Expert picks for Final Four (from CBS Sports) | The Boneyard

Expert picks for Final Four (from CBS Sports)

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Kyle Boone loves us again. Jerry Palm is now on the UConn bandwagon. Some other picks to get to the Final Four. A larger write up than below further in the article.

UConn​

Sure, a lot of talent walked out the door to the NBA at the end of last season, but the most important person spurned the NBA to stay in Storrs. Coach Danny Hurley turned down an offer to coach the Lakers to return to UConn and go for a third consecutive national title. That hasn't happened since UCLA ran off seven straight from 1967-73. Veteran Alex Karaban is back, joined by transfer Aidan Mahaney, the heart and soul of Saint Mary's the last two seasons and freshman Liam McNeeley, who decommitted from Indiana prior to joining the Huskies.

One interesting player to watch is senior center Samson Johnson, who has waited his turn behind Adama Sanogo and Donovan Clignan. Now he'll get his shot, although he may share time with Michigan transfer Tarris Reed Jr. This pick is about the players, sure, but it's also about the Midas touch that Hurley has enjoyed the last two seasons. — Jerry Palm (also predicted by Kyle Boone)

www.cbssports.com

Expert picks for Final Four: Who will win the 2025 NCAA Tournament and more bold predictions for this season

CBS Sports experts provide their picks for the Final Four field and the national champion for 2024-25
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com
 
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Vecenie also has us winning the National Championship in The Athletic season preview/final four predictions. And 5 of the 10 "experts" have us making the Final Four.
 
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Non-homerish, gun to head this year, putting money on Bama. Oates is in many ways part of the Hurley tree, forward thinking and data reliant. With a real rim protector and Sears, as well as that deep roster, coming off a F4, really like what they’re rolling out there. They feel due.

I question Kansas’ chemistry. Not ready to anoint Houston without Shead. Love Sampson but hard to replace that kind of gamer on a team that tends to struggle offensively. They do have some beasts down low, but always seem to hit an offensive rut in March. Duke is freshman reliant. Flagg is good but unlikely Anthony Davis good. All the other teams come with flaws.
 
RuffRuff said:
Non-homerish, gun to head this year, putting money on Bama. Oates is in many ways part of the Hurley tree, forward thinking and data reliant. With a real rim protector and Sears, as well as that deep roster, coming off a F4, really like what they’re rolling out there. They feel due.
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My only real concern with 'Bama is whether they would survive a poor shooting night. That's what doomed them in 2022-23 against SDSU, and I just don't know if they have enough other weapons. Feels like some other teams (like Duke or Kansas) have more ways to score even if their shot isn't falling, and you could include a team like Houston which always has a chance to win due to their defense.

Alabama can certainly beat anyone though, they're a scary team.
 
I see Duke as a pretty big obstacle. We can match up with everybody else but unfortunately there are plenty of teams that have enough to trip us up. I do have faith in Bama coming up short with Cliff at center. Rewatching our 2024 ncaa run it is sobering how important Donovan was. That tempers our odds in my mind. Our 3pt shooting will be key to offset losing the big guy.
 
What’s different about this Bama team to that 2023 team is Sears as a stabilizer. That Bama teams best player was a freshman. With Nelson, they have a big skilled 4 that can score in a variety of ways. As bullet proof a team as I see this year.

Duke could be very good. Flagg will be Flagg, but the +factor there could be Kneupel. As young as he is, seems to be their Cam type player and a kid that will make the tough shot and do the little things. Proctor needs to make some kind of leap, as does Foster. Will also have to see if their frosh 5 is instinctive or will get pushed around. The international 5s seem to need a couple seasons to figure it out. They are a very big team, and seem much better constructed than their more recent editions.
 
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Ricker said:
I see Duke as a pretty big obstacle. We can match up with everybody else but unfortunately there are plenty of teams that have enough to trip us up. I do have faith in Bama coming up short with Cliff at center. Rewatching our 2024 ncaa run it is sobering how important Donovan was. That tempers our odds in my mind. Our 3pt shooting will be key to offset losing the big guy.
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Alabama picked up Omoruyi?
 
RuffRuff said:
Non-homerish, gun to head this year, putting money on Bama. Oates is in many ways part of the Hurley tree, forward thinking and data reliant. With a real rim protector and Sears, as well as that deep roster, coming off a F4, really like what they’re rolling out there. They feel due.

I question Kansas’ chemistry. Not ready to anoint Houston without Shead. Love Sampson but hard to replace that kind of gamer on a team that tends to struggle offensively. They do have some beasts down low, but always seem to hit an offensive rut in March. Duke is freshman reliant. Flagg is good but unlikely Anthony Davis good. All the other teams come with flaws.
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Bama should be #1 for the reasons you state. The only thing for right now is they looked a tad disjointed on offense relative to UConn's offense.
 
Reading this Bama 1 and Kansas 2 biggest obstacles. Duke doesn’t feel tough enough
 
Nobody mentions Gonzaga. I think them and Alabama are both going to be very good. I am not buying Kansas. Too many ball dominate players and Dickinson is overrated. I can see them having locker room issues.
 
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I see UConn this year as a mirror of the Celtics. A ton of shooters and offensive players who can play a high level of D without a pure, typical big man. It's going to a different brand of ball but UConn is loaded. Kansas looks like it has the name players but Self does not create the atmosphere and the sense of urgency that Hurley creates at UConn. Bama is loaded but they haven't really shined brightly under the limelight in the past. Duke, with Mr. Vanilla as the HC, does not worry me - they will self-implode come tourney time. Zaga is this year's dark horse.
 
