When pressed to answer what our favorite sport is, the answer is usually college basketball. It has the best ending to any season, and unlike college football, there are actually meaningful out of conference games. We’ll run through our Top 20 teams this week, and throw together an All-American team for this weekend. We’re actually very geeky about the sport – we’ve played in a fantasy keeper league for the last six or seven years, so expect many posts about the sport this winter.

16. Davidson – The man pictured above is Stephen Curry, son of Dell. He’s money. Averaged 21 as a freshman and the Wildcats went 29-5. All five starters are back and the early schedule – Duke, UCLA, UNC – will help come March. It’s a travesty this team isn’t ranked in either poll.
17. Pittsburgh – Aaron Gray’s gone, there isn’t a first or second team All-Big East candidate on the roster, and … this is why we like them. Like Biggs and Benjamin, and who knows, maybe athletic Sam Young finally turns into the player everyone has been blowing for two years. No expectations = success.
18. Texas A&M – Joseph Jones passed on the NBA, otherwise, they’d be an afterthought. We thought Jones was better as a sophomore, and probably was thinking too much about the NBA last year. Won’t be the case this year with Acie Law gone and Jones poised for a 20-10 All-American type campaign. Josh Carter is one of the best shooters in the country (no hyperbole). And if well-regarded sophomore Donald Sloan can run the point, the Aggies will be right there with Texas for runner-up honors in the Big 12.
19. Southern Illinois – Everyone’s expecting the Missouri Valley to take a step back – it will – but not the Salukis. Virtually this exact group nearly bounced Kansas last March, losing a 61-58 defensive battle. One key player missing is Jamaal Tatum, the MVC POY who graduated. Still, with firm defense and a fundamentally-sound offense, pencil these guys in for an NCAA berth and a first-round “upset.”
20. Kansas State – So we fell for the Michael Beasley hype and ranked them while leaving out Duke, Arizona and USC. Kill us for it. We think Beasley’s freshman success will be more Durant than Melo – individual accolades and not a deep March run. Bob Huggins is past his prime and won’t be missed. Best case scenario: Beasley is unselfihs, Bill Walker doesn’t feel slighted that he’s no longer the man, and new coach Frank Martin (he of the checkered past) can massage egos. Expect much turbulence in Manhattan.