Five Bold Predictions for this College Basketball Season

College basketball starts tomorrow, and excitement is in the air. Fans are swarming social media with various takes and predictions, some a bit wilder than others. Here are five of my bold, but somewhat realistic, predictions for this college basketball season.

1. Gradey Dick Wins Freshman of the Year

This is my prediction where I’m most confident, and I don’t understand why it’s considered bold. The Athletic college basketball staff recently gave their picks for Freshman of the Year, and Dick received zero votes and didn’t even get mentioned as an honorable mention.

That is absurd.

Dick is a 6-foot-7 wing from Witchita, Kansas, and will be playing for Bill Self’s Jayhawks this winter. Coming out of high school at Sunrise Christian Academy, Dick was known as the best shooter in the class.

He averaged 17.9 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, and shot a blazing 46.7% from three. These impressive numbers earned Dick the Gatorade Player of the Year award.

Dick isn’t only a shooter, he does a great job of attacking the basket and using his frame to finish in traffic. He also has the capability to jump out of the gym with a vertical nearing 40 inches.

I expect Gradey Dick to thrive in Bill Self’s system and put up big numbers on a national title-contending team, leading him to Freshman of the Year honors.

2. Five Big Men Make First Team All-America

The 22-23 college basketball season is shaping up to be the year of the big man. With the NCAA All-American teams being positionless, I don’t think it’s unlikely that this team is full of big men.

Here is my list:

Armando Bacot

Hunter Dickinson

Trayce Jackson-Davis

Drew Timme

Oscar Tshiebwe

All of these big men are going to have a dominant season, and I’d be shocked if at least three aren’t first-team All-Americans at the end of the year, and won’t be surprised if they all are.

3. Michigan Wins the Big Ten

The Big Ten is a little bit of a mess this year. There’s no clear favorite. The Big Ten Media poll had Indiana winning the league, and Illinois as the runner-up. Indiana received 19 first-place votes.

Michigan received a single first-place vote. And I’m picking them to win the league.

Hunter Dickinson is the centerpiece of this team, and my pick for Big Ten player of the year. Michigan will go as far as its guard play takes them this year.

Jaelin Llewellyn will man the point for the Wolverines this year. The senior transfer from Princeton averaged 15.7 ppg, 4.1 rebounds per game, and 2.5 assists per game last season. He will be a valuable source of veteran leadership.

Where Michigan can really separate itself this year is on the wing. Jett Howard and Kobe Bufkin could pair to be the best wing duo in the conference.

Always take exhibition numbers with a grain of salt, but Howard scoring 30 points, while only missing two shots, and Bufkin adding 21 points is a good sign for the Wolverines. For Michigan to be at its best, Bufkin and Howard need to be aggressive scorers.

4. Florida Makes the Final Four

Before you close off the article for this one, let me briefly explain something.

Every year since 2016 a team ranked 25th or lower in the preseason KenPom rankings have gone on to the Final Four (2018 had two). So I figured I’d have some fun.

Florida clocks in at 35th on KenPom, and I think they have the talent and coaching to make a run in March.

The Gators bring back Collin Castleton. Last season Castleton averaged 16.2 ppg and 9 rebounds per game. His interior presence will be crucial for Florida this year.

Florida also brings in a solid transfer class of Kyle Lofton, Trey Bonham, Alex Fudge, and Will Richard. All four of those players are expected to have significant impacts on the team this year.

Kowacie Reeves and Myreon Jones are also nice returning pieces for the Gators.

The most crucial piece for this Florida team won’t be taking the court, however… he’ll be on the sidelines.

Todd Golden was hired by Florida after a very successful stint at San Francisco. Golden led the Dons to an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament, a very impressive achievement. Golden is a young analytical wizard and with the resources of a program like Florida, I think he can be very successful.

Only time will tell for Golden in Gainseville.

5. Dayton is a Top Three Seed in March

When the COVID-19 pandemic stole an NCAA tournament away from us, fewer were more upset than the Dayton Flyers. Dayton was 29-2 and projected to be a one-seed in the NCAA tournament. The Flyers from Ohio had their sights set on a final-four appearance and maybe a national championship.

Fast forward a few years and I think Dayton is in a great position again.

The Flyers begin the season ranked 24th in the A.P Poll, but I think they have a lot of opportunities to rise. They should win the Atlantic Ten conference, although St. Louis and VCU may have something to say about that.

The real “x-factor” for this team is DaRon Holmes II, the sophomore from Goodyear, Arizona.

As a freshman Holmes averaged a little over 12 ppg in over 30 minutes played per contest. If Holmes can take a big sophomore leap this year, that a lot of players make, Dayton is dangerous.

Holmes reached out to Dayton first in the recruiting process, which just doesn’t happen that often. He’s a smart player and picked Dayton for a reason. With Holmes at the helm, the Flyers can fly into March.