Horizon League: Hayes Leads 4 Oakland Stars to Potential Title

Jalen Hayes is the big star and leads the best team, Oakland, in the Horizon League that thankfully makes the regular season matter by awarding home court advantage in their tournament. The only school with a football team is a very good FCS team Youngstown State, so it is all basketball for the rest of the Horizon.

Value Add projects Hayes in the top three percent of all players (105th of 4000), but more impressively four of the six Horizon League players in the top 10 percent of all players are on the Oakland squad. While Northern Kentucky pulled the upset to take the title and March Madness bid this year and can still be tough, Oakland has put more distance between themselves and the rest of the League and second place Valparaiso left for the Missouri Valley Conference.

Here is where Value Add ranks each Summit League team for the season, and the Massey Rankings ranking for Youngstown is 86th - ahead of many FBS schools and almost all FCS schools. Updates will be provided here.

Horizon / 2017 seed	Hoops 2017-18	Football
Oakland	58
Illinois Chicago	121
Northern Kentucky 15	128
Cleveland St.	213
Wright St.	219
Detroit	236
Milwaukee	244
Youngstown St.	287	86
Green Bay	340

Here are the top 15 projected players in the conference in order.

Top 15 Horizon Players	Value Add	School	Ht
Jalen Hayes 4	6.76	Oakland	`6-07
Grant Benzinger 13	5.05	Wright St.	`6-03
Kendrick Nunn 25	4.99	Oakland	`6-03
Martez Walker 35	4.89	Oakland	`6-06
Drew McDonald 34	4.88	Northern Kentucky	`6-07
Isaiah Brock 10	4.77	Oakland	`6-08
Carson Williams 23	4.49	Northern Kentucky	`6-05
Cameron Morse 24	4.40	Youngstown St.	`6-02
Dikembe Dixson 10	4.20	Illinois Chicago	`6-07
Tai Odiase 21	4.11	Illinois Chicago	`6-09
Justin Mitchell 1	3.73	Wright St.	`6-04
Corey Allen 1	3.60	Detroit	`6-03
Brock Stull 3	3.48	Wisconsin Milwaukee	`6-04
Brett Prahl 50	3.45	Wisconsin Milwaukee	`6-09
Lavone Holland 30	3.40	Northern Kentucky	`6-01

Ken Pomeroy ranked the Summit League with Valpo 16th of 32 Division 1 basketball conferences, which will all be previewed here with notes on which schools are now "basketball" or "football" schools based on which program is stronger this season. Football revenue is much higher, but programs are much more expensive between equipment and the requirement of matching enough women's scholarships in other sports. Therefore some programs forgo FBS football programs to focus on low cost basketball programs as their biggest revenue sport.

Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports and ESPN have lauded Value Add Basketball for estimating the number of points each college basketball players is worth to his team above a replacement player - similar to baseball WAR (Wins Above Replacement). Massey Ratings is used for the football rankings above.

Ivy League: Princeton Builds on 23-7 Season to try to hold off Harvard and Yale for Title

The only Division 1 League that does not give scholarships and only plays games on Friday and Saturday night to make sure there students are studying boasts three top 100 basketball teams (out of 351), putting their basketball programs well ahead of Ivy League football.

Value Add projects Harvard and Yale nudging ahead of a very strong defending champion and 12-seed in Princeton, but the three are all well ahead of the rest of the League. Princeton's duo of Devin Cannady and Myles Stephens are the two most valuable returning players in the league, according to Value Add.

Here is where Value Add ranks each Ivy League team for the season, and the Massey Rankings rank the football teams against all other schools (including behind the 129 FBS schools).  Princeton's passing game gives them the top football squad so far. Updates will be provided here.

Ivy / 2017 seed	Hoops 2017-18	Football
Harvard	87	210
Yale	91	193
Princeton 12	96	152
Cornell	150	253
Penn	177	175
Dartmouth	180	203
Columbia	224	229
Brown	321	235

Here are the top 15 projected players in the conference in order.

