Sportacular Sports College Basketball Pre-Season All-Americans

College Basketball Pre-Season's All-Americans

• (C) Cody Zeller-Indiana
• (F) Doug McDermott- Creighton
• (F) DeShaun Thomas- Ohio State
• (G) Isaiah Canaan- Murray State
• (G) C.J. McCollum- Lehigh
• (G) Trey Burke-Michigan

Cody Zeller-Indiana

Big-man Cody Zeller from Indiana stormed into the conversation for Big man of the year last season. While Anthony Davis clearly deserved the award, Cody Zeller defeated the #1 Wildcats early in the season. Cody Zeller has helped Indiana return to the hay days as Indiana is also ranked Pre-season #1. I am not huge on the Hoosiers but they have a lot of potential returning a lot of their players from last season. With a big year, Zeller could also be the #1 pick in the draft and lead the Hoosiers to a National Championship.

Doug McDermott-Creighton

Doug McDermott, coached by his father Greg, led the Blue Jays to the NCAA tournament. After defeating Alabama, Creighton drew an unfortunate matchup with the Tar Heels. McDermott averaged 23 ppg and 8 Rebs. Besides McDermott, Creighton doesn't have much. I think at the end of the season McDermott will be a top player because of the lack of competition in the Missouri Valley Conference and the lack of depth behind him.

DeShaun Thomas-Ohio State

DeShaun Thomas was a surprising star last year and has been rewarded with a Pre-season All-American ranking. Now with Jared Sullinger gone Thomas will see even more time on the ball. Personally, I thought PG Aaron Craft was the best player on the Buckeyes roster but apparently the voters thought otherwise. In fact, I don't predict Thomas is an All-American come the end of the season unless Ohio State goes to the Final Four or deeper.

Isaiah Canaan-Murray State

PG Isaiah Canaan led Murray State to an unbelievable 31-2 season last year. At one point the Racers were in the Top 10 led by POY Candidate Canaan. Canaan is coming back this year and he is only going to be better. Now that he has created a winning environment around Murray State, the Racers can go farther than the Round of 32 this season. I believe Canaan will be an All-American by season's end as Murray State will make a deep run ending in the Elite 8.

C.J. McCollum-Lehigh

The reason McCollum made this list rather than Aaron Craft is because of Lehigh's defeat of Duke last year in the NCAA Tournament. McCollum will have another big year after averaging 22 ppg. McCollum can definitely lead Lehigh to a 2nd straight NCAA tournament birth. The chances they defeat another 2 seed though, I don't see happening. In addition, I don't believe McCollum will be an All-American.

Trey Burke-Michigan

PG Trey Burke, combined with running mate SG Tim Hardaway, are Pre-Season ranked #5 after a First Round Tournament loss last season. It was a toss-up between Burke and Craft for this final Pre-Season spot and bragging rights for top PG in the Big 10. The expectation for the Big 10 this season will be Indiana  Michigan, and then Ohio State. Indiana should claim the top spot but it will be a fight between the two rivals for the #2 seed. In the tournament both Michigan and Ohio State have the ability to go far. At the end of the season, I predict both Craft and Burke will be All-Americans.

Sportacular Sport's College Football Recap

Saturday was yet another great day of College Football. A ton of top 25 matchups and a few upsets later we have a new landscape for the remaining 2012 season.

Alabama Crimson Tide-38-Mississippi State Bulldogs-7

Alabama proved on Saturday Night why they clearly deserved to be the #1 team in the nation. At home, the Tide schlacked Mississippi State behind 208 yards and 2 TD's from AJ McCarron and 84 yards and a TD from T.J. Yeldon. While teams like Oregon, Kansas State, and Notre Dame may be fighting for the 2nd spot, if the Tide get by LSU next weekend they seem almost an ultimate lock for the National Championship. Mississippi State was undefeated and are still a very good team who unfortunately are playing in the SEC where at 7-1 are somehow irrelevant. Look for them to be in a decent bowl game.

Oregon and Kansas State Take Care of Business

The flashy Oregon Ducks yet again crushed an undermined Colorado team 70-14. De'Anthony Thomas had an electrifying punt return and Kenjon Barner had 9 rushes for 104 yards and two scores himself. Oregon's real tests come in their next 4 games. On the road for USC, California, and Oregon State and than a home matchup against the Cardinals of Stanford. If Oregon gets through this tough stretch unscathed, look for the high-powered Ducks to take on Alabama in the title game. 

If the Ducks do slip up though, the surprising Kansas State Wildcats look like they have a legitimate shot after defeats over West Virginia, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma. Kansas State only led by 3 at the end of the First Half, but exploded in the 2nd and finished with a final of 55-24. Klein further embellished his Heisman Resume as well as their National Championship Resume. It should be a very exciting last few weeks.

Georgia and Notre Dame with Statement Wins

The Florida Gators traveled to Athens, Georgia and put themselves in a deep hole for the National Championship race. Florida turned the ball over a total of 6 times and Georgia pulled even in the SEC East. Florida turned the ball over way too much to win this game and Georgia held on 17-9 making it an interesting race to Atlanta. Both teams seem to have a cake-walk on the rest of their SEC schedule so a slip-up would be very interesting. 

On the other hand, Notre Dame is very relevant again. Notre Dame stormed into Norman, Oklahoma and won by the score of 30-13. The game was much closer than a 17 point victory but Notre Dame could easily be 11-0 heading into their matchup with USC. Manti Te'o had a game changing interception and may be the dark horse in the Heisman Race. Not having a conference schedule may hurt the Irish unless both the Ducks and Wildcats slip up. 

USC and Michigan Upset

Preseason favorite #1 USC and Heisman favorite Matt Barkley fell again to the Arizona Wildcats. Marqise Lee had an unbelievable 345 yards receiving and the Trojans still lost. Arizona held on for a 39-36 win eliminating all hope for a pac-12 championship. USC can still play spoiler with games remaining at home against Oregon and Notre Dame.

#22 Michigan lost 23-9 at Nebraska on Saturday Night. This creates an even tie at the top of the Legends division in the Big 10. Denard Robinson left the game late in the 2nd quarter and never returned with nerve damage in his elbow. Freshman Russel Bellomy couldn't get anything started and his three completions matched his three interceptions. Michigan is a little disappointing this season but with a little bit of help could reach the Big 10 Championship game in Indianapolis.