NCAA Basketball: Best program in every state for 2018-19
By Pan Karalis
Idaho – Boise State
There could be cause for concern in Boise with the departures of Chandler Hutchinson and Christian Sengfelder, but neither Idaho nor Idaho State provides the Broncos much competition. Boise State has won at least 20 games for six consecutive seasons and finished last year second in the Mountain West. They might fall towards the middle of the pack but look for them to reign supreme in Idaho, even with the return of Idaho State’s strong backcourt duo of Brandon Boyd and Jared Stutzman.
Game of the year – Idaho @ Idaho State; Saturday, March 9th
Illinois – Loyola Chicago
The Ramblers will have a target on their back coming off their dream Final Four run, and they’ll be the favorite in the Missouri Valley returning three of their five players that averaged in double digits a season ago. Illinois and Northwestern might only finish above Rutgers in the Big 10, and DePaul will have a similarly difficult time staying out of the Big East basement. The Loyola hype may still be running hot, but it’s hard to pick against them with such little quality in Illinois.
Game of the year – Loyola Chicago @ Bradley; Wednesday, February 13th
Indiana – Purdue
Purdue loses a few staters, but returns leading scorer and AP preseason All-American Carsen Edwards, and 7’2 Matt Haarms is ready to step in for departed big man Isaac Haas. The Boilermakers finished 5th overall in Kenpom a season ago and earned a #2 seed in the NCAA tournament despite the disappointing Sweet 16 exit. They went 5-0 against other Indiana schools last year, including a win at Assembly Hall and a couple against Butler.
Game of the year – Indiana @ Purdue; Saturday, January 19th
Iowa – Iowa State
Iowa State is starting to generate some preseason buzz, and the Cyclones beat both the Hawkeyes and Northern Iowa a season ago. Iowa and Iowa State both return significant portions of their starting lineup, only really losing one major contributor between both programs, but State is welcoming the stronger freshman class. Both should improve on identical 4-14 conference records from a season ago, and Northern Iowa and Drake lose too much from mediocre squads to be in the preseason discussion here.
Game of the year – Iowa State @ Iowa; Thursday, December 6th
Kansas – Kansas
Not much to see here. Bill Self has Kansas as stacked as usual, and although there’s tons of hype around Kansas State, you can’t pick against the Jayhawks. Gregg Marshall just lost a ton of talent at Wichita State after a disappointing first-round exit from the tournament, and they’ll probably be a distant third in the Sunflower State.