College Basketball Preview 2013-14: Top Mid-Majors Candidates For Cinderella
By Nathan Giese
Wichita State is looking to pull a Butler: making back-to-back NCAA Tournament Final Fours with new faces. (photo: sports-logos-screensavers.com)
Later this week to complete the college basketball preview for the 2013-14 season, HoopsHabit will look at the top candidates to win the whole enchilada for this year’s NCAA tournament. To contrast that, we will first look at the smaller schools, the mid-majors that could potentially play Cinderella to those teams.
Last season’s Cinderella was the Wichita State Shockers out of the Missouri Valley Conference, advancing all the way to the Final Four and giving eventual national champion Louisville a scare.
Over the past decade or so, we have seen many mid-majors make it to the Final Four, shocking the world with their play and advancement to the highest level of competition college basketball has to offer. VCU advanced to the Final Four in 2011, advancing all the way from the First Four (when the NCAA expanded the tournament from 64 teams to 68 with the First Four essentially being play-in games to advance to the actual tournament.) The Butler Bulldogs advanced to back-to-back national championship games with two completely different teams and George Mason, probably the most unlikely of the Cinderellas, also made an appearance in the Final Four.
This season has a new look to the college basketball landscape. Mid-major powers such as Butler and Creighton are now in the new Big East. Memphis, known for its dominance in Conference USA, is with the American Athletic Conference. The star power may not be in the mid-major conferences as it used to be, but there are still plenty of teams that have the talent to make a splash come March Madness.
Drexel Dragons (2012-13: 13-18 overall, 9-9 in CAA, no postseason)
Drexel is an interesting case. Many felt Drexel was snubbed from an at-large bid for the 2012 NCAA tournament and had them favored to win the CAA last season.
Frank Massenat came into the 2012-13 season off a great showing in 2012 and entered the season as the favorite to win the CAA Player of the Year award. Despite averaging 14.7 points per game, Massenat failed to keep Drexel in the fold for an NCAA tournament berth, finishing seventh in the conference and failing to reach any postseason tournament after falling in the first round of the CAA Tournament.
Massanet returns to the Dragons for his senior season with a new focus and determination. He will be joined by Damion Lee (17.1 points per game last season) to make up the most dangerous backcourt in the CAA. Another player coming back this season is one Drexel desperately missed last year and that’s Chris Fouch. At 6-2, Fouch is one of the most respected and feared sharpshooters in the nation, helping to open the floor for Massanet and Lee.
If Fouch can stay healthy, and his career list of injuries makes that a big “if”, Drexel will be a team to watch. Their backcourt is one of the most talented in the country, not just the mid-major landscape. Keeping Massanet, Lee and Fouch on the floor together could lead to major success in March.
LIU-Brooklyn (2012-13: 20-14 overall, 12-6 in Northeast, lost in NCAA first round)
After losing to James Madison in the First Four last season, LIU-Brooklyn will be looking for their fourth straight appearance in the NCAA tournament this season. The Blackbirds do have holes to fill with the losses of Jamal Olasewere and C.J. Garner, but it becomes easier with the return of Julian Boyd. Boyd, the 2011-12 NEC Player of the Year, suffered a season-ending knee injury last December. Even without Boyd, first-year coach Jack Perri was able to lead a successful season.
Don’t be surprised to see the same result. Boyd is going to come back hungry and ready to pick up where he left off. It’s not going to be a one man show, however, as Jason Brickman, their senior point guard who led the nation in assists last season (8.5 per game) also returns to the Blackbirds.
Sometimes scheduling tough teams for your non-conference schedule and losing can be the biggest wins. It gives you a taste of top-notch competition and LIU-Brooklyn has that. They play at Indiana Nov. 12 and back-to-back games against mid-majors that have been picked by HoopsHabit as the top teams in their conference (Boston University and Norfolk State).
LIU may not be Final Four Cinderella material, but advancing to the Sweet 16, maybe even the Elite Eight, is a real and ever-present possibility. Boyd is one of the top players in the mid-major ranks nobody seems to be talking about.
Wichita State Shockers (2012-13: 30-9 overall, 12-6 MVC, lost in Final Four)
Because why the heck not? Butler did it with new faces, why can’t Wichita State?
Had the Shockers lost all their talent from the season before this would be a different story. However, while losing Carl Hall and Malcolm Armstead is tough, Wichita State still brings back plenty of talented players, headlined by MVC Preseason Player of the Year and All-American candidate Cleanthony Early.
Early averaged nearly 14 points and six rebounds per game last season. He’s very athletic and long, giving him an advantage over bigger opponents. Early will be joined by Ron Baker, the walk-on darling from last season’s Final Four run. Baker shot over 35 percent from 3-point range last season.
Other names to watch for the Shockers are Fred Vanvleet and Tekele Cotton. Their production last season wasn’t anything to write home about, but they have the skills to step up and are sure to see more scoring opportunities with the defense’s attention being focused on stopping Early and Baker.
It will be difficult for Wichita State to sneak up on anybody this year. The Shockers were victims of Creighton’s huge media attention last year but that may have been to their advantage. Now they are the hunted in the Missouri Valley Conference and highly ranked in all major preseason polls. The talent is there and Gregg Marshall knows how to coach, obviously. We may have a new mid-major power team in the Wichita State Shockers.
Any teams you feel could play Cinderella that we missed? Feel free to let us know in the comment section or on Twitter @NathanGiese.
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