College Sports Madness Previews top 144 MBB teams

[dbackjon]

I will post teams that also play FCS football as they are released.

[dbackjon]

#142 - Texas Southern

http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/11642" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Texas Southern put together a superb 2014-2015 campaign for a SWAC team. The RPI was solid and they had two huge non-conference victories. On December 20th, Coach Mike Davis and company traveled to East Lansing and came away with a 71-64 overtime win over Michigan State. Eight days later, Texas Southern’s epic road trip went to Kansas State, where they knocked off the Wildcats 58-46. After that Texas Southern cruised through the SWAC, easily winning the regular season title with a 16-2 record. All of that success led to a SWAC team earning a rare 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers are still the team to beat in the conference race, but a trip to the NCAA Tournament this time will likely start in Dayton at the First Four.

2014-15 Record: 22-13, 16-2
2014-15 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Mike Davis
Coach Record: 54-42 at Texas Southern, 291-193 overall

[dbackjon]

#141 - Coastal Carolina

http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/11645" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For the second straight season, Coach Cliff Ellis led his Coastal Carolina Chanticleers to a Big South Tournament championship; and an NCAA Tournament berth. However, last year’s team was much different than the 2013-14 NCAA Tournament team. In fact, the Big South as a whole was much different last season. In 2013-14, Coastal Carolina was clearly the best team all year long, taking out lackluster competition on the way to a #1 overall seed in the conference tournament (and an eventual first round exit from the NCAA Tournament). However, the 2014-15 Big South was far superior, competition wise. Although the Chanticleers won one more game than they did in the previous season (11-5 in 2013-14, 12-6 in 2014-15), instead of being atop the conference at the end of the season, they were tied for second with two other teams (Radford and Winthrop) and trailed High Point and Charleston Southern by one game. When the Big South Tournament rolled around, however, the Chanticleers used their home court advantage, well, to their advantage and took out Winthrop in the title game to advance to the NCAA Tournament. With a bunch of returning talent and one of the best mid-major coaches in the nation, the Chanticleers will compete in the conference once again.

2014-15 Record: 24-10, 12-6
2014-15 Postseason: NCAA Tournament; lost in first round to (1) Wisconsin 86-72
Coach: Cliff Ellis
Coach Record: 158-98 at Coastal Carolina, 770-447 Overall

[dbackjon]

#139 - Norfolk State

Had it not been for an extremely talented and gifted NC Central team, the Norfolk State Spartans would have been the heavy favorites to take the MEAC title last season. A postseason team for the past five seasons (1 NCAA, 2 NIT, 2 CBI), the Spartans are starting to work up quite a reputation for themselves on the mid-major scale. With a young, talented coach at the helm (Robert Jones: 35 years old) who insists he’s in it for the long run with the Spartans, this is a program that could be very, very good for the next 5-10 years. With a couple big returners and a surprisingly solid incoming class, the Spartans should be the heavy favorites for the MEAC title in 2015-16.

2014-15 Record: 20-14, 12-4
2014-15 Postseason: CIT
Coach: Robert Jones
Coach Record: 39-29 at Norfolk State, 39-29 overall

[dbackjon]

#138 - Lehigh

http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/11650" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lehigh got off to a slow start during the 2014-2015 campaign. They started off the year 0-4 and began Patriot League play at 1-4. However, among all those losses were some quality wins, most notably against DePaul and a triple overtime thriller at Arizona State. The talent became more consistent later in the season and that is what the Mountain Hawks will build off of heading into the 2015-2016 season. A tough finish, which included a season finale loss to Colgate that cost Lehigh a shot at a second place finish and an opening round loss to American in the conference tournament, leaves a few questions about whether or not this group is ready to put it all together for an entire season.

2014-15 Record: 16-14, 10-8
2014-15 Postseason: none
Coach: Brett Reed
Coach Record: 145-104 at Lehigh, 145-104 overall

[dbackjon]

#131 - Robert Morris

http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/11665" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

After so many close calls and good teams, Robert Morris finally made it back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010. They started in Dayton as part of the First Four and fell behind against North Florida. Down by more 13 early in the second half, the Colonials rallied to pick up a tournament win. The victory put RMU in the bracket opposite of Duke. For a while the Colonials were able to hang around with the Blue Devils and a few viewers clicked over early in the second half to hope for an epic upset over a #1 seed, but RMU ended up losing 85-56. It was now-senior guard Rodney Pryor who sparked the comeback against UNF and kept his team in the game for a while against Duke. The 6-5 Evanston, Illinois native led the team with 15.6 points per game and knocked down 42.9 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. With a few key departures, this will be Pryor’s team to lead back to the NCAA Tournament.

