Re: ***Official Big10 bball 2006-7 season thread***
 

I think next year looks something like this.

Top Tier

1. Ohio State-If Oden is back, Ohio State gets its own tier. If not, they may still be the favorites. Another huge class coming in, including a 7-footer. With Oden, they could be better than this year. Though it will be hard to be as lucky in every close game. Prediction: 1 seed with Oden, 2 without.

2. Michigan State-Everyone, I mean everyone is back. There is also a solid class coming in. This team will get some of the depth they need at guard especially. Prediction: 3 seed.

3. Indiana-Assuming D.J. White comes back. They lose Calloway and Wilmont, but add Eric Gordon. Lack of a point guard may end up hurting them. They really struggled with Calloway out this year. Prediction: 5 seed.

Second tier

4. Wisconsin-Loses Tucker and Taylor which will certainly hurt. They do have a lot of talent back though, and will still be a deep team. They really fizzled down the stretch without Butch, which I think showed how important he was, especially on the boards. Prediction: 7 seed.

5. Illinois-I think Illinois will be slightly better than this year. They lose two key players (McBride and Carter), but its hard to think of anyone on this team as a top offensive option, so I don't think that will hurt too much. I think the defense will again be excellent, and they have to run better in close games. Prediction: 9 seed.

6. Purdue-Probably the hardest team to make a guess on right now. Losing Landry and Teague will hurt, but all of the supporting cast is back. Kramer has shown flashes of becoming a scoring option late in the year. If one or more of the recruits can be a significant contributor immediately, this team could be much better than this prediction. However, I just don't see this team winning much on the road, so I can't put them higher. Prediction: 11 seed.

Bottom tier (In order without comments)

7. Iowa
8. Penn State
9. Michigan
10. Minnesota
11. Northwestern