Arizona, Wisconsin, Florida win in preseason scrimmages

For many NCAA teams, “secret” preseason scrimmages take place as barometers for team progression early in the lead up to the regular season.

I put quotes around secret because, often, the results of these scrimmages come out. ESPN writer Jeff Goodman, who apparently stored all the information from every secret scrimmage this year, and that’s barely an exaggeration.

Let’s take a look at some of the more prominent preseason scrimmages.

This sounds like great news for LSU, who could be a darkhorse in the SEC this year. We previewed them recently, noting their front court, which could be one of the best not only in the conference, but in the nation.

One of the x-factors was JuCo transfer Josh Gray, who was a elite scorer in the junior college ranks last season. If he can put up anything remotely close to his numbers from junior college, the Tigers could surprise some teams.

Delon Wright is considered by man to be a player ready to take the next step toward national prominence. In our preview of Utah, we talked about how Wright could be the best player in the Pac-12, a lofty praise considered the talent loaded onto Arizona’s roster.

If Wright can make that step to the next level, he could help lead the Utes to another Big Dance appearance.

Obviously Wisconsin is one of the best teams in the nation, so beating DePaul with or without should be expected. As good as Dekker is, Kaminsky will be an important factor in whether Wisconsin is really good or elite.

Considering both of these teams were ranked in our top 25 released last Friday, this is quite a high-profile match-up for a preseason scrimmage. Unfortunately, these two won’t meet in the regular season, depriving us of a great West Coast contest.

SMU was ranked #21 in our preseason poll, and with Moore and Kenneddy the two leading scorers both returning this year, they could help the Mustangs to a possible American Athletic Conference title.

We’ll find out quickly how good the Mustangs are when they battle the #12 ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs in their second game.

Another match-up between two top-25 teams, Florida coming in at #8 and VCU at #17. And again, it’s a match-up we won’t get to see in the regular season. However, Frazier making big shots is a good sign for the Gators, who are expecting big things out of him this year.

While originally, this may look like a big surprise. However, considering the youth of the Wildcats, it’s expected that they’ll take a while to gel. Considering they’ll have a small handful of games to figure things out before big tests against Gonzaga and Michigan, Sean Miller certainly will be looking to get his squad some chemistry early on in the season.

Not surprising that Iowa State, ranked #14, handled the unranked Gophers. Somewhat surprising is the lack of mention of Georges Niang, considered a preseason All-American by most outlets. By as with all these game stories, little can be taken from a scrimmage.

Which result did you find most surprising? Let us know down below!