2014-15 Record: 20-15, 12-6
2014-15 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Andrew Toole
Coach Record: 110-66 at Robert Morris, 110-66 overall

[dbackjon]

#128 - Murray State
http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/11672" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

When a program like Murray State loses their coach and the 14th overall pick in the NBA Draft, it is safe to say it will be a transition year. However, while the faces may have changed, the results will likely be the same. Coach Steve Prohm has left for Iowa State after two years that ended in disappointment. This team was left out of the NCAAs twice after dominating the Ohio Valley Conference. Last season the Racers won 25 games in a row and were ranked in the top 25 heading into the OVC Tournament Final. They lost by one to Belmont and ended up as a #3 seed in the NIT. Prohm will not have to put his whole season into one game at Iowa State. Prohm’s former assistant, Matt McMahon, will take over the head coaching duties. He is the next logical choice and is expected to keep the style of play and the winning mentality at Murray State.

2014-15 Record: 29-6, 16-0
2014-15 Postseason: NIT
Coach: Matt McMahon
Coach Record: 0-0 at Murray State, 0-0 overall

[dbackjon]

#127 - Bucknell

http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/11673" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

After seven mostly successful seasons with Dave Paulsen at the head coaching helm, Bucknell will bring in a new coach for the 2015-16 season after Paulsen signed with George Mason. The new coach, Nathan Davis, is a rookie at the DI level but led Randolph-Macon (DIII) to seven straight tournament appearances. Thankfully for Davis, he has a couple key guys returning from last year’s team to make his rookie coaching job easier. And although Paulsen’s career at Bucknell was riddled with early Patriot League Tournament exits (often times as the higher seed) the numbers don’t lie (a 134-94 overall record, 74-32 in Patriot League). The talent is there for another run for the first place spot in the Patriot League, but it will be interesting to see how Davis reacts to being the favorite; in just his first season of coaching.

2014-15 Postseason: NIT
Coach: Nathan Davis
Coach Record: 0-0 at Bucknell, 0-0 overall

[dbackjon]

#125 - Northwestern State

http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/11677" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Northwestern State has one of the most explosive and entertaining offenses in the country. Their 84.0 points per game last year was the most in Division I basketball. With five of their top six scorers returning, this should again be the best scoring offense in the nation. Slightly over half of the scoring was done by Zeek Woodley and Jalan West. Those two will once again be among the best scorers in the country. Woodley, a 6-2 junior, averaged 22.2 points per game in 2014-2015. He is not the most prolific outside shooter, although he can knock down the long ball, but most of his scoring happens by attacking the basket. Woodley shot 56.0 percent from the floor last year and that is absolutely amazing for a 6-2 guard who spends some time on the perimeter and took 468 shots during the season. West, who averaged 20.0 points during his junior year, is also the point guard. On top his amazing three-point shooting, he dished out 7.7 assists.

2014-15 Record: 19-13, 13-5
2014-15 Postseason: CIT
Coach: Mike McConathy
Coach Record: 259-240 at Northwestern State, 259-240 overall

[dbackjon]

#123 - James Madison
http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/11681" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This season, eighth year head coach Matt Brady is looking to break a disturbing trend in his coaching career at James Madison up to this point. In his first season with the Dukes, he led them to a CBI berth. The year after that, they failed to make a postseason tournament. In the five years following, he has clinched a postseason berth, then failed to make a postseason tournament the next year. Considering last season the Dukes made the CIT, that means, by Brady’s coaching logic, that they will miss a tournament this year. However, this year may be the time Brady finally breaks the trend and makes two postseason tournaments in a row. With a bucket-load of returners and a couple decent prospects, James Madison will look to improve on what was a good 2014-15 season (12-6 in CAA last season) and make a run for the first place spot.

2014-15 Record: 19-14, 12-6
2014-15 Postseason: CIT
Coach: Matt Brady
Coach Record: 118-116 at James Madison, 191-166 overall

[dbackjon]

#122 Northern Arizona University

http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/11684" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Northern Arizona looked like they might be in some trouble last season after a transfer and a mid-season eligibility issue left the team depleted. That was not the way Coach Jack Murphy wanted to head into Big Sky. Suddenly the team many expected to compete for a title looked like they may fall back to the middle of the pack. But the Lumberjacks were ready to move on and did so amazingly well. After falling at Sacramento State in their Big Sky opener, NAU won 12 of their next 16 games. They ended up 13-5 in conference play, just one game behind the leaders. Kris Yanku emerged as a star during that stretch. On the year he averaged 13.8 points, 5.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals. Now a junior, the versatile 6-4 guard is expected to do even more. And with a little more consistency on his outside shot, Yanku could easily average 20 or more points per game.

