Busting Brackets
Fansided

Five Questions that will be Answered During the 2015-16 College Basketball Season

By James Fitzgerald

facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next

Oct 16, 2014; Rosemont, IL, USA; Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon speaks during Big Ten basketball media day at Hyatt Regency O’Hare. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports ORG XMIT: USATSI-189410 ORIG FILE ID: 20141016_jla_kb1_007.jpg

Who in the Top Five Will Live up to the Hype?

We have talked about it to death at this point. It seemed like as soon as the Duke Blue Devils received their NCAA Championship Trophy at Lucas Oil Stadium we were talking about who were going to be the top teams in the nation for 2015-16.

We have been talking about North Carolina, Maryland, and Kentucky since April as the teams we thought would be the preseason No.1 .

Now that we have seen both the Coaches and AP Preseason Top 25 list, and we have read everyone’s college preview, it is time to find out who is going to live up to the hype.

When we look at the Top Five of both polls the consensus is that North Carolina, Kentucky, Maryland, Duke and Kansas are the Top Five coming into the season.

One of these highly ranked teams is going to end up looking counterfeit in the end, but which one is it going to be?

North Carolina could look like underachievers again if they do not find any outside shooting this season. Besides point guard Marcus Paige, which North Carolina Tar Heels’ perimeter players do you really have faith in to be a consistent outside shooting threat?

Maybe Roy Williams will find out who is going to be that guy in the next three or four weeks with Marcus Paige being out with a broken non-shooting hand.

Maryland has been getting a lot of press lately also because of all the experience that they are bringing in at College Park.

Melo Trimble and Jake Layman are going to be getting a few reinforcements to play with in stud freshman Diamond Stone along with transfers Robert Carter Jr. and Rasheed Sulaimon.

Maryland will have enough talented players to make some noise in the Big Ten, but are they really a national power, or paper tigers.

Live Feed

Warner Bros. unveils plan to stream MLB Playoffs, NBA, more on Max
Warner Bros. unveils plan to stream MLB Playoffs, NBA, more on Max /

FanSided

  • College football NIL news: General Booty gets appropriate NIL deal FanSided
  • UMass vs. New Mexico State Prediction, Odds, Trends and Key Players for College Football Week 0 Betsided
  • College football expansion rumors: Who will join Big 12 next? Another Pac-12 target is clear FanSided
  • Notre Dame Season Preview: Betting Public Flocking to Irish, Should You? Betsided
  • College Basketball: Ranking the Nine "Blue Blood" programs Go Joe Bruin

    • Kentucky is going to have to grow up quickly with all the youth they are going to have on display in Lexington.

    One thing is for sure, with Tyler Ulis, Isaiah Briscoe, and Jamal Murray all being considered top NBA point guard prospects, ball-handling and ball security should not be an issue. At least you would think that wouldn’t be an issue anyway.

    Duke has questions only because they are going to be the defending champions with different players defending the crown.

    Even if Duke will be putting a top recruiting class on the floor like they did last season, there is surely no guarantee that this year’s squad will mesh as quickly as the championship team.

    Kansas is bringing a bunch of veterans to the floor but we have to wonder if Wayne Selden is going to find himself this upcoming season. Really Selden is the key to Kansas’ success. If he is able to get some consistency to go along with Frank Mason and Perry Ellis, Kansas just might live up to their billing.

    That is why this question has to play itself out. This does not feel like the kind of season where four of these particular teams will play in the Final Four, maybe one or two can get there, but this feels like a wide open season.

    Next: Who is Ready to Finally Break Through into the Final Four

    Home/NCAA Basketball News