NCAA Basketball: Ranking the 10 matchups in 2020-21 Big 12/Big East Challenge
10. DePaul at Iowa State
After a great start in the non-conference, DePaul fell flat in Big East play, losing 14 of 16 games since the start of the new year to end up in last place. It’s going to be hard for them to be much better next season, losing Raul Reed (15.1 ppg and 10.7 rpg) to the NBA Draft and Jalen Coleman-Sands to the transfer portal after gaining an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA.
The Blue Demons will return their best player Charlie Moore (15.5 ppg and 6.1 apg) for his senior season and will be expecting a breakout campaign from Romeo Weems, a former top-50 prospect out of high school. The lack of depth is a real concern for the team, relying on Jaylen Butz in the frontcourt to replace Reed’s production.
Iowa State won’t have their best player back, with Tyrese Haliburton off to the NBA as a projected lottery pick. And fellow starters Prentiss Nixon and Michael Jacobson graduate as well, leaving Rasir Bolton and Solomon Young as the key returning assets. The frontcourt should be a strength for the team next season, with Young, George Conditt IV and incoming four-star center prospect Xavier Foster joining the fold.
The issue is more on the perimeter. Outside of Bolton, the Cyclones only returns Tre Jackson, who scored just four points a game as a freshman. The staff has gone through the transfer portal to land any kind of grad transfer guard but has failed to land any. That’s going to be a problem heading into next season.
These teams are projected to be near last of their respective leagues and will have their own issues to deal with. DePaul’s defense is going to be problematic, while Iowa State will struggle to score on a consistent basis. For now, I’d give the edge to Iowa State at home.