Finally. College basketball is back.
So that means it's time for the next chapter of "Weekend Predictions."
This isn't about Vegas. No odds here. Don't care about the spread or some guy named Frankie the Fish who takes bets in the alley behind your favorite diner. Just one ESPN.com reporter guessing and tracking his picks throughout the 2015-16 season.
Last season, I finished 53-32. That's a 62 percent success rate. And that's not sufficient.
Shooting for 80 percent this year. And if you've ever read my bold predictions -- see: Louisville over Kentucky by double digits in the 2014 NCAA tournament -- then you know 80 percent is probably a modest estimate.
(My colleague C.L. Brown also will make picks throughout the week. He already has won best dressed honors at ESPN.com, so I can't let him have this one.)
Here we go.
No. 7 Iowa State vs. Colorado (Sioux Falls, S.D.), 5 p.m. ET, ESPN2, Friday: Before we jump into the basketball elements of this matchup, can we address the rapper in the room? Colorado's Josh Scott might be Drake, right? That's not a stretch. He admits as much. "Everybody says I look like I Drake," he said during an October interview on the Pac-12 Network. Just had to toss it out there. Let's move on. This is Steve Prohm's first official test with an Iowa State squad built to make a run at a Big 12 title and much more. The Cyclones have it all. Monte Morris fits the profile of the fluid, scoring distributors Prohm molded during his time at Murray State. Georges Niang is a Wooden Award candidate, and Jameel McKay is reigning Big 12 defensive player of the year. Colorado lost Askia Booker's 17.2 PPG, and Xavier Johnson will miss a chunk of the season and potentially the full season because of an Achilles injury he suffered over the summer. Tad Boyle emphasized the significance of toughness throughout the offseason. That alone, however, won't help Colorado defeat an elite squad like Iowa State.
Prediction: Iowa State 76, Colorado 68
Pitt vs. No. 9 Gonzaga (Okinawa, Japan), 7 p.m. ET, ESPN, Friday: It's not a unique predicament for Pitt alone. Most teams will struggle with Gonzaga's potent frontcourt, a unit that's as fluid on offense as any in the country. Kyle Wiltjer finished ninth overall in KenPom.com's efficiency ratings last season, Przemek Karnowski was 24th nationally in effective field goal percentage and Domantas Sabonis connected on 66 percent of his 2-point shots, 10th in the country. Although Sabonis played off the bench last season, he could start in a monster lineup that would feature the three Gonzaga bigs. Still unclear is how one of the most efficient teams in the country will replace Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr. Pitt lost eight games by double digits in 2014-15. Meanwhile, Jamie Dixon lost more than he gained on offense from last season and it's not clear if the holes on defense (No. 202 in adjusted defensive efficiency per KenPom.com) have been repaired. This will be a tough matchup for every squad on Gonzaga's slate. In Japan, however, the Panthers will take the first jab from this powerful Zags crew.
Prediction: Gonzaga 77, Pitt 66
No. 1 North Carolina vs. Temple (Annapolis, Maryland), 7 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network, Friday: A hand injury has sidelined UNC star Marcus Paige for the opening stretch of the season. But he should return for North Carolina's challenging early December slate (Maryland, Texas and UCLA in the first three weeks of the month). Still, Paige is the leader for the No. 1 team in America. He's the program's identity. Will they struggle without him? Fran Dunphy lost more than 25 points per game when Will Cummings and Jesse Morgan moved on. But he has a strong recruiting class, sidekicks-to-load-bearers Jaylen Bond and Josh Brown, and a key veteran standout in Quenton DeCosey. The Paige-less Tar Heels possess enough talent to deal with the Owls and everyone else they'll see before Paige's return. But they can't become complacent. Temple will be an aggressive opponent for a North Carolina squad that will operate all season with the proverbial target on its back.
Prediction: North Carolina 69, Temple 66