2014-15 Record: 23-15, 13-5
2014-15 Postseason: CIT
Coach: Jack Murphy
Coach Record: 49-53 at Northern Arizona, 49-53 overall

[dbackjon]

#119 Princeton

http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/11692" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In the first four years of the Mitch Henderson era, Princeton has consistently been a good but not great team. They’ve made the CBI tournament twice, but have never won more than one game. Also, they’ve enjoyed a +.500 conference record all four years, but have never finished better than second place (2012-13). This kind of consistency can be good for a young player-coach like Henderson, but can be excruciatingly anguishing for fans looking to just get over the hump (the hump being Harvard in this case). The 2015-16 campaign could finally be the one that this feat is accomplished. They have enough returning talent to improve on last year’s 3rd place finish, and enough incoming young guys to put the pressure on the powerful Crimson of Harvard.

2014-2015 Record: 16-14, 9-5
2014-15 Postseason: None
Coach: Mitch Henderson
Coach Record: 74-46 at Princeton, 74-46 overall

[dbackjon]

#116 North Dakota State
http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/11703" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

When two-time Summit League Coach of the Year Saul Phillips booked NDSU for Ohio after the 2013-14 season, many thought it was the end of an era for the Bison. The 2014-15 team boasted a lot of talent, but rookie head coach David Richman didn’t have the experience to take them back to the NCAA Tournament….right? Wrong. Richman not only kept the Bison over .500 (both overall and in-conference) but he guided the Bison back to the NCAA Tournament. Losing long time stud Lawrence Alexander is going to hurt the Bison, but with a couple incoming recruits and enough returning talent, they are once again one of the three best teams in the Summit league going into 2015-2016.

2014-15 Record: 23-10, 12-4
2014-15 Postseason: NCAA Tournament
Coach: David Richman
Coach Record: 23-10 at NDSU, 23-10 overall

[dbackjon]

#115 Chattanooga
http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/11706" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chattanooga once again brings in a new coach. Will Wade spent two years with the Mocs before heading to VCU. And once again the program should be in fine shape with a different young coach leading the way. Matt McCall spent the last four seasons as an assistant to Billy Donovan at Florida and ten total years on Donovan’s staff. Coach McCall will have success at Chattanooga this season in large part due to Casey Jones. The 6-5 guard led the team with 14.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game last season. Jones can explode for 20 or more points and last year made a habit of doing that in back-to-back games. Four times Jones had back-to-back games with at least 20 points. For a 6-5 guard, Jones does a lot of work on the other end of the floor. On top of his impressive 7.0 rebounds per game, he also blocked 1.2 shots per game.

2014-15 Record: 22-10, 15-3
2014-15 Postseason: none
Coach: Matt McCall
Coach Record: 0-0 at Chattanooga, 0-0 overall

[dal4018]

#142 - Texas Southern

http://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/11642" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Texas Southern put together a superb 2014-2015 campaign for a SWAC team. The RPI was solid and they had two huge non-conference victories. On December 20th, Coach Mike Davis and company traveled to East Lansing and came away with a 71-64 overtime win over Michigan State. Eight days later, Texas Southern’s epic road trip went to Kansas State, where they knocked off the Wildcats 58-46. After that Texas Southern cruised through the SWAC, easily winning the regular season title with a 16-2 record. All of that success led to a SWAC team earning a rare 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers are still the team to beat in the conference race, but a trip to the NCAA Tournament this time will likely start in Dayton at the First Four.

2014-15 Record: 22-13, 16-2
2014-15 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Mike Davis
Coach Record: 54-42 at Texas Southern, 291-193 overall

I'm a huge fan of Tx Southern but they are in serious need of a infusion of size on that team granted that they beat Michigan St they lost the battle on rebounds 40-28 due to a lack of size in the low post and obviously that's what hurt them vs Arizona in the tournament.I hope that they have made strides to correct this problem by snagging a few 7ft'ers or folks near that height 6-10,6-11????

[dal4018]

#139 - Norfolk State

Had it not been for an extremely talented and gifted NC Central team, the Norfolk State Spartans would have been the heavy favorites to take the MEAC title last season. A postseason team for the past five seasons (1 NCAA, 2 NIT, 2 CBI), the Spartans are starting to work up quite a reputation for themselves on the mid-major scale. With a young, talented coach at the helm (Robert Jones: 35 years old) who insists he’s in it for the long run with the Spartans, this is a program that could be very, very good for the next 5-10 years. With a couple big returners and a surprisingly solid incoming class, the Spartans should be the heavy favorites for the MEAC title in 2015-16.

2014-15 Record: 20-14, 12-4
2014-15 Postseason: CIT
Coach: Robert Jones
Coach Record: 39-29 at Norfolk State, 39-29 overall

I was looking forward to a MEAC final of Norfolk St vs NCCU but Delaware St ruined everything hopefully that will not be the case this upcoming season!!!!!

[Gil Dobie]

Thanks for the link Jon

[Ibanez]

Good link. Thanks John. I've seen Chatty play in the past and they are a good team. I can't remember the last time the SoCon tourney was held in Charleston, but I used to go every year and was always impressed with Chatty.


And El Cid, but that was probably 10 yrs ago.