Tom Izzo turned down the Cavaliers. So did LeBron James.
Michigan State Spartans coach Tom Izzo is back for another national title run after a serious flirtation with the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers.
Izzo rejected the Cavs and a big salary increase. It later leaked out that LeBron James never spoke directly with him, which made Izzo’s decision to stay in East Lansing a lot easier.
The decision by Izzo seems like a good one and not just because ‘King James’ bolted to Miami. Michigan State returns all of its key players except forward Raymar Morgan. Point guard Kalin Lucas should be back to normal after his Achilles tendon surgery.
Michigan State is plus 1000 to win the national championship at BetED.com after making the Final Four the last two years. Izzo will look a lot smarter about spurning the NBA Basketball if he gets his second national title.
Defending champ Duke (plus 500) is one of the co-favorites along with Purdue. Coach Mike Krzyzewski will miss all-around guard Jon Scheyer and the big body of seven-footer Brian Zoubek. Both players had a big hand in Coach K’s fourth national title.
Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith lead the returning players and the Plumlee brothers (Miles and Mason) are back to provide size. Throw in freshman point guard Kyrie Irving and transfer Seth Curry (Stephen Curry’s brother) and it’s a little surprising Duke isn’t the outright favorite.
Purdue returns its ‘Big 3’ of Robbie Hummel, E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson. Those three seniors combined for about 66 percent of its scoring.
Secondary players will need to emerge, especially with glue-guys Chris Kramer and Keaton Grant leaving. Hummel is also recovering from a torn ACL suffered at the end of the regular season. Purdue still made the Sweet Sixteen before losing to Duke.
One of the big questions about Purdue (and Michigan State) is the Big Ten’s recent tourney failures. The Spartans were the last team to from the conference win the title (2000). Before that you have to go way back to 1989 and Michigan.
Kentucky (plus 800) is the most decimated squad of the favorites. The Wildcats had a record five players selected in the first round of June's NBA Draft, including top overall pick John Wall. The highest returning scorer is Darius Miller (6.5 PPG).
Coach John Calipari has proven he doesn’t rebuild, he reloads. He again had the top recruiting class with Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones, Enes Kanter and Doron Lamb. Kentucky will certainly win a lot of games again, but it proved last year it’s hard to win six straight during March Madness with freshmen leading the way.Don Best Real Time Odds
Kansas State (plus 1000) got shocked by Butler in the Elite Eight last year, but it shouldn’t diminish what it accomplished. With Kansas suffering big personnel losses, the Wildcats are the Big 12’s favored team. Denis Clemente is a big loss in the backcourt, but Jacob Pullen returns and there is plenty of depth up front.
Baylor (plus 1800) is another emerging Big 12 powerhouse. It made the Elite Eight last year, but did lose big man Ekpe Udoh and point guard Tweety Carter. Shooting guard LaceDarius Dunn is one of the best scorers in the country and he’s joined by holdover Quincy Acy and top-10 recruit Perry Jones.
Other favored NCAA college basketball teams are:
- Plus 1500: Kansas, Memphis
- Plus 1800: North Carolina, Texas, Villanova
- Plus 2000: Florida, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Tennessee
There are a lot of traditional powerhouses in this group. North Carolina is trying to rebound from one of the most disappointing seasons in its storied history. Having the No. 1 overall recruit in Harrison Barnes will ease the sting.
Kansas lost Sherron Collins, Cole Aldrich and Xavier Henry, but there are plenty of other players just waiting to be in the spotlight. They include Tyshawn Taylor and the Morris brothers (Marcus and Markieff).