Mid-Season NBA Check-In, w/College MBB Update
Mid-Season NBA Check-In
The NBA All-Star Weekend is complete. Thank God. That is just one incredibly worthless weekend, but since it is done, we can now focus on the drive for the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Going into the All-Star break, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers were even with the best record in the association, 44-10. A Fox Sports report highlights Oklahoma City, Boston Celtics, Cleveland, New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers as being the six teams with the best championship odds, according to the DraftKings Sportsbook. The Indiana Pacers sit as the four seed in the Eastern Conference and in second place in the Central Division at a very respectable 30-23.
Two reporters can get you caught up in two short reads. Jason Burgos of SportsNaut wrote an excellent synopsis projecting how the rest of the season and playoffs will play out and he sees Oklahoma City beating Boston in the NBA Finals. Shaun Powell of NBA.com explored other storylines including the failings of the Philadelphia 76ers, the rise of the Detroit Pistons and the contenders for the #1 pick who will undoubtedly be Cooper Flagg from Duke.
The HOTPO is cautiously optimistic about the Pacers but understand they will likely get no further than the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. Indiana has gotten healthy after a slew of early-season injuries and have the third-best record in the NBA since January 1, according to StatMuse. They are a deep team that goes ten solid players deep in their rotation and remind me of the 2004 NBA champion Pistons in that they don’t have any true superstar.
College Basketball Update
As we began discussing last week with the NCAA Tournament approaching, there is a high likelihood that the 2025 champion will have a top 20 rating in the KenPom adjusted offensive and defensive rankings. As a reminder: all but two men’s basketball tournament champions since 2002 have been top 20 in both the KenPom adjusted offensive and defensive rankings. We began tracking those seven teams (Auburn, Duke, Houston, Florida, Iowa State, Arizona and Maryland) a week ago along with Alabama, Tennessee, Michigan, the top three of the Atlantic 10 (George Mason, VCU and Dayton) and our “locals” (Indiana, Georgetown).
Since then, Arizona slipped a little bit in their defensive ranking due to a 62-58 loss versus a tough Houston team and Maryland fell to #21 defensively due to other teams' improved performances. Only five teams are now maintaining top 20 ratings on both sides of the floor (Auburn, Florida, Duke, Houston, and Iowa State). Alabama, Tennessee, Michigan and Maryland all remain highly ranked by the AP, but not able to attain the double top 20 in the KenPom rankings, although the Wolverines are getting closer and the Terrapins are still right there.
All of the AP ranked teams we are tracking will make the tournament regardless of what happens to their KenPom ratings the rest of the season, but that A10 three and our locals will probably have to win their conference tournament to even make the NCAA tournament.
|
School |
Last Game |
AP Rank |
KenPom aO |
KenPom aD |
|
Auburn |
W @ Arkansas, 67-60 |
1 |
1 (129.8) |
11 (93.6) |
|
Florida |
W vs Okla, 85-63 |
2 |
4 (126.6) |
8 (93.0) |
|
Duke |
W @ UVA, 80-62 |
3 |
2 (127.4) |
4 (90.9) |
|
Alabama |
L @ Missouri, 110-98 |
4 |
3 (127.4) |
46 (99.5) |
|
Houston |
W @ Ariz. St., 80-65 |
5 |
7 (125.2) |
3 (90.1) |
|
Tennessee |
W vs Vandy, 81-76 |
6 |
30 (118.5) |
1 (87.3) |
|
Iowa State |
W vs Colorado, 79-65 |
8 |
18 (120.4) |
12 (93.6) |
|
Michigan |
W @ Ohio St., 86-83 |
12 |
20 (119.9) |
22 (96.1) |
|
Arizona |
W @ Baylor, 74-67 |
19 |
22 (119.5) |
9 (93.4) |
|
Maryland |
W vs Iowa, 101-75 |
20 |
17 (120.8) |
21 (95.7) |
|
George Mason |
W vs St. Joes, 58-57 |
NA |
196 (106.5) |
15 (94.8) |
|
VCU |
W vs UMass, 80-51 |
NA |
54 (116.0) |
23 (96.3) |
|
Dayton |
W vs Duqeusne, 77-76 |
NA |
38 (117.7) |
165 (107.1) |
|
Indiana |
L vs UCLA, 72-68 |
NA |
64 (115.0) |
52 (100.1) |
|
Georgetown |
L vs Providence, 93-72 |
NA |
163 (108.3) |
37 (98.1) |
Close Out
We will keep tracking these college teams, periodically update on the NBA and will soon get a pulse check on the NHL following the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.
Also, there is still great basketball being played at West Potomac High School with the girls ranked 12th by the Washington Post after avenging one of their two losses by beating #19 Robinson, 54-42 Friday.
Comments
Post a Comment