Nice pre-season MU mention

[Sir Lawrence]

Came across this article on "Who is #1" this year.  Unlike last year, when Florida was pretty much the consensus pre-season pick to be numero uno, this year it's harder to come up with any such agreement.  Anyway, here's the mention:

Two other teams getting top ten billing in the preseason are Marquette and Washington State. Though neither is getting any sort of publicity as a potential No. 1 team, both are very good teams that will threaten to make the Final Four. Marquette returns one of the best guard groups in the country in Dominic James and Jerel McNeal, as well as wing Wesley Matthews. Ousmane Barro leads a capable collection of players up front. James will need to regain his freshman season form if the Golden Eagles are going to make a run. Furthermore, post production needs to improve from the likes of Barro and Lazar Hayward.

Washington State came out of nowhere last season to garner a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and make national noise. Tony Bennett did it behind outstanding defense and the vastly underrated backcourt of Derrick Low and Kyle Weaver. Luckily for Bennett, both of those guards return, along with frontcourt starters Daven Harmeling and Robbie Cowgill. On the other hand, the Cougars really struggled to score at times last season, as they don't have that many players that can create their own shot. WSU is also not overly athletic in the frontcourt, which hurt them against teams that had more talent up front. No one will overlook the Cougars this season, though.

So, there you have it: eleven teams that comprise the majority of top-ten lists you will find out there currently. Only three or four of them are getting legit consideration for the top spot, but there is no clear-cut leader. Who is my pick for preseason No. 1 for the 2007-2008 season? You'll have to wait until next week to find out, when I unveil my summer Top 25. Stay tuned.

Full article here:  http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/blog/marchmadness/

By the way, he also has Louisville and G'town in the top ten mix.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

The Big East is going to be a BEAST this year.

MU, UofL, GU, PITT

All could be top 12 teams... very easily

[NYWarrior]

The Big East is going to be a BEAST this year.

MU, UofL, GU, PITT

All could be top 12 teams... very easily

MU, UL and GU........no doubt.  I'm not so sure about Pitt who lost Gray, Kendall and the underrated Graves.  The roster has talent returning, but they lost a ton IMHO (or at least more than MU, UL or GU relative to incoming replacement talent; McGhee and Diggs have big shoes to fill).  I'd definitely slot Providence ahead of Pitt - - their core of sophs are all back, plus Hanke returns from an unexpected reshirt season (and dont forget, he averaged 13 and 6 as a sophomore -- when he was noticeably better than Herbert Hill).  The Friars will be very tough - - glad MU will draw them in Milwaukee this year.

WVU and ND seem like the wild cards.  WVU returns everybody but Frank Young - -but who knows how Huggins will do with a roster that does not reflect his style of play?  If Beilein was in Morgantown, I'd pick WVU for a top 4 league finish. 

ND - - looks like McAlarney should adequately replace Falls, just not sure about replacing the athletic, clutch Russell Carter (how will they adjust to losing a talent like that on the wing)