The Post’s five bold college basketball predictions, plus All-American teams

November 3, 2024

The Post’s Zach Braziller makes five bold college basketball predictions, plus names his All-American first and second teams:

Five predictions

More March heartache for Calipari

Stop me if this sounds familiar: John Calipari stockpiles talented players who will get drafted, but comes up short in March.

He hasn’t reached the Sweet 16 since 2019, a streak that continues at his new school, Arkansas.

Though transfers Jonas Aidoo (Tennessee) and Johnell Davis (Florida Atlantic), top-30 freshmen Boogie Fland, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond, and former Kentucky players D.J. Wagner, Zvonimir Ivisic and Adou Thiero look good on paper, there is reason to believe Calipari has lost his coaching fastball.

It was never his strong suit to begin with.

He also enters his first season in Fayetteville with really just nine legitimate players, a questionable strategy that will open him up to criticism if there are any injuries.

A surprising Big East team reaches San Antonio

Forget Connecticut winning a third straight title.

The Huskies fail to advance to the Final Four in San Antonio despite a strong regular season, falling in the Sweet 16 as their run of 10 straight NCAA Tournament wins come to an end. But the Big East won’t be left off the sport’s biggest stage. After finishing two games behind UConn in league play during the regular season, Xavier reaches its first Final Four. Ryan Conwell, a do-it-all 6-foot-4 guard from Indiana State who becomes one of the best transfers in the country, leads the Musketeers to a program first.

Two mid-majors land single-digit seeds

Grand Canyon won 30 games last season, pushed Alabama in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and returns six of its top seven scorers — including Tyon-Grant Foster, one of the best guards in the country.

Princeton didn’t go dancing a season ago — it was upset in the Ivy League Tournament by Brown — but it will make it this year.

The Tigers feature two of the best players in the Ivy League in juniors Xaivian Lee and Caden Pierce, and also return starting forward Blake Peters and key reserve Dalen Davis.

Both schools notch multiple major nonconference wins — Princeton beats Rutgers and Saint Joseph’s while Grand Canyon topples Arizona State and Georgia — and enter the tournament second-weekend threats as single-digit seeds.

Baylor, Big 3 the last team standing

A physical and skilled forward. An experienced point guard. An exciting, well-rounded NBA prospect.

Baylor’s trio of Miami transfer Norchad Omier, Duke transfer Jeremy Roach and five-star freshman V.J. Edgecombe will be the best trio in the sport — a triumvirate that, along with returning contributors Langston Love and Jayden Nunn, cuts down the nets in San Antonio.

Omier and Roach have already starred at the high-major level elsewhere, both playing significant roles for Final Four teams, and the super-talented, 6-foot-5 Edgecombe is considered a potential top-five NBA draft pick.

Flagg wins Wooden Award

Duke freshman Cooper Flagg lives up to the extreme hype, becoming the youngest player ever to win the Wooden Award, given to the best player in the country, and the fourth freshman (Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis and Zion Williamson).

The 17-year-old forward guides Duke to the ACC regular season crown, a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and the Elite Eight. Just like Williamson, the 6-foot-9 Flagg falls just shy of the Final Four before going No. 1 in April’s NBA draft.

The Post’s All-Americans

First team

Sr. F Johni Broome, Auburn (16.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg)

Last season, the gifted 6-foot-10 forward extended his game to include the 3-point shot, shooting it at a 35.4 percent clip on 2.3 attempts, to go along with his already well-rounded, two-way skill set. And now this physical force will get to team up with a dynamic point guard in Furman transfer JP Pegues.

Sr. G RJ Davis, North Carolina (21.2 ppg, 3.5 apg)

Years ago, some doubted Davis could play at the high-major level because of his size as a 6-foot shooting guard. That seems absurd now.

The lone AP first team All-American to return to school, Davis is within 785 points of surpassing Tyler Hansbrough (2,872) as North Carolina’s all-time leading scorer. The former Archbishop Stepinac star led the Tar Heels to a No. 1 seed last March but is still chasing that elusive title.

Sr. C Hunter Dickinson, Kansas (17.9 ppg, 10.9 rpg)

Dickinson’s first season as a Jayhawk saw him notch career highs in rebounds (10.9) and assists (2.3) en route to consensus second team All-American honors for the second time.

The opposition frequently collapsed around the 7-foot-2 Dickinson, but it will be harder to do that this year after Bill Self significantly improved his team on the perimeter by adding transfers AJ Storr (Wisconsin), Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State) and Rylan Griffen (Alabama).

Fr. F Cooper Flagg, Duke (no stats)

Some experts have dubbed the 6-foot-9 Flagg the best prospect to attend college since Zion Williamson. He is a heavy favorite to be the No. 1 NBA draft pick in June. The only question, one NBA scout told The Post, is his perimeter jump shot. Otherwise, the 17-year-old phenom does everything else — defending, passing, handling the ball and scoring — at a high level.

Sr. G Mark Sears, Alabama (21.5 ppg, 4.0 apg)

He’s efficient, seemingly always in control, smart and adaptable. Last year, the 6-foot-1 guard shot a robust 50.8 percent from the field and 43.6 percent from distance, leading Alabama to its first Final Four by averaging 24.2 points on 53.2 percent shooting in the NCAA Tournament. It’s hard to believe he was so overlooked coming out of high school and started his college career at Ohio University.