Here’s a link to all the previous articles in the series:
18. Illinois Fighting Illini
19. Indiana Hoosiers
22. Texas Longhorns
25. Miami Hurricanes
28. BYU Cougars
29. Maryland Terps
31. UCLA Bruins
32. Oregon Ducks
34. Florida Gators
35. Ole Miss
36. USC Trojans
39. Mississippi State Bulldogs
41. Memphis Tigers
42. McNeese Cowboys
45. VCU Rams
46. Dayton Flyers
47. St Mary’s Gaels
49. UCF Knights
52. Clemson Tigers
53. New Mexico Lobos
58. SMU Mustangs
60. Nevada Wolfpack
61. TCU Horned Frogs
63. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
65. Syracuse Orange
68. Iowa Hawkeyes
70. Butler Bulldogs
71. Princeton Tigers
74. Oklahoma Sooners
75. West Virginia Mountaineers
76. Georgia Bulldogs
77. UAB Blazers
80. Missouri Tigers
Here’s where our analysts ranked the Hoosiers:
| Cody | Kam | Maxwell | Steven |
| 16 | 42 | 13 | 18 |
Boy, do I adore this team. This team won 22 games last season and is returning nearly 63% of their minutes from last year. And, despite losing 15 games last year, 10 of those games were by less than 5 points. This Cincinnati team is tough. And clearly the analytics agree. In KenPom, the Bearcats are ranked 17th. In BartTorvik, they’re 27th. The AP Poll also has them 20th. Despite the rigorous Big 12 schedule, Cincinnati fared well in their first season in the conference, going 7-11 in Big 12 play. If you told Coach Wes Miller two years ago that the general consensus would be THIS high on the Bearcats, he probably wouldn’t be surprised. Miller is 248-178 as a coach in his career and none of his teams have had a losing record since 2015-16. In fact, seven of the past eight years, his teams have won 20+ games.
The biggest X factor on this team is Dan Skillings. Skilling went from averaging 5.3 points as a freshman to 12.9 as a sophomore. And another leap can be expected this season. Skillings, along with Day Day Thomas and Jizzle James, will be one of the better backcourts in the Big 12 this season. The biggest issue where these three players become repetitive is that all three lack consistency with their shooting. That’s where Simas Lukosius and CJ Frederick come into play. Lukosius shot a WHOPPING 254 3’s last season and hit them at a 38.5% clip. Meanwhile, Frederick shot 42.6% from 3 last season on 54 attempts; however, he played in just 15 games. Additionally, the frontcourt also consists of Texas transfer, Dillon Mitchell, as well as Aziz Bandaogo. Bandaogo and Mitchell are both non-shooters. Finally, there’s Connor Hickman from Bradley who also shot 40% from 3 last season and averaged 14.5 points per game. While only three of the top eight rotation players are the only legit three point shooting threats, Wes Miller coached teams typically aren’t three point shooting threats. In his last six seasons (3 at Cincinnati and 3 at UNC Greensboro), none of his teams have finished a season shooting above 34.9% from 3 as a team, and only one have shot over 33%.
This team also has immense experience. Of the likely eight rotation players, six are either seniors or graduate students, while the other two are a junior and a sophomore, respectively. Additionally, six of those eight players have all played at previous schools, played large roles, and then transferred to the Bearcats. This team also has some high recruits. There’s Arrinten Page, a USC transfer who is a sophomore and a previous top 50 recruit. Additionally, there’s Tyler Betsey, who’s a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year in Connecticut last year and a 4 star recruit, in addition to Tyler McKinley, another 4 star recruit. Not to mention, Dillon Mitchell is a former McDonald’s All-American as well.
The upside this team possesses allows Coach Miller to have young potential, continuity, experience and production. This roster is designed to compete in the toughest conference in the world and compete towards the top of the conference. This team is an undisputed top 20 team in the nation.
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