Top 15 Ivy League Players	Value Add	School	Ht
Devin Cannady 3	6.27	Princeton	`6-01
Myles Stephens 12	5.40	Princeton	`6-05
Matthew Morgan	5.20	Cornell	`6-03
Chris Lewis 0	4.75	Harvard	`6-09
AJ Brodeur 25	4.71	Pennsylvania	`6-08
Makai Mason 11	4.70	Yale	`6-01
Matt Morgan 10	4.50	Cornell	`6-02
Bryce Aiken 11	4.30	Harvard	`6-00
Seth Towns 31	4.10	Harvard	`6-07
Miye Oni 24	4.05	Yale	`6-06
Mike Smith 12	3.70	Columbia	`5-11
Justin Bassey 20	3.61	Harvard	`6-05
Evan Boudreaux 12	3.50	Dartmouth	`6-08
Alex Copeland 3	3.46	Yale	`6-03

Ken Pomeroy ranked the Ivy League the 18th best of 32 Division 1 basketball conferences, which will all be previewed here with notes on which schools are now "basketball" or "football" schools based on which program is stronger this season. Football revenue is much higher, but programs are much more expensive between equipment and the requirement of matching enough women's scholarships in other sports. Therefore some programs forgo FBS football programs to focus on low cost basketball programs as their biggest revenue sport.

Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports and ESPN have lauded Value Add Basketball for estimating the number of points each college basketball players is worth to his team above a replacement player - similar to baseball WAR (Wins Above Replacement). Massey Ratings is used for the football rankings above.

MAAC: Iona Once Again Team to Beat with Edogi Transferring to Join McGill

Only two teams play football, but when it comes to March Madness Iona could be a scary first round match-up once again. Ricky McGill was joined by Tulsa transfer TK Edogi to give them a devastating duo that could yield another top 100 team.

Value Add projects Fairfield's Tyler Nelson as the preseason Player of the Year, ranking in the top three percent of all layers (117th out of more than 4,000).

Here is where Value Add ranks each MAAC team for the season, and the Massey Rankings rank the football teams against all other schools (including behind the 129 FBS schools). Updates will be provided here.

MAAC / 2017 seed	Hoops 2017-18	Football
Iona 14	101
Niagara	160
Manhattan	173
Fairfield	245
Monmouth	249	202
Saint Peter's	255
Canisius	264
Marist	285	325
Siena	294
Rider	318
Quinnipiac	329

Here are the top 15 projected players in the conference in order.

Top 15 MAAC Players	Value Add	School	Ht
Tyler Nelson 3	6.65	Fairfield	`6-03
Rickey McGill 0	5.07	Iona	`6-01
Zane Waterman 4	4.60	Manhattan	`6-09
Matt Scott 13	4.18	Niagara	`6-04
Nick Griffin 0	4.11	St. Peter's	`6-02
Jermaine Crumpton 2	4.02	Canisius	`6-06
TK Edogi 14	3.86	Iona	`6-08
Kahlil Dukes 10	3.66	Niagara	`6-00
Austin Tilghman 23	3.63	Monmouth	`6-01
Zavier Turner 3	3.60	Manhattan	`5-09
Sam Idowu 23	3.59	St. Peter's	`6-07
Devine Eke 5	3.52	Rider	`6-07
EJ Crawford 2	3.12	Iona	`6-06
Jonathan Kasibabu 13	3.11	Fairfield	`6-08
Micah Seaborn 10	3.10	Monmouth	`6-05

Ken Pomeroy ranked the MAAC 19th of 32 Division 1 basketball conferences, which will all be previewed here with notes on which schools are now "basketball" or "football" schools based on which program is stronger this season. Football revenue is much higher, but programs are much more expensive between equipment and the requirement of matching enough women's scholarships in other sports. Therefore some programs forgo FBS football programs to focus on low cost basketball programs as their biggest revenue sport.

Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports and ESPN have lauded Value Add Basketball for estimating the number of points each college basketball players is worth to his team above a replacement player - similar to baseball WAR (Wins Above Replacement). Massey Ratings is used for the football rankings above.

Mid-Eastern Athletic's Morgan State Favorite to Dethrone NC Central Behind POY Kendley

North Carolina A&T is the top ranked football program, while Morgan State seems to return the top basketball talent.

Value Add spots an unheralded North Carolina Central player Pablo Rivas as the most valuable, even though he played less than half of the time. He is a strong shot blocker and defensive rebounder, and made 27 of his last 33 two-point shots to help North Carolina Central win the conference championship to cap a 25-9 season. However, Morgan State's Tiwian Kendley should be the actual leading candidate for Player of the Year.

Here is where Value Add ranks each Mid-Eastern Athletic team for the season, and the Massey Rankings rank the football teams against all other schools (including behind the 129 FBS schools). Updates will be provided here.

MEAC / 2017 Seed	Hoops 2017-18	Football
Morgan St.	191	302
North Carolina A&T	198	153
Hampton	273	264
Norfolk St.	278	294
South Carolina St.	279	228
Florida A&M	288	276
Savannah St.	331	301
Delaware St.	332	348
North Carolina Central 16	333	200
Howard	339	232
Coppin St.	345
Maryland Eastern Shore	350
Bethune Cookman	351	217

Here are the top 15 projected players in the conference in order.

Top 15 MEAC Players	Value Add	School	Ht
Pablo Rivas 13	4.39	North Carolina Central	`6-06
Tiwian Kendley 5	4.00	Morgan St.	`6-05
Zaynah Robinson 2	2.93	Norfolk St.	`5-11
Phillip Carr 22	2.89	Morgan St.	`6-07
Trevond Barnes 22	2.67	Hampton	`6-09
Tashombe Riley 2	2.56	South Carolina St.	`6-07
Brandon Tabb 3	2.51	Bethune Cookman	`6-05
Justin Ravenel 21	2.41	Florida A&M	`6-01
Dexter McClanahan 22	2.40	Savannah St.	`6-05
Ryan Andino 0	2.25	Maryland Eastern Shore	`6-02
Desmond Williams 0	2.20	Florida A&M	`6-06
Dejuan Clayton 13	1.97	Coppin St.	`6-02
Edward Stephens 1	1.95	South Carolina St.	`6-02
Davaris McGowens 0	1.71	North Carolina A&T	`6-07
Charles Williams 13	1.69	Howard	`6-04

Ken Pomeroy ranked the Mid-American 31st of 32 Division 1 basketball conferences, which will all be previewed here with notes on which schools are now "basketball" or "football" schools based on which program is stronger this season. Football revenue is much higher, but programs are much more expensive between equipment and the requirement of matching enough women's scholarships in other sports. Therefore some programs forgo FBS football programs to focus on low cost basketball programs as their biggest revenue sport.

Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports and ESPN have lauded Value Add Basketball for estimating the number of points each college basketball players is worth to his team above a replacement player - similar to baseball WAR (Wins Above Replacement). Massey Ratings is used for the football rankings above.

Mid-American: Western Michigan Battles for Top Football and Basketball Teams and Top Hoops Player

Western Michigan's Mid-American football team could be tops in the conference after almost upsetting USC, and will yield to the best basketball team and player Thomas Wilder, who ranks as one of the best 50 basketball players out of 4,000. They will be favorites to win the Western Division, and will face tough challenges from the Eastern Division in defending tournament champion Kent State and Buffalo, which boasts JUCO transfer Jeremy Harris.

Value Add indicates the superstars are uniquely spread out in this conference, with the top nine players hailing from nine different schools. The much traveled and potentially dominant James Thompson of Eastern Michigan seems Wilder's top challenge for Player of the Year.

Here is where Value Add ranks each Mid-American team for the season, and the Massey Rankings rank the football teams against all other schools. Updates will be provided here.

