College Basketball
College Basketball 2019 Final Four Prediction
Happy College Basketball Season!
We are under seven days until the #4 Duke Blue Devils take on the #2 Kentucky Wildcats in the State Farm Champions Classic. With that being said, which teams will be in 2019 Final Four in Minneapolis?
Kentucky
I did not want to have to write good things about Kentucky. Regardless of that, they deserve it. The Wildcats are going to be in 2019 Final Four with relative ease. They return a balanced attack of veterans, a senior transfer stud in Reid Travis, and a top-notch freshman recruiting class. This coming year, the SEC is going to be tougher than ever with four top 25 teams.
They play #6 Tennessee twice, #11 Auburn twice, and #18 Mississippi State twice. Outside of their conference, they play #4 Duke, #8 North Carolina (UNC), and #1 Kansas. It is pretty likely that Kentucky will be tested more than any other team in the country which is all the more reason to believe they will be in Minneapolis for the Final Four.
Kansas
The Kansas Jayhawks are the #1 team in the country heading into the 2018-19 season. Although I personally believe it should be Kentucky, I am not shocked. The Jayhawks return two starters and four bench players from a team who made it to the Final Four a year ago.
Along with those returning, they have twin transfers Dedric and KJ Lawson plus transfer Charlie Moore. I am picking Kansas as one of my Final Four teams because they are easily the deepest team in the country.
Nevada
Bet you never thought you’d see Nevada in the top 10 to start the season, did you? The Wolfpack are led by twins Cody and Caleb Martin, both of which are in the conversation for the best player in the Mountain West (MWC). They return four of five starters from a team that shocked the world and went to the Sweet 16.
They managed to land transfer Trey Porter, former ODU standout. The biggest addition, though, is incoming freshman and McDonald’s All American Jordan Brown. Brown is ranked 31st in the class of 2018. Their bench will be extremely talented, as they add four DI transfers who sat out a year ago.
Duke
The Nation’s top recruiting class will be carrying most of the load. Tre Jones, RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish, Zion Williamson, and Joey Baker make up what many are calling ‘the modern day fab five’. This season, expect all four freshmen to start alongside either Javin DeLaurier or Marques Bolden. With a true point guard in Tre Jones leading, Duke’s offense will be a terror for opponents.
Defensively, they will be extremely athletic and able to defend both the perimeter and paint. Off of the bench, Duke will be experienced with Jack White and Alex O’Connell, plus whichever center does not start. Easily the most talented team in the country, will this Duke team be able to win a championship using freshmen as they did in 2015?
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