Ricker said:
I see Duke as a pretty big obstacle. We can match up with everybody else but unfortunately there are plenty of teams that have enough to trip us up. I do have faith in Bama coming up short with Cliff at center. Rewatching our 2024 ncaa run it is sobering how important Donovan was. That tempers our odds in my mind. Our 3pt shooting will be key to offset losing the big guy.
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This year, we look more like Alabama with a plethora of 3 pt shooters (snipers) and a special player in AK like they have in Sears (not the same, but similar "special"). We likely won't see a 30-0 run without a truly dominant 5, but let's see what Reed and Johnson can do for us before we dispel any jump in skills they might have vs last year.
 
JerseyAlum said:
This year, we look more like Alabama with a plethora of 3 pt shooters (snipers) and a special player in AK like they have in Sears (not the same, but similar "special"). We likely won't see a 30-0 run without a truly dominant 5, but let's see what Reed and Johnson can do for us before we dispel any jump in skills they might have vs last year.
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unlike alabama, ours will actually play defense though
 
Myron Medcalf and Jeff Borzello from ESPN have a similar type article (ESPN+). They have UConn, Alabama and Kansas in "Tier 1 - National Championship favorites".

Tier I: National championship favorites​

Kansas Jayhawks
Alabama Crimson Tide
UConn Huskies

These teams are a cut above the rest. Kansas and Alabama have the most loaded rosters in America, while UConn deserves the benefit of the doubt after winning back-to-back national championships.

And then there is the reigning champion. On paper, UConn isn't quite as loaded as Kansas and Alabama. That tends to happen when a team sees four players selected in the NBA draft. But coach Dan Hurley is back after turning down the Lakers. Alex Karaban is ready to level up and become the team's go-to guy, and top-10 recruit Liam McNeeley looks every bit of a draft lottery pick. Samson Johnson and Tarris Reed Jr. are enough down low. Hassan Diarra is a battle-tested point guard. The keys for the Huskies will be whether last season's role players -- Solo Ball, Jaylin Stewart, Jayden Ross -- develop, and whether transfer Aidan Mahaney can be a difference-maker. -- Jeff Borzello

www.espn.com

Men's NCAA basketball tiers: Projections for 99 teams

What are the realistic chances for this year's men's D-I college hoops teams to go dancing? We pulled 99 preseason projections for you to track.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

Alternate access:

Men's NCAA basketball tiers: Projections for 99 teams​

 
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WhereistheDove? said:
Gary Parrish starting the disrespect early I see….
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He wrote this exactly 1 month ago. I guess he didn't like how they looked against URI. :)

Monday served as the latest reminder when UConn added the first member of its 2025 recruiting class. (There's more to come, obviously). Two Mondays from now, we'll see Hurley on the sideline again for the first time since April when his Huskies meet Rhode Island in an exhibition inside Mohegan Sun Arena. Twenty-five Mondays after that, the championship game of the 2025 NCAA Tournament will be held in San Antonio. A lot of things will have to break right for Hurley to get there, then even more things will have to break right for him to win it. It's a daunting task, for sure. Like our Candid Coaches series suggested last month, the smart move would likely be to bet against it. Probabilities and all that.

But I'm not betting my money against it.

Nope, not this time.

www.cbssports.com

On his way to a possible three-peat, UConn coach Dan Hurley lands commitment from top-25 recruit Darius Adams

Adams, a four-star guard, is the Huskies' first recruit for the Class of 2025
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com
 
I don't think it's disrespectful to say that it will be a daunting task for a team that's lost two lottery picks and two other draft picks to win their third consecutive national championship in this era of college basketball. If anything, these guys are showing a hell of a lot of respect for a program that's returning one starter for so many of them to have them in the Final Four for the third straight year. That's basically saying "Hurley's the man. He'll figure it out."
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
I don't think it's disrespectful to say that it will be a daunting task for a team that's lost two lottery picks and two other draft picks to win their third consecutive national championship in this era of college basketball. If anything, these guys are showing a hell of a lot of respect for a program that's returning one starter for so many of them to have them in the Final Four for the third straight year. That's basically saying "Hurley's the man. He'll figure it out."
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My comment was tongue-in-cheek because Parrish’s refusal to move UConn ahead in his rankings last year despite it being glaringly obvious we were the best team in basketball by the end. I don’t actually think it’s disrespectful (but Dan Hurley sure as hell will pretend it is).
 
UConn2SF said:
Vecenie also has us winning the National Championship in The Athletic season preview/final four predictions. And 5 of the 10 "experts" have us making the Final Four.
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I don’t think. We understand, how big this is.

We always have a penchant to downplay here in CT. This is a historic run we haven’t seen in 50 years.

I think they are good enough to make a run, by what I saw against PC. Imagine a final four game, with UConn in the final four playing for a chance to go to the title game.

That Saturday night and Monday night fame might get bonkers ratings.

Rooting for UConn-Duke, final four semi in April 2025.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
I don't think it's disrespectful to say that it will be a daunting task for a team that's lost two lottery picks and two other draft picks to win their third consecutive national championship in this era of college basketball. If anything, these guys are showing a hell of a lot of respect for a program that's returning one starter for so many of them to have them in the Final Four for the third straight year. That's basically saying "Hurley's the man. He'll figure it out."
Expand ...
It’s going to be very very daunting . Not only two lottery picks, but an all American performer and one of best shooters in recent college hoops memory.

That said, Karaban is a big time college soccer and they got senior PG and vet in Mahaney. They are gonna shoot a ton of 3s and pass the ball like a euro team.

It’s also his fourth year up here. Gonna be amazing year for him.
 
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