Mid-American / 2017 seed	Hoops 2017-18	Football
Western Michigan	90	60
Eastern Michigan	123	91
Ohio	135	102
Ball St.	136	108
Buffalo	140	134
Kent St. 14	203	163
Northern Illinois	204	73
Toledo	206	53
Bowling Green	266	137
Miami OH	282	125
Central Michigan	290	110
Akron	291	135

Here are the top 15 projected players in the conference in order.

Top 15 MAC Players	Value Add	School	Ht
Thomas Wilder 10	7.78	Western Michigan	`6-03
James Thompson 2	6.84	Eastern Michigan	`6-10
Jordan Dartis 35	6.52	Ohio	`6-03
Jeremy Harris	6.00	Buffalo	`6-07
Jimond Ivey 0	5.73	Akron	`6-04
Jason Carter 1	5.60	Ohio	`6-08
Jaylin Walker 23	5.10	Kent St.	`6-01
Marin Maric 34	5.01	Northern Illinois	`6-11
Demajeo Wiggins 1	4.80	Bowling Green	`6-10
CJ Massinburg 5	4.21	Buffalo	`6-03
Jaelan Sanford 13	4.21	Toledo	`6-04
Tayler Persons 2	4.21	Ball St.	`6-03
Reggie Jones 23	3.90	Western Michigan	`6-05
Nate Navigato 35	3.59	Toledo	`6-08
Logan McLane 11	3.48	Miami OH	`6-09

Ken Pomeroy ranked the Mid-American 13th best of 32 Division 1 basketball conferences, which will all be previewed here with notes on which schools are now "basketball" or "football" schools based on which program is stronger this season. Football revenue is much higher, but programs are much more expensive between equipment and the requirement of matching enough women's scholarships in other sports. Therefore some programs forgo FBS football programs to focus on low cost basketball programs as their biggest revenue sport.

Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports and ESPN have lauded Value Add Basketball for estimating the number of points each college basketball players is worth to his team above a replacement player - similar to baseball WAR (Wins Above Replacement). Massey Ratings is used for the football rankings above.

Missouri Valley Teams Battle for Title with Wichita State's Departure, Valpo's Arrival

Wichita State's departure for the American Athletic Conference four years after Creighton left for the Big East gives Loyola, Missouri State and perennial upset threat Northern Iowa along with new arrival Valparaiso chances at a conference title and March Madness bid. Northern Iowa is the one basketball contender that also has a strong FCS football team.

Illinois State is the best returning basketball team, going 28-7 to rank 49th a www.kenpom.com last year, but it appears the aforementioned trio may have more talent returning.

Value Add projects Missouri State's Alize Johnson as the elite player in the conference, ranking in the top 2% of all players (62nd of more than 4000) to easily lead the list of the top 15 players listed below.

Here is where Value Add ranks each Missouri Valley team for the season, and the Massey Rankings rank the football teams against all other schools (including behind the 129 FBS schools). Updates will be provided here.

Missouri Valley / 2017 Seed	Hoops 2017-18	Football
Loyola Chicago	66
Valparaiso	111	346
Missouri St.	119	190
Northern Iowa	129	112
Illinois St.	188	94
Southern Illinois	196	119
Bradley	209
Drake	222	316
Indiana St.	242	168
Evansville	310

Here are the top 15 projected players in the conference in order.

Top 15 MVC Players	Value Add	School	Ht
Alize Johnson	7.44	Missouri St.	`6-09
Donte Ingram 0	6.22	Loyola Chicago	`6-06
Phil Fayne 10	6.10	Illinois St.	`6-09
Aundre Jackson 24	6.04	Loyola Chicago	`6-05
Tevonn Walker	5.00	Valparaiso
Armon Fletcher 22	4.77	Southern Illinois	`6-04
Ryan Taylor 0	4.76	Evansville	`6-06
Tevonn Walker 2	4.66	Valparaiso	`6-02
Bennett Koch 25	4.60	Northern Iowa	`6-10
Thik Bol 40	4.35	Southern Illinois	`6-08
Clayton Custer 13	4.31	Loyola Chicago	`6-01
Brenton Scott 4	4.20	Indiana St.	`6-01
Donte Thomas 1	4.07	Bradley	`6-07
Reed Timmer 12	3.91	Drake	`6-01
Obediah Church 5	3.79	Missouri St.	`6-07

