FanHouse 08 BlogPoll

This week, FanHouse is taking a look at the top teams heading into 2008 with a BlogPoll decided on by our college hoops bloggers. To help with the team capsules, we've brought in some of the top fan bloggers around the internets to give us insights on their teams.

For the UConn Huskies, Andrew Porter of TheUConnBlog has provided us with the vital insights into the Huskies. A relatively new blog, TheUConnBlog promises to be one of the best sources of Huskies basketball this year.

No word defines this Husky team better than "if." If the Huskies can get consistent production from their starters, they can beat anyone in the country. If everyone stays healthy and out of trouble, they have a ridiculously deep lineup. And if everything comes together, UConn could win it all this spring. Make no mistake, UConn has the talent to be a Final Four team, but after failing to win a single postseason game in the last two years, Husky fans have learned all the talent in the world won't matter if the team can't put it all together when it counts.

This week, FanHouse is taking a look at the top teams heading into 2008 with a BlogPoll decided on by our college hoops bloggers. To help with the team capsules, we've brought in some of the top fan bloggers around the internets to give us insights on their teams.

For the Louisville Cardinals, Mike of Card Chronicle gives us the details on a Cardinal team with high expectations, but a few glossed over questions.

When forwards Earl Clark and Terrence Williams elected to spurn the NBA in favor of returning to school for another shot at a national championship, the Louisville Cardinals immediately jumped from middle-of-the-pack top 25 squad to one of the five or six teams with a legitimate case to enter the 2008-2009 season ranked No. 2.

This week, FanHouse is taking a look at the top teams heading into 2008 with a preseason BlogPoll decided on by our college hoops bloggers. To help with the team capsules, we've brought in some of the top fan bloggers around the internets to give us insights on their teams.

For the Michigan State Spartans, Opie from SpartyMSU provides the details on a Spartan squad that enters the season once more with high expectations and a difficult non-conference schedule to test the squad early.

The Spartans are picked second in the Big Ten and ranked fifth or sixth (AP / Coaches) nationally. They surely will be in the March Madness tourney again, and hope to do better than last year when they made it to the Sweet 16 in NCAA tourney, but were beaten by a very physical Memphis squad.

They did graduate key players last year (Drew Naymick and Drew Neitzel), but they have the pieces to fill in behind them. Tom Izzo returns most of his guys, and is just reloading with talent and more depth. This team will add to Michigan State and Coach Izzo's resume of 11 straight years of NCAA Tourney play, seven years of Sweet 16 or better, and four Final Four appearances.

This week, FanHouse is taking a look at the top teams heading into 2008 with a BlogPoll decided on by our college hoops bloggers. To help with the team capsules, we've brought in some of the top fan bloggers around the internets to give us insights on their teams.

Another school that did nothing to remove their reputation as a football school, no Oklahoma blogger contacted, even responded to our inquiries about the 2008-09 Sooner basketball team. So be it, that means the preview will be from a less interested party.

The biggest shock after the 2007-08 season ended was that freshman forward Blake Griffin was not even considering the NBA. This despite, everyone projecting him as a lottery pick. That decision immediately put the Sooners into every preseason top-25.

Oklahoma also pulled in an excellent recruiting class, and Coach Jeff Capel's name started popping up on the wish list for the annual coaching carousel. So, it was no surprise that Oklahoma moved quickly to give Capel another raise and extension after only two seasons in Norman.

This week, FanHouse is taking a look at the top teams heading into 2008 with a BlogPoll decided on by our college hoops bloggers. To help with the team capsules, we've brought in some of the top fan bloggers around the internets to give us insights on their teams.

For the Pitt Panthers, Josh Verlin of the Oakland Zoo blog. Not only is this blog about Pitt basketball, it is also the blog of the Pitt student section for which the blog is named -- The Oakland Zoo.

In Coach Jamie Dixon's fifth year as the Pittsburgh Panthers head coach, a team hurt by injuries and inexperience all year broke through when it counted and won the Big East Tournament Championship. They became only the second team in the history of the tournament to win four games in four straight days. They did it by beating ranked teams in Louisville, Marquette, and Georgetown in in the run. Unfortunately, the Panthers season came to an abrupt end in Denver in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

aThis week, FanHouse is taking a look at the top teams heading into 2008 with a BlogPoll decided on by our college hoops bloggers. To help with the team capsules, we've brought in some of the top fan bloggers around the internets to give us insights on their teams.

The Boilermakers haven't been hyped this much in basketball since Gene Keady's early-90s teams. The point where it was fun to joke about Keady doubling as the mascot, and not tinged with sadness at the way things were ending. T-Mill of Off the Tracks provides the insight and knowledge on Matt Painter's group.

