10. Arkansas Razorbacks
Another SEC team that plays fast, Eric Musselman’s Razorbacks were 15th in pace last season. They lost a fair amount from their Elite Eight team last season, but there are still some exciting pieces.
Chris Lykes will hope to reinvent his image in the SEC. The 5’7 transfer from Miami has shown before he can be a dangerous scorer. I’m expecting a year two leap from Devo Davis and Jaylin Williams. Au’Diese Toney was a 14 point per game scorer in the ACC last season, and Stanley Umude was over 20 points at South Dakota. Musselman has long been active in the transfer portal and knows how to get pieces to blend together. Oh and we also get another year of 7’3 Connor Vanover playing like he’s a 6-foot guard.
9. Texas Longhorns
Usually, Chris Beard’s style is not my style of play. I’ve watched way too many Texas Tech games where a Mac McClung or Jarret Culver would have to bail out an offense struggling to crack 50 points.
But this Texas roster is up there for one of the most bizarre. Beard raided the transfer portal snagging an elite scoring guard in Marcus Carr, and frontcourt players Tre Mitchell, Dylan Disu, Timmy Allen, and Christian Bishop. This begs the question, is Beard just sacrificing the wing spot? We’ll see some three-guard lineups with Carr, Courtney Ramey, and Andrew Jones. But I’m curious to see if three of those forwards can share the court at once. And if we get all four on the court at once…I might lose my mind.
Bonus points here for the potential of Fran Fraschilla being a color commentator. His analysis and delivery is top-notch.