Ken Pomeroy ranked the Missouri Valley with Wichita State 10th of 32 Division 1 basketball conferences, which will all be previewed here with notes on which schools are now "basketball" or "football" schools based on which program is stronger this season. Football revenue is much higher, but programs are much more expensive between equipment and the requirement of matching enough women's scholarships in other sports. Therefore some programs forgo FBS football programs to focus on low cost basketball programs as their biggest revenue sport.

Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports and ESPN have lauded Value Add Basketball for estimating the number of points each college basketball players is worth to his team above a replacement player - similar to baseball WAR (Wins Above Replacement). Massey Ratings is used for the football rankings above.

Mountain West: UNLV Edges Nevada in Tough Hoops Conference, While San Diego State Football Power

Jordan Johnson transferred from UWM to UNLV to join potential NBA lottery pick Brandon McCoy for a duo that ranks in the top 100 of 4,000 players. Add 131st ranked Shakur Juiston, and the Rebels project to be the 44th best team in the country, just four spots ahead of Nevada and 25 spots ahead of the top football program San Diego State.

San Diego State came from behind in a monsoon at Air Force Saturday to build on an upset of Stanford and improve to 4-0.

Value Add projects five teams in the top 100, Wyoming just outside at 104th, and the preseason Player of the Year hails form yet another school in Brandon Clarke of San Jose State.

Here is where Value Add ranks each Mountain West team for the season, and the Massey Rankings rank the football teams against all other schools (including behind the 129 FBS schools). Updates will be provided here.

Mountain West / 2017 Seed	Hoops 2017-18	Football
UNLV	44	140
Nevada 12	48	150
San Diego St.	69	34
Fresno St.	71	142
Boise St.	78	58
Wyoming	104	93
San Jose St.	138	118
Air Force	143	71
Utah St.	165	106
Colorado St.	205	70
New Mexico	306	114

Here are the top 15 projected players in the conference in order.

Top 15 MWC Players	Value Add	School	Ht
Brandon Clarke 15	8.71	San Jose St.	`6-08
Chandler Hutchison	7.00	Boise St.	`6-07
Brandon McCoy	6.99	Nevada Las Vegas	`6-11
Jordan Johnson 1	6.91	Nevada Las Vegas	`5-09
Deshon Taylor 21	6.73	Fresno St.	`6-01
Shakur Juiston	6.50	Nevada Las Vegas	`6-07
Jordan Caroline 24	6.22	Nevada	`6-07
Devin Watson 1	6.11	San Diego St.	`6-01
Jahmel Taylor 5	5.82	Fresno St.	`6-00
Caleb Martin 14	5.75	Nevada	`6-07
Trey Kell 3	5.50	San Diego St.	`6-04
Justin James 1	5.30	Wyoming	`6-07
Jeremy Hemsley 42	5.26	San Diego St.	`6-03
Sam Merrill 3	5.20	Utah St.	`6-04
Kendall Stephens 21	5.20	Nevada	`6-07

Ken Pomeroy ranked the Mountain West 9th best of 32 Division 1 basketball conferences, which will all be previewed here with notes on which schools are now "basketball" or "football" schools based on which program is stronger this season. Football revenue is much higher, but programs are much more expensive between equipment and the requirement of matching enough women's scholarships in other sports. Therefore some programs forgo FBS football programs to focus on low cost basketball programs as their biggest revenue sport.

Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports and ESPN have lauded Value Add Basketball for estimating the number of points each college basketball players is worth to his team above a replacement player - similar to baseball WAR (Wins Above Replacement). Massey Ratings is used for the football rankings above.