Analysis

They clean the slate again at Pepperdine after hitting the eject button on Ed Schilling, who produced only a 22-45 record across the past two seasons. Enter Griff Aldrich, an outside-the-box hire with a law degree who has 16 years of experience in the private sector along with a rather successful run at Longwood and recently on Ryan Odom’s Virginia staff. WCC sources, however, suspect it might take a while for Aldrich’s preferred pressing strategy to resonate with a brand-new roster. For the Waves to get them excited in Malibu, transfers like peripatetic G Will McClendon (now on his fourth school; 13 ppg at North Texas last season) and F Petar Majstorovic (14.4 ppg at Long Beach State in 2025-26) will need to hit the ground running, but consensus opinion is that Pepperdine is going to be very much a work-in-progress into December. The style matchup vs. Jon Jaques’ go-go Cornell could prove an issue, too, as the Big Red was one of the nation’s highest-scoring teams a year ago (88.5 points per game). Though Jaques lost three double-digit scorers to graduation, regional sources suspect senior PG Jacob Beccles is well-equipped to assume more of the scoring burden, and 6-4 junior guard Anthony Nimani (57% FGs last season) is projected to be one of the Ivy’s breakout stars of the upcoming campaign. Mostly, however, this is a vote for Jaques’ proof-of-concept that has already been tested, while it’s still a blank slate for the new Aldrich era with the Waves.
Play Cornell

While much mystery surrounds this new-look Michigan side with the uniforms being about all that is the same from last April’s national title run, neighboring Oakland is going thru some of the same things entering the new campaign. The difference being that while the promoted Mike Boynton is starting his first season as the Wolverines’ head coach, Greg Kampe embarks upon season No. 28 with the Golden Grizzlies, and regional sources are warning not to underestimate his track record of competitive, up-tempo squads. He’ll need various transfers to hit the ground running, but the new-look backcourt of guards Ryder Bradley (last year’s Lone Star Conference Frosh MVP at St. Edwards/14.6 ppg) and RJ Taylor (three years at Northern Iowa) has plenty of experience, while bruising 6-8 PFs Belal El Shakery (via New Hampshire/11.4 ppg) and Chris Fields Jr. (10 ppg, 7 rpg at Campbell) have already been impactful in the low and mid-major ranks. Meanwhile, after Dusty May’s late move to the NBA’s Mavericks, Boynton was almost effectively default hire from staff, but aside from familiar guards Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenna, the new cast at Ann Arbor bears little resemblance to the title winners, and Boynton has already had to endure an injury issue with touted five-star frosh Brandon McCoy out with a torn ACL. Michigan might be a force later in the season, but picking up where it left off appears a tall order, and Kampe’s track record suggests Oakland deserves some respect at this hefty price.
Play Oakland

A bit like the old days in the West Coast Conference, when the league was known as the WCAC and prior to Gonzaga’s entry into the loop (though it took 20 or so years before the Zags became a powerhouse). Mark Few’s bunch has taken its act to the new Pac-12, and with Randy Bennett (now at Arizona State) having left Saint Mary’s after a generation of success in Moraga, the league is Santa Clara’s for the taking. Herb Sendek’s Broncos were already in the mix the past couple of years as the program made its first Big Dance appearance in 30 years last March, so the excitement is palpable on the Mission campus, even though the portal (star guard Christian Hammond, now NC State ) and NBA draft (F Allen Graves, now Toronto Raptors) took a bite out of SCU’s returnees. Bay Area sources, however, report that Sendek is pleased with the new mix that includes Kansas State portal add G David Castillo (10.3 ppg for the Wildcats last season) and holdover Sash Gavalyugov, whose big games last season included a 37-point explosion vs. Loyola Marymount. Visiting Towson is not chopped liver and should contend as usual in the Coastal, but Pat Skerry is looking to fit several newcomers/portal adds into a mix that includes just one returning starter (F Caleb Embeya).
Play Santa Clara

At T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This isn’t new with Arizona and UCLA meeting in lid-lifters, as aficionados of the John Wooden era will recall the first “post-Big Lew” Bruins edition of 1969-70 featuring Sidney Wicks and Curtis Rowe, plus the varsity debut of a soph G named Henry Bibby, would open defense of their national title on December 1 of ‘69 at Pauley Pavilion vs. the Cats and cruise to a 90-65 win, a warning shot to the rest of the nation that UCLA still meant business (indeed, going to win the next four national titles even minus Alcindor/Abdul-Jabbar). That was then, however. Now, it looks advantage Arizona, even if just slightly so, as Tommy Lloyd makes manageable changes from last year’s Final Four side that welcomes a new projected star in blue-chip frosh guard Caleb Holt, expected to become the first option on the perimeter after the departures of Brayden Burries and Jaden Bradley. The floor will still balance, however, since 7-foot-2 Motiejus Krivas resisted the temptation to jump to the NBA (or hit the portal) and returns as perhaps the Big XII's best rebounder and rim protector. Lloyd is still waiting on resolution of Clemson transfer 6-foot-8 power forward RJ Godfrey’s eligibility. Stay tuned for an update on his status. Meanwhile, Mick Cronin should have another Big Dance qualifier in Westwood, but the last two Bruins editions have scuffled when forward Tyler Bilodeau was off the court, and now he’s property of the Brooklyn Nets. (Note that Bilodeau’s 19 points paced the Bruins in a 69-65 loss to the 'Cats last November in the most recent clash between these former Pac-12 enemies, at the LA Clippers' Intuit Dome). We’ll see how quickly the touted 6-foot-9 frosh Nikola Kurustica (he’s only 17!) fits into Cronin’s mix that usually takes a while to sort. Note, too, the T-Mobile venue in Las Vegas and a chance for Arizona fans who can’t get a ticket to McKale Center to see their team. They've shown up in Vegas in big numbers before, and it ought to be a pro-Wildcat crowd tonight.
Play Arizona

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