Depending on who you ask, Austin Rivers will be the best freshman in college basketball this season.He will be one of the most watched players in the country when Duke plays their first game at home against Belmont on November 11th.Rivers has a full arsenal of amazing offensive weapons from which to draw. But how good is he? How good will he do in his first year compared to other Duke players of the past? Let's look at some of the Blue Devils' ...

The MAAC has been one of the stronger mid-major conferences for a number of years. This year, the MAAC even has an outside chance at getting multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament with Fairfield and Iona being two of the top mid-majors in the nation.The MAAC will receive more publicity this season between Fairfield and Iona both having some of the best mid-major players. Iona's Scott Machado and Michael Glover were recognized last season as ...

Ahhh. Seems like only yesterday that we were watching the Duke Blue Devils in Dubai putting the wraps on their "Friendship Tour" of Asia, also known as (a) the "Let's put the official Duke stamp on the new Fuqua Campus in China" tour; and more importantly, the (b) "Let's use the NCAA rules regarding participation in such summer contests to go ahead and get a jump start on the upcoming season" tour. Now, here we are ...

As Jimmer Fredette reminded the world last season, the power conferences of college hoops have no monopoly on top-flight players. Fredette is gone to the NBA, but a wealth of talent remains in the mid-majors and below. Even Virginia Commonwealth, which suffered enormous graduation losses from last year’s Final Four squad, still boasts one of the nation’s best in shooting guard Bradford Burgess. The senior sniper, a perfect fit for the Rams’ three-point-heavy offense, has ...

Midnight Madness is upon us, signaling the start of the 2011 college basketball season.While teams have started official practices, sports books have already released their odds for the 2012 NCAA championship.Inside are power rankings based on team odds to cut down the nets.In other words, the rankings should tell you which teams are the best bets.Begin Slideshow

Teams are still figuring out what they've got, and we haven't had a big injury yet. The 2011-12 college basketball season hasn't even started.  So obviously it's time to make picks for the No. 1 seeds in each region of the 2012 NCAA tournament, right?Well in my mind it is.  These are my preseason picks to be the best teams in the nation, and they will be rewarded by being given easy paths to the Final ...

This week, we have already previewed the top 10 freshmen in the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten and Pac 12.Today, we will check out the best of the best freshmen in the Southeastern Conference.The SEC, out of the power conferences, has the best collection of freshman talent in 2011-12.Let's go!Begin Slideshow

As we all know, conference realignment is finally a reality and while the focus may be on football, these moves and changes are going to have a huge effect on college hoops over the years.Now that we have had two of the biggest basketball programs jump ship on the east coast, it creates an interesting dynamic in which the balance of power in college basketball is shifting to the ACC instead of the Big East.Here ...

Purdue basketball got a big win today as star center A.J. Hammons committed to Purdue and finally gave Purdue some size that was much needed. Hammons, who played his high school ball at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, has roots in Indiana and decided to come home to play for Matt Painter and the Boilermakers.This is a big-time recruit that will bring a lot of hope to Boilermaker fans as they have become used to success ...

As if landing one top 10 center in the class of 2012 wasn't enough, Texas head coach Rick Barnes has landed another. After receiving a commitment from 6'10 Cameron Ridley in January, the Longhorns coaching staff dipped into the rich Lone Star State talent pool again in order to land the second piece of their future twin tower frontcourt.Prince Ebeh, a 6-foot-11 230-pound center from Naaman Forest High School in Garland, Texas became the fourth ...