NCAA Basketball: Ranking the 10 Big East vs Big 12 matchups for 2021-22 season
2. Kansas Jayhawks at St. John’s Red Storm
We knew about the potential of the Jayhawks with the return of big men Jalen Wilson and David McCormack but the point guard situation was a bit murky this offseason. That changed in a major way with the transfer pickup of Arizona State star Remy Martin, a 20 ppg scorer in the last two years. Add other guard transfers Joseph Yesufu and Jalen Coleman-Lands and you have a top-5 overall team, as long as Ochai Agbaji returns for another year.
St. John’s is also waiting on a major NBA Draft decision with Julian Champagnie, who averaged a team-leading 19.8 ppg and 7.4 rpg. His return makes the Red Storm top-25 caliber, joined by the return of Posh Alexander along with the key transfer pickups of Montez Mathis, Joel Soriano, and Stef Smith. It’s a roster that needs to get cohesion but bringing back a star in Champagnie would help expedite the process.
Kansas going on the road at what should be a good team in New York will be a must-see matchup, especially if Champagnie comes back. It wouldn’t be a shocking upset if it occurs but it would be the kind of win that vaults the Red Storm to the NCAA Tournament. And after seeing what they did a few years ago against another “blue blood” in Duke, it certainly can happen.
Prediction: St. John’s
1. Villanova Wildcats at Baylor Bears
As soon as the matchups were released, there was no question what the No. 1 game of this group was going to be. The reigning NCAA BAsketball champion Bears did lose a lot of production this offseason but did land a quality transfer guard in James Akinjo, along with a top-10 incoming recruiting class. Head coach Scott Drew won’t be underrated anymore and will have a top-10 overall team next season.
So will the Wildcats, thanks to the return of star guard Collin Gillespie after he suffered a season-ending injury that took him out of the fold. But Villanova returns everyone outside of Big East Player Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and as long as someone steps up in the frontcourt to replace him, will be a national title contender once again.
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Baylor ran through the 2021 NCAA Tournament with the exception of Villanova in the first 25 minutes of the game, without Gillespie being around. This time around, the Wildcats will have the better group of perimeter players. They’ll need it as they travel down to Waco next season but with revenge on their minds, I think they’ll have the edge.