| 07 November 2010
Every Sunday The Hoops Manifesto and Bloguin's NCAA hoops writers come together to vote on the four best teams in the country, our Fabulous Four, plus the best team from a non-BCS conference. We present to your the preseason edition of the Fab Four Plus One - because who has time to read a list of 25 teams.
Voters: Jeff Fox from The Hoops Manifesto, fetch and tallguy from The Beadlemaniacs, Jordan from ACC Rivals, Philip from Rise Northwestern, Hamilton Riley from Lambeth Field and Flounder from Leftover Hot Dog.
Fabulous Four
1) Duke - 34 (out of possible 35) points
Record: 0-0
Games this week: None
"Not since Florida in 2006 have the defending champions come back so loaded with talent and experience. Can the Dookies handle the pressure of "win or bust" expectations?" - Jeff Fox
"Kyle Singler is back. Nolan Smith is back. The Plumlees are back. These key parts to Duke's national title all return while they add one of the top high school players in the country, Kyrie Irving, and Seth Curry. However, losing Scheyer might hurt more than people expect." - Jordan
"Everyone is talking about Barnes down in Tobacco Road, but don't sleep on Kyrie Irving's contribution to this Duke team. He should easily replace the scoring drop off and should make for some early interesting matchups." - Hamilton Riley
2) Michigan State - 20 points
Record: 0-0
Games this week: Friday vs Eastern Michigan
"Can Michigan State become the UCLA of a few years back and make it to three-straight Final Fours? That all depends on how well leader Kalin Lucas returns from his last season injury." - Jeff Fox
"These guys are back again? Kalin Lucas, Draymond Green, Durrell Summers, Korie Lucious, Delvon Roe. Does anyone think they won't go back to the Final Four? Super talented freshman Adreian Payne brings some size and athleticism to the Spartans this year." - Jordan
"We should just start penciling in the Spartans into the Final Four every year. It is absolutely insane the run of Final Fours that Tom Izzo has taken Michigan State to in the last 10 years. And the scary part is, he once again has a team that could do it. Even with questions surrounding Korie Lucious, the Spartans return just about every player from last year's team including point guard Kalin Lucas (although he is coming off of a pretty serious injury)." - Philip
"A well-rounded club that has the fundamentals down to take Izzo to new heights in 2010-2011." - Flounder
3) Kansas State - 15 points
Record: 0-0
Games this week: Friday vs James Madison
"They may have lost Denis Clemente from last year's Final Four team, but Jacob Pullen is back and has helped make the Wildcats an early favourite to make it the Final Four once again. Fear the beard." - Jeff Fox
" I believe in the beard. I believe in the octagon of doom. I believe they will rule a down Big XII, so obtaining a high seed is not out of the question." - Hamilton Riley
"The Wildcats are trying to prove there is another team to watch in Kansas. Returning a whole bunch of players from last year's impressive team, Kansas State is trying to take over the state. It could happen... first they will need to beat the Jayhawks." - Philip
"This team should be fun to watch in how they navigate the season. Got lots of talent but can they put it together each and every night?" - Flounder
4) Pittsburgh - 8 points
Record: 0-0
Games this week: Mon vs Rhode Island, Wed vs Illinois-Chicago, Sat vs North Florida
"The Panthers have won at least one NCAA Tournament game each of the past five seasons, and this 2010/11 looks to be no different. They'll look to get out of the gate fast, with three games in the first week of the season alone." - Jeff Fox
"Will Pitt finally breakthrough and advance to the Final Four? They have a nice trio at the guard position with Gibbs, Wanamaker, and Brown. This could be Jamie Dixon's best team." - Jordan
"Should walk through the Big East but team has a lot to prove in how they do it." - Flounder
Top Non-BCS Team
Gonzaga - 3 votes (out of a possible seven)
Record: 0-0
Games this week: Friday vs Southern
"The former mid-major kings have abdicated their thrown, as first George Mason and then Butler made it to the Final Four before they did. Time for the Zags to get their crowns back." - Jeff Fox
"Early on you have to start with the Zags, considering they play a rough non-conference schedule. As it is the case with them every season, if they can make it to the WCC games with only one or two losses, they will be poised to make another deep tourney run." - Hamilton Riley
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