We are now less than a week away from one of the most exciting seasons of the year: college basketball season. And although this year is going to look different with less travel, bubbles and limited fan capacity if any at games, the talent and intensity will remain. In this week’s roundtable, the DC Sports Section will be dishing out the teams we are most excited to watch (excluding UConn) this season. Will it be a Big East rival, and old foe in the AAC or one of the top dogs in the NCAA? Let’s find out:
Cole Stefan
Campus Correspondent
There are a lot of strong candidates that fit into this specific category. But if there is any team that will be absolutely exciting, it has got to be a team I have yet to describe in any article I have written, and that team is the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Hawkeyes are led by Luka Garza, a strong candidate for Player of the Year, and he is built around a team of returning stars from CJ Fredrick (10.2 PPG) to Jose Wieskamp (14.0 PPG) to even Joe Toussaint (17 consecutive free throws made). I think it is safe to say I like Iowa’s chances to not only dominate the Big Ten, but have a very real possibility of a deep March Madness run. Even if they do not win the national title, I think this team is going to enjoy having the talents of Garza emerge for one last legendary ride.
Danny Barletta
Sports Editor
A lot of UConn fans may not like me going intraconference here, but I’m really excited to watch Creighton this season. They are ranked No. 11 in the AP preseason poll and are the reigning Big East regular season champions. They have some great returners including Preseason Big East Player of the Year Marcus Zegarowski, who I believe will be one of the most exciting players in college basketball this year and a dark horse candidate for National Player of the Year. Aside from him, they have other returning starters like Mitch Ballock, Damien Jefferson and Christian Bishop. The Blue Jays will have one of the most experienced teams in the Big East and in the country, so I can see them having a special season.
