The college basketball season is less than a month old but, since December 8th will be the first Saturday without college football dominating the schedule, this is absolutely the perfect time to take an early look at some of the teams we have taken notice of already this season!
Washington State: The Cougars are ranked in the top ten and showing that last years run through the regular season and NCAA Tournament was certainly no fluke. Tony Bennett's boys still play great defense but have also turned it up a notch on offense. The Cougars have "raised the bar" to the point that they can score when needed. Wednesday they beat Gonzaga in Spokane to improve to 8-0 and Washington State certainly appears as if they will be "more than ready" when Pac-10 play begins.
Texas: The Longhorns are definitely surprising many by finding a way to manage quite well without Kevin Durant! Texas is already 7-0 on the season and the Longhorns are coming off an upset win of #1 UCLA at Paulie Pavilion. The Horns are young but they are also very talented! Texas should continue to get better as the season goes on and they will be heard from in the Big 12 this season as well as in the Big Dance come spring!
Clemson: The Tigers are very quietly now 8-0 on the season even though they have recently been playing without two very important pieces of the their puzzle. Even without forwards Sam Perry and James Mays the Tigers are a very imposing team! Their perfect start, like many teams, has included a few cupcakes, but the Clemson ledger also shows wins over power conference teams like Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Purdue. Are the Tigers good enough to unseat North Carolina and/or Duke? Probably not but playing third fiddle to those programs is nothing to be ashamed of.
Our advice is to definitely keep your eyes on these teams as the season progresses. They should present some very nice opportunities in the coming weeks and months! Best of luck all season long from Scott Rickenbach.
