basketball expert is thinking highly of Notre Dame for next season.

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Ever since college basketball experts began make their early predictions for the 2021-22 season, Notre Dame often has been included. Joe Lunardi of ESPN still has the Irish in his Bracketology. Now, Jon Rothstein of College Hoops Today is ranking the Irish 44th in the upcoming season’s first edition of the Rothstein 45.

Notre Dame is the ACC team ranked lowest in this installment. Florida State and Duke have the conference’s best rankings at 13th and 14th, respectively. Virginia Tech and North Carolina are next to each other with respective rankings of 20th and 21st. They’re followed by Virginia (24th), Syracuse (26th), Georgia Tech (28th) and Louisville (43rd).

Yale transfer Paul Atkinson is expected to crack the Irish’s starting lineup, and the only losses are Juwan Durham and Nikola Djogo, the latter of whom transferred to Northeastern for his final year of eligibility. With the Irish’s core remaining almost intact, it’s hard to imagine another season together won’t work wonders.

Rockett Watts listed as one of college basketball’s top ‘breakout’ players in 2020-21

Jon Rothstein of College Hoops Today listed Watts as one of the top breakout players in all of college basketball entering this season.

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Rocket Watts finished last year strong, and that impressive final stretch has him on the lookout by many as we enter the upcoming season — including Jon Rothstein of College Hoops Today.

In September, Rothstein listed Watts as one of the top breakout players in the Big Ten entering the 2020-21 season, and this week he elevated that claim to one of the top breakout players in all of college basketball.

“Watts averaged 17.8 points during Michigan State’s final four games of last season before things were shut down due to COVID-19. If he can keep his offense elite while also creating for his teammates, this 6-2 sophomore has the requisites to be one of the best players in the Big Ten,” Rothstein wrote on Watts.

Watts averaged 9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists last season, and as Rothstein said really came on strong down the stretch for the Spartans. The sophomore guard is expected to take on a larger role this year with Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman off to the NBA. It is unknown at this point if Watts will take over Winston’s spot as the lead point guard or if he’ll remain more of a scoring threat off the ball.

Click here to read the entire list of players that made Rothstein’s breakout list, including two other guys from Big Ten squads.

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Mike Brey Unhappy About Pending Waivers for NCAA Transfers

Mike Brey was one of the first voices in taking on transfers and redshirting them.

Mike Brey was one of the first voices in taking on transfers and redshirting them. It made Notre Dame a respected program under his guidance. But even he has his limits, and he’s not happy that the NCAA might implement a one-time transfer exception for all student-athletes.

In Monday’s appearance on “College Hoops Today with Jon Rothstein”, Brey made his thoughts on the integrity of transferring clear:

“Every transfer I’ve taken both here at Notre Dame and when I was at Delaware did the year in residency and they’re better off for it. Is it this generation? It is this culture — that they’re just impatient about waiting a year and getting stronger as a basketball player? What about the academic component and the graduation rates?”

Before you post the “Old Man Yells at Cloud” meme, know that he’s not as upset at today’s student-athletes as he is about the reasoning behind this consideration. He made this clear when asked if he thought the NCAA doesn’t want to deal with waivers anymore:

“It is disappointing on the part of the NCAA and I think a little weak on their part quite frankly. Their explanation is, ‘We have tried to weed through these waivers. Some of them have been presented with false information and lies and we’re forced to make a decision on whether or not this young man should be eligible right away.’ I just think that it is a safe political position to back it up and make it a one-time waiver for all transfers. I thought we could handle that stronger in Indianapolis. I definitely think that is the argument. They can’t get through the waivers. They feel there’s too much false information. There’s too much work and maybe a potential lawsuit if they grant it for one young man and not another. Coaches sound off publicly — they (NCAA) get bad press. I just don’t understand why we can’t see the big picture. A year in residency is a good thing.”

Chances are Brey simply is letting off steam before before this inevitable change comes to college sports. It’s funny how the cause you championed can become something you dislike because it’s evolved into something beyond what you believed it. That’s because it’s not your own cause anymore.