Red Towel Roundtable: 2019–20 Basketball Bold Predictions
We’re just one day away from the highly anticipated 2019–20 Western Kentucky Men’s Basketball season tipping off. After back to back…
We’re just one day away from the highly anticipated 2019–20 Western Kentucky Men’s Basketball season tipping off. After back to back Conference USA Tournament Final defeats, WKU looks to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2013. WKU returns a lot of proven talent and has bolstered that with various transfers and impact newcomers. With that in mind here are our staff’s bold predictions for the 2019–20 Western Kentucky Men’s basketball season.
Jared Rosdeutscher
I sound like a broken record but I think coach Stansbury finally has the pieces he needs to get the job done. I personally think the C-USA will be better as a whole than people are predicting but WKU is still the preseason favorite to win and should handle business this year.
Unless there are injuries this season, there should be no excuses for missing out on the NCAA Tournament for the seventh straight season. My bold prediction is that someone other than Charles Bassey will lead the team in scoring this year. It will probably still be a rocky road getting there but I believe the Tops will get back to the Big Dance this season as a 12 seed.
Ross Shircliffe
The Rick Stansbury era has been a roller coaster since the beginning but this year is finally the time that WKU starts performing on the level that Stansbury has recruited to. WKU has the talent, experience, depth, and schedule that should set up for a special season. With that in mind, I’m going to have a modest prediction and say that WKU finally eliminates the bad loss from their season-long resume. The past two seasons have countless examples of RPI/NET Killing losses that have killed WKU’s at-large chances. Losses to Ohio, Indiana State, Missouri State, Troy, and others have repeatedly made the season Frisco or bust before the new year even started. I think that WKU finally has some margin for error this season that they haven’t had in over a decade. That will make the previous resume killers a thing of the past. Without those weighing down their resume, they should compete for an at-large bid and at least make the NIT if they come up short in the CUSA Tournament. Performing well against inferior opponents will be a welcomed change after last season’s slog.
Devin Stewart
My fandom of WKU basketball has been prominently placed on Charles Bassey, and he’s back if you haven’t heard.
*cough* called it *cough*
But if you listen to the RedOUT podcast, you know that I love Jared Savage. Most of that has been because he has the greatest name ever. But this year he will turn it around.
This year he’s going to be a factor. With Charles Bassey back, Bassey is going to need the help getting open down low. So with the confidence to throw up shots and having Bassey down low to get the rebound, there is no reason to hesitate. Throw it up!
The stars are lining up.
Jared “the Basketball” Savage
Here goes 2/2.
Matt McCay
WKU Will be Ranked at Some Point in 2019–20, go Undefeated in Conference USA Play and Be a Lock for an At-large before the C-USA Tournament.
Listen I was going to go super negative with this prediction. I had one submitted and waiting to be published, and Saturday’s effort against Kentucky State completely changed my mind. This team has something special. They’re going to play hard, they’re going to play defense, and they’re going to play true Western Basketball: Full-court blitz.
WKU Basketball has hit its lowest point ever in terms of postseason appearances. One NIT run in six years is just not enough. However, this feels like the team to break that streak. Savage feels like a new player. Bassey didn’t take plays off. Williams is a workhorse. Cozart is a competent, productive backup (and he’s got a very nice family). Kenny Cooper isn’t even eligible yet. Josh Anderson came off the bench and was incredible. Cam Justice is a sniper. Four guys nearly had double-doubles. I could gush on and on. Sure, that was an exhibition, but that was impressive and opened my eyes to how good this team should be. Tops go undefeated in C-USA, ranked at some point, and easily get in the field of 68.
Alex Sherfield
Here are some words for my bold prediction for the 2019–2020 WKU Men’s Basketball season. Even though the attention this season will be focused on NBA bound hopeful Charles Bassey, an individual that I want to profile is junior guard Taveion Hollingsworth. The Lexington native had an impressive freshman year, starting all 38 games, averaging 13.3pts, and set numerous school records including being named to the All CUSA Freshman team in the 2017–2018 season. His sophomore campaign started at a slower pace but ended strong as he averaged 14.4 pts and was named to the CUSA Third Team. I feel like this season he will go over the hump and become more of an important factor outside of Bassey as his season progresses, especially when it comes to three-point shooting.
Team performance-wise, with the deeper depth on the bench, I don’t see why can’t this Western team can’t go for a postseason run. Whether it’s the field of 68 in the NCAA Championship or even the NIT, this is definitely the year for Stansbury to assert his dominance within the conference and beyond.
Prediction: NCAA Tournament Field of 32
Nick W.
It’s very hard for me to predict what is going to happen because I am so naturally filled with belief. Year after year, my March Madness bracket is filled with colossal upsets. Last year’s basketball schedule is still on the wall with my inscription made after three straight conference losses: “We will get to the tournament and win 2 games.”
Assuming Kenny Cooper is declared eligible by mid-November, what I want from the upcoming season mirrors what I predict for it. Western will win their non-conference tournament, beat UofL, and become ranked in the Top 25 for the first time in over a decade. No one will get injured or arrested. We will win the conference, lose in the conference tournament, but receive an at-large bid and go to the Sweet 16.
Sam Gormley
On the bright side, WKU will not lose in the Conference USA Championship game this season. The reason for it? They won’t even make it that far to begin with. I see this team having the makeup of a team that has a potential for an upset early on in Frisco.
My reasoning is simple. To be a successful team in college basketball today, you have to have at least somewhat decent play out of your point guards. The issue on this year’s WKU team? There really isn’t a true point guard that stands out.
When looking at the times that Stansbury-led teams have struggled at WKU, it is easy to point to the point guard position as the reason for that. His first year attempted to play a small forward at point guard and in the words of our own Ross Shircliffe, it was an “unmitigated disaster.”
Prior to Christmas, last season saw a Monte Bearden-less team lose multiple games that they had no business losing. We learned at that point that neither Tay Hollingsworth nor Josh Anderson was capable of filling the role of the
point guard. I foresee that problem to resurface this season and keep the Tops out of the Big Dance yet again.
Only time will tell how the season will play out but we’ll be there every step of the way as WKU looks to return to their first NCAA tournament since 2013. We’ll be sure to revisit these predictions at the end of the season and look forward to seeing who was on the mark or totally off base.