It’s the last chance for teams to make the upcoming NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, better known as March Madness! The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is home to many staples of the tournament such as #6 Kentucky, but there are a few teams, such as South Carolina, right on the bubble. The winner of the SEC Tournament will be given an automatic bid into the big dance, so much is at stake for each team!
The new season doesn’t kick off for another few months when the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears open the 100th campaign in the sport’s history, so we will have to stick with the NFL preseason schedule for now.
There are undoubtedly ups, downs, twists and turns ahead but there are a fair few quarterbacks who should be looking over their shoulders because the college system is full of aspiring young talent chomping at the bit to make the step up when the 2020 draft comes around in April and a fair few of them have the ability to ruffle the feathers of the most experienced players. Here we take a look at five young guns to keep your eyes on.
Visit FanWide.com to find a NCAA Football game watch party or fan club near you.
The Michigan State Spartans are FanWide’s #4 College Basketball Team! From the legendary Magic Johnson to their current star guard Cassius Winston, Michigan State basketball has always been led by its elite players. The devout Michigan State fan base, however, has been what has truly helped the Spartans thrive. Top 10 finishes in 6 of 8 categories helped the Spartans snag a prestigious spot in the top 5 among FanWide’s Top 10 College Basketball teams.
Visit FanWide.com to find a Michigan State Spartans game watch party or fan club near you.
Coming in at number 5 in FanWide’s Top 10 College Basketball Rankings is the Duke Blue Devils. The hiring of head coach Mike Krzyzewski catapulted the extraordinary success experienced by the Blue Devils over the past 39 years. The Hall of Fame head coach took over for the Blue Devils In 1980. During Coach Krzyzewski’s legendary career, he has become the winningest coach in Division 1 college basketball history and has won 4 national championships. “Coach K” has also done a tremendous job of recruiting the top high school players in the country. In the past 5 years, Coach K has recruited NBA lottery picks such as Jahlil Okafor, Brandon Ingram, Jayson Tatum, Marvin Bagley III, Zion Williamson, and RJ Barrett to play for the Blue Devils. Krzyzewski’s top notch recruiting shows his ability to adapt to the modern one-and-done era. The Blue Devil’s recent success has caused their fanbase to grow tremendously across the nation. Because of Duke’s recent success and their massive following, the Blue Devils place 5th on FanWide’s Top 10 College Basketball Team Rankings.
Visit FanWide.com to find a Duke Blue Devils game watch party or fan club near you.
Coming in at #8 on FanWide’s Top 10 College Basketball Teams: the Michigan Wolverines. From the legendary “Fab Five” in the early ‘90s to the modern Michigan team, Wolverines basketball has always been about team cohesion and success. The strength of the team, however, cannot exist without the strength of the fans, who are unwavering in their support of the Wolverines. To repay their support, Michigan has grown into a yearly juggernaut, made evident by numerous Big Ten and NCAA Tournament wins. Strong finishes across all categories earned the Wolverines the #8 spot among FanWide’s Top 10 College Basketball Teams.
Visit FanWide.com to find a Michigan Wolverines game watch party or fan club near you.
Teams were evaluated in 8 different categories (visit this blog post to see the methodology):
FanWide’s #10 College Basketball team is the Wisconsin Badgers! Few programs can combine historical greatness and present success the same way Wisconsin can. Though the team has not won a National Championship since 1941, the Badgers are a consistent threat in the always-competitive Big Ten conference, year in and year out. Even more impressive, however, is the unwavering commitment of Badgers fans, who are always there to support their team. Top 10 finishes in the categories of fan clubs, recent tournament wins, attendance, and aggregate social media followers earned the Wisconsin Badgers the #10 spot among FanWide’s Top 10 College Basketball Teams.
Visit FanWide.com to find a Wisconsin Badgers game watch party or fan club near you.
Teams were evaluated in 8 different categories (visit this blog post to see the methodology):
More colleges participate in men’s basketball than any other sport. Because of this, with more than 1,000 men’s basketball teams currently competing in the NCAA, college basketball is one of the most competitive sports at any level. Still, among these 1,000+ teams lie a handful of programs that always seem to perform at a level above the rest. In college basketball, continued success is partially reliant on consistently landing talented high school players. As a result, team popularity and fan engagement are closely related to victories on the court. Nevertheless, there are always some teams which remain popular, no matter how well their season is going. FanWide is using its own fan engagement data alongside traditional measures of success to quantify program popularity. Read below to get an inside look at how FanWide is cultivating a top ten list that uses its proprietary fan data to rank teams based on more than just production on the field.
Top 10 (Check back here periodically to see the updated list)
With fall fast approaching we turn to analyses of football. Since high school football
is played on Friday nights, college on Saturdays, and the NFL on Sundays, we follow
that order of presentation and let the big boys headline the publication of findings.
Visit FanWide.com to find a NCAA Football game watch party or fan club near you.
Don’t fret that the college football season is winding to an end. It’s Bowl Season! The college football bowl games have been announced and there are some exciting match-ups this year.
People are starting to gear up for bowl season, and some have even released rankings of the bowl game quality. 40 games will be played from December 16th through the New Year, one of the busiest times for travel. Whether you plan to travel to your team’s bowl game or stay and watch from home, FanWide can help you find a local meetup to watch your game wherever you are.
Visit FanWide.com to find a NCAA Football watch party or fan club near you.
Here is a list of all the bowl games along with some direct links to FanWide events or search for others at FanWide.com: