CBS Sports' 1-351 college basketball rankings: SMU #56

[Harry0569]

http://www.cbssports.com/college-basket ... -rankings/

56. SMU
The Ponies could be better, but let's just settle here at 56. Larry Brown left the program amid contract disputes over the summer. Tim Jankovich takes over. Shake Milton will compete with UConn's Jalen Adams as one of the best sophomores in the American. Ben Moore is probably the team's best player.

[indianmustang]

was just going to post the samething
are you the moody magic on uccon board
http://the-boneyard.com/threads/america ... 198/page-2

[Harry0569]

246. Gardner-Webb
Tyrell Nelson is 6-foot-7 but plays with the impact of a 7-footer in the Big South. He'll be vital to G-W's chances at stealing the auto bid in the Big South. This team could opt to run a four-guard lineup with Nelson on the floor. That would be really interesting to see.

238. Eastern Michigan
Raven Lee and James Thompson should be big production guys, a tandem capable of putting up 30 points per game. But the defense won't be above average, and 3-point shooting will be OK at best, meaning EMU is unlikely to compete for a MAC bid.

36. Pittsburgh
Kevin Stallings takes over for Jamie Dixon. The roster is better than you think it is, but we're going to have an interesting blend of Stallings' style with Dixon's players. I'm very torn on if this will be an NCAA Tournament team this season. It should be, but you could say that about a handful of Stallings' Vandy teams that didn't play up to par.

43. Michigan
The Wolverines bring back necessary pieces -- Zak Irvin, Derrick Walton, Duncan Robinson, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman -- but this team was lost without Caris LeVert relatively often last season. It's going to be methodical and reliable, but is it an NCAA tourney group? Walton should take a jump, and Duncan Robinson might wind up as one of the biggest offensive threats in the Big Ten.

49. Marquette
The Golden Eagles need to replace one of the best players in the country, Henry Ellenson, but this is not a roster void of talent. Marquette's a good on-ball defensive team, and Duane Wilson, JaJuan Johnson, Traci Carter are all back. Luke Fischer is set up to be the team's best overall player.

148. UC Santa Barbara
The Big West had four teams in KenPom's top 105 by the end of last season, so putting No. 4 in the league as low as 148 could be a missed throw on my part. The Gauchos should be top-two in the conference on D and respectable from deep. Gabe Vincent will be an all-league player.

66. USC
Got into the NCAAs as an 8 seed last year, then lost Julian Jacobs and Nikola Jovanovic -- their two best players -- to pro dreams. So the Trojans have to take a drop. The good news is Chimezie Metu will step in for Jovanovic and should be a producer. Jordan McLaughlin takes over as lead guard. Questions abound but talent is still here.

121. Boise State
A lot of people are selling Leon Rice's team this season, but I'm not expecting the Broncos to be considerably worse than last year's 20-12 team. Nick Duncan is very good. BSU oozes offense. It won't be an at-large candidate, but it will be a sleeper team to steal the Mountain West auto bid.

135. Cal State Bakersfield
The Roadrunners might have a backcourt that grows into the best in the WAC by the time we get to February. Bakersfield takes care of the ball and has a fun point guard in Dedrick Basile.

346. Delaware State
Rebounding remains a concern. The team had five wins against D-I competition last season and did not rank in the top 180 in any major tempo-free offensive category.

111. TCU
Jamie Dixon takes over at his alma mater. This was a 12-21 team last season. The offense was a puddle of muck. Malique Trent should be the standout, but this will take some time.

199. McNeese State
Jamaya Burr will be the go-to guy for a Cowboys club that's a sleeper in the Southland. The defense HAS to get better, but I will note this club played the third-hardest non-conference schedule in America last season. It was better than its 9-20 mark suggested.

87. Stanford
Jerod Haase takes over. He gets Reid Travis, who will be the key to getting the Cardinal above .500 in Haase's first year. Stanford needs shooting and long-distance threats in a bad way.

139. Albany
The Great Danes should be terrific on the boards and will probably be the only team to threaten Vermont in the America East. Question is, who becomes to the go-to guy?

83. Memphis
Tubby Smith takes over here after being lured away from Lubbock, Texas, after Josh Pastner took the Georgia Tech gig. Memphis lost games it shouldn't have under Pastner. Memphis will win games it shouldn't under Smith. Dedric Lawson could become the best player in the American. The Tigers will also play much slower under Smith than Pastner.

141. East Carolina
Caleb White, B.J. Tyson, Kentrell Barkley. That's the three-headed apparatus that needs to get East Carolina out of the dregs and competing in the American. This program is in need of a jolt in the worst way. I think it improves from last year's 12-20 mark, absolutely.

75. Temple
Fran Dunphy's team will be young but have some nice pieces coming in. Ultimately, how good can Obi Enechionyia be down low, and are questions about Josh Brown's health going to linger into the season?

211. South Florida
The Bulls are a program in some flux right now, as the program is under investigation for academic fraud. The coach's brother, an assistant, resigned. Talent-wise, Jahmal McMurray will probably lead the team in scoring and put up more than 230 3-point attempts this season.

30. Cincinnati
The Bearcats have been consistent and tough as hell under Mick Cronin. This is an NCAA Tournament team again. I'd rank Troy Caupain among the 10 most overlooked players in America right now. Gary Clark is also a guy battling to make our list of the top 100 (and one) players in the sport.

254. Tulane
The Green Wave have brought in Mike Dunleavy, former NBA coach, to get this thing going. It's an interesting experiment. Dunleavy has X-and-O acumen but not college experience. This looks like the worst roster in the American this season.

19. UConn
Like the Huskies this season because there's undeniable talent at every position in the starting five, and even the backups are capable of stepping in and playing against pretty good competition. The favorite in the AAC, I think. Jalen Adams is the breakout candidate, while Rodney Purvis, Amida Brimah and Kentan Facey are the vets in position to get UConn back to the NCAAs.

72. Houston
A 22-win team last season that played the 333rd-toughest non-con schedule. Kelvin Sampson will up the challenges this year. Damyeon Dotson, formerly at Oregon, will be a big player for the Cougars this season. Rob Gray Jr. will threaten to put up 14-16 per game.

110. UCF
Johnny Dawkins was fired at Stanford, but he takes over here for the fired Donnie Jones. This is the team with the 7-foot-6 guy with the funny name (Tacko Fall). A.J. Davis also up front makes this team one of the tougher scouts in the AAC.

151. Tulsa
The shocking at-large selection from last year's NCAA Tournament. Frank Haith has to start all over with this roster, so it's going to be a rebuilding year. Most believe this team is bottom-four in the AAC for 2016-17.