When I was a senior at Purdue during the 2001-2002 basketball season, my roommate and I had student section tickets three rows from the floor. By the end of the year, we were nearly alone in the Gene Pool as the Boilermakers suffered their first losing season under coach Gene Keady. Little did we know that it was only the beginning of a descent that brought about a poor end to Keady's tenure, and also a rough beginning to current coach Matt Painter's time on the sidelines.

Last season, I watched in envy as the students stormed the floor in a spontaneous celebration rarely seen in Mackey Arena's history, when the "Baby Boilers" upset Wisconsin. After that game, I wrote that we had finally arrived back at the mountain. It wasn't the peak of the program; rather, it was an announcement that we were again finally ready to compete nationally after a long, long slumber.

This week, FanHouse is taking a look at the top teams heading into 2008 with a preseason BlogPoll decided on by our college hoops bloggers. To help with the team capsules, we've brought in some of the top fan bloggers around the internets to give us insights on their teams.

For the Texas Longhorns, Trips Right from Barking Carnival takes a break from football to give a detailed overview of the Longhorn basketball team that has been one of the most successful teams in the last few years.

After a pleasantly surprising 2007 season that ended with an Elite 8 loss to an NBA developmental team, this version of Texas roundball will have to figure out how to answer the bell after losing a superstar to the NBA. While the situation may be similar, the void that Kevin Durant created is entirely different than the void DJ Augustin leaves. I would even argue that DJ Augustin's void will be more difficult to fill, but I'd also say the 2008 Texas team has more material and options to fill it with than last year's group. The problem with the material is that it's raw, inexperienced, and in some instances playing out of position.

This week, FanHouse is taking a look at the top teams heading into 2008 with a BlogPoll decided on by our college hoops bloggers. To help with the team capsules, we've brought in some of the top fan bloggers around the internets to give us insights on their teams.

The Arizona State Sun Devils have bitterly disappointed on the football field this season. You would think that would have their fans eagerly ready to change the subject to basketball. Their team is on the rise. Expectations are heightened, and rival Arizona is in utter turmoil. Yet, judging by the lack of response from their blogs, it seems to be more akin to fear of expecting a similar season on the hardcourt. So, we'll offer our view.

In two years, Herb Sendek had the Sun Devils just outside of the NCAA Tournament and has expectations raised significantly in Tempe. ASU hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since 2003. They haven't been ranked in the preseason since 1991. They have never won the Pac-10 and the last time they legitimately made a run at the conference title, Byron Scott was playing for them.

So, year three has some expectations and essentially the unknown for Arizona State. This team returns all five starters and the seven top scorers. In other words, they return an experienced team with depth.

This week, FanHouse is taking a look at the top teams heading into 2008 with a BlogPoll decided on by our college hoops bloggers. To help with the team capsules, we've brought in some of the top fan bloggers around the internets to give us insights on their teams.

For the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, BlackandGreen of Black and Green Irish Basketball Report shows that while Notre Dame may be a football school, it isn't the only sport over which the Irish faithful can obsess. This is the only blog on the web that is exclusive to ND basketball.

The Irish enter the 2008-09 season with their highest expectations since Digger Phelps roamed the Joyce Center sidelines. With an offensive juggernaut led by All-American Luke Harangody and sweet shooting Kyle McAlarney, Notre Dame can outscore just about every team in the country. Supremely talented point guard Tory Jackson grows into an upperclassman with the expectation that he will keep the scoring machine running smoothly. Wings Ryan Ayers and Zach Hillesland enter the starting lineup to make up for the loss of last year's lone senior Rob Kurz.

This week, FanHouse is taking a look at the top teams heading into 2008 with a BlogPoll decided on by our college hoops bloggers. To help with the team capsules, we've brought in some of the top fan bloggers around the internets to give us insights on their teams.

For the Marquette Golden Eagles, Tim Blair of Cracked Sidewalks gives us the inside view on the Golden Eagles.

After a nine-year run that brought Marquette basketball back to consistent national prominence for the first time in decades, Tom Crean abruptly ended his tenure in Milwaukee and the reigns were passed unexpectedly to Brent "Buzz" Williams. Williams, an assistant at MU for just one season after his own abrupt departure from the University of New Orleans, is now tasked with building on the Golden Eagles' recent success.

Luckily for Williams, Marquette returns all five starters from last year's 25-10 squad which lost at the buzzer in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Golden Eagles will be led once again by one of the nation's best backcourts, senior running mates Dominic James, Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal. The trio has combined to start an incredible 276 games in their careers, serving as the foundation for the program since it entered the BIG EAST four years ago. After elevating the program to a consistently competitive level, this season will define their legacy. Can the Golden Eagles break through to compete for the BIG EAST title and win a pair of games in March?