Barstool College Hoops: A Look at Villanova/Oklahoma, Top-25 and Player of the Year Rankings
Don’t listen to whatever Nate says. The Redskins/Cowboys game isn’t worth watching tonight. Consider me a pissed off Giants fan or someone who just loves hoops, but we have one of the most intriguing and best college basketball games of the year tonight.
Oklahoma vs Villanova in Hawaii.
They will be two top-5 teams after the time the poll comes out today heading into this game. More importantly, this is a matchup nightmare for Villanova. The Wildcats are obviously dominated by guard play including returning co-Big East Player of the Year (still some bullshit he won this) Ryan Arcidiacono, Josh Hart and McDonald’s All-American Jalen Brunson.
That’s where Oklahoma dominates though. They have the best guard on the floor in Buddy Hield, who is in consideration for National Player of the Year. They also are tough as shit on the defensive side of the ball, especially on the perimeter.
That’s the staple for a Lon Kruger team and when you watch Oklahoma play you notice how they push the tempo using that defense. The Sooners don’t use any elaborate defensive scheme, they just go man-to-man and dare you to beat them with on-the ball pressure.
The other big advantage for Oklahoma is Ryan Spangler, who doesn’t exactly look like a guy who would be a huge plus for a basketball team. He’s a versatile big man that can stretch the floor thanks to his passing ability, not so much his scoring. He’s averaging nearly a double-double with over 12 points and nine points a game. He can also draw fouls, which means Daniel Ochefu will likely be on the pine with 2 fouls in the first half.
The Pick: Oklahoma wins and easily covers the +4
Barstool Reags Top-25
- Oklahoma
- Michigan State
- UNC
- Kentucky
- Iowa State
- Villanova
- Xavier
- Kansas
- Duke
- Purdue
- Maryland
- Baylor
- Vanderbilt
- Butler
- Arizona
- West Virginia
- Gonzaga
- Virginia
- Miami
- Oregon
- SMU
- Cincinnati
- Providence
- Dayton
- Utah
Barstool Reags Player of the Year Rankings
Now, there was a lot of debate last week with this. These rankings aren’t who I think are the best five players in the country skill wise or anything like that, this is who I think will win Player of the Year. Much like how MVP isn’t necessarily who is the best player in the country, but who means the most to his team. Also, the team has to be good in order for them to win the award. That’s how I am looking at this.
- Kris Dunn (Providence)
- Denzel Valentine (Michigan State)
- Kyle Wiltjer (Gonzaga)
- Ben Simmons (LSU)
- AJ English (Iona)