Welcome to The Sports Bank’s third annual college basketball season preview series. Two years we looked at 99 teams in 99 days. Last year, we were slightly more aggressive and expanded to 111 teams in 111 days and will do so again as we look ahead to the 2012-2013 season.
We will rank the 75 power conference teams and top 36 mid-majors in reverse power ranking order. We’ll break down rosters, transfers, incoming freshmen, non-conference schedules, and pick a player to watch for each team.
2011-12 was a banner year for the Murray State basketball program, posting a 31-2 overall record and winning their third straight Ohio Valley Conference. Even though the Racers lose three starters and one key reserve, Steve Prohm returns All-American Isaiah Canaan and MSU is still the team to beat in the OVC.
MURRAY STATE RACERS
Last Season: 1st, 15-1 in OVC, 31-2 overall
Predicted OVC Finish: 1st
Projected Depth Chart
F/C: Brandon Garrett (Sr)/Zay Henderson (Fr)
F: Edward Daniel (Sr)/Tyler Rambo (Fr)/Eric McCree (Fr)/Terron Gilmore (Fr)
G/F: Latreze Mushatt (Sr)/Stacy Wilson (Sr)
SG: Dexter Fields (Jr)/Jeffrey Moss (Fr)
PG: Isaiah Canaan (Sr)/C.J. Ford (Fr)
Gone: F/C-Ivan Aska, SG-Jewuan Long, G/F-Donte Poole, SG-Jaylen Bland (transfer), C-Harley Nussman (transfer-St. Edward University)
2012-2013 Outlook:
With Murray State making it’s name on the national scene last year, so too did Canaan. He is a dynamic scorer who shot a scorching 46% from distance last year and deciding not to enter the NBA Draft was a huge sigh of relief for Prohm since he loses starting wings Jewuan Long and Donte Poole.
As a result, UAB transfer Dexter Fields and key reserve Latreze Mushatt will step into the starting line-up. Mushatt made the most of his opportunities last season in his first year with the Racers after transferring in from UMKC. Fields will hope to do the same this year due to his ability to light it up from distance.
The guard depth took a major hit when backup point guard Zay Jackson was suspended for the season due to an off-the-court incident in which he hit two people with his car in a Wal-Mart parking lot. As a result, Stacy Wilson should see a larger role off the bench with freshman C.J. Ford and Jeffrey Moss needing to factor into the equation right away.
The Racers also have to replace four-year contributor Ivan Aska inside. Ed Daniel will need to play a bigger role inside and is the type of player that every coach would love to have due to how hard he plays and the infectious energy he brings to the floor. He is simply somebody who cannot be judged by his stats because of all the little things he does to help his team win.
Brandon Garrett should step in to replace Aska in the starting line-up. At 6-9, he’s the tallest Racer but doesn’t bring a lot of physicality to the floor. There isn’t a lot of height on the bench and zero experience when it comes to frontcourt depth. Redshirt freshman Tyler Rambo will compete for minutes with three true freshmen; Erik McCree, Zay Henderson, and Terron Gilmore
I certainly don’t expect Murray State to put together a repeat performance of last season and they will see better competition in the OVC with the addition of Belmont. Fun fact though; the Racers’ last losing season was 26 years ago and Prohm will have no problem extending that streak this year.
Player to Watch: Isaiah Canaan
I’m interested to see how the loss of Jackson will affect Canaan. The pair spent a lot of time playing together in the backcourt and Jackson’s presence on the floor allowed Canaan to play off the ball a little bit. Cannan’s workload will increase even more this year and he’ll have to score more while also being a better distributor for the Racers to be a real threat on the national scene like they were last year.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/15 vs. Auburn (Charleston Classic)
11/16 vs. St. John’s/Charleston (Charleston Classic)
11/18 vs. Baylor/Boston College/Dayton/Colorado (Charleston Classic)
11/24 at Old Dominion
12/16 at Western Kentucky
12/22 at Dayton
12/29 vs. Valparaiso
2/23 vs. TBD (ESPN Bracketbusters)
OTHER 111 IN 111’S:
#40 VCU Rams
#41 Davidson Wildcats
#42 Stanford Cardinal
#43 UMass Minutemen
#44 St. John’s Red Storm
#45 Butler Bulldogs
#46 Florida State Seminoles
#47 Drexel Dragons
#48 St. Louis Billikens
#49 West Virginia Mountaineers
#50 BYU Cougars
#51 Temple Owls
#52 Washington Huskies
#53 California Golden Bears
#54 Kansas State Wildcats
#55 Nevada Wolfpack
#56 Colorado Buffaloes
#57 Iowa State Cyclones
#58 Northern Iowa Panthers
#59 Colorado State Rams
#60 Iowa Hawkeyes
#61 South Florida Bulls
#62 Valparaiso Crusaders
#63 Illinois Fighting Illini
#64 Arkansas Razorbacks
#65 Wichita State Shockers
#66 George Mason Patriots
#67 Virginia Cavaliers
#68 Villanova Wildcats
#69 Maryland Terrapins
#70 Marshall Thundering Herd
#71 Iona Gaels
#72 Northwestern Wildcats
#73 Oklahoms State Cowboys
#74 Rutgers Scarlet Knights
#75 USC Trojans
#76 UConn Huskies
#77 Harvard Crimson
#78 Xavier Musketeers
#79 Ole Miss Rebels
#80 Clemson Tigers
#81 Oregon State Beavers
#82 Texas A&M Aggies
#83 Providence Friars
#84 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
#85 Oklahoma Sooners
#86 Lehigh Mountain Hawks
#87 Washington State Cougars
#88 Long Beach State 49ers
#89 Belmont Bruins
#90 Vanderbilt Commodores
#91 Dayton Flyers
#92 Houston Cougars
#93 UCF Knights
#94 Old Dominion Monarchs
#95 Oregon Ducks
#96 LSU Tigers
#97 South Carolina Gamecocks
#98 Seton Hall Pirates
#99 Georgia Bulldogs
#100 DePaul Blue Demons
#101 Boston College Eagles
#102 Penn State Nittany Lions
#103 Arizona State Sun Devils
#104 Virginia Tech Hokies
#105 Texas Tech Red Raiders
#106 Auburn Tigers
#107 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
#108 TCU Horned Frogs
#109 Mississippi State Bulldogs
#110 Utah Utes
#111 Nebraska Cornhuskers
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag.)
You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.