It’s an embarrassment of storyline and star-power riches in college hoops this season. Take a good look around and you’ll see possibilities covering the canvas. Florida is coming off a national championship and theoretically has the roster to chase a repeat. Ever-excellent Houston could be just as good after falling to UF in that national title game in the waning seconds and has all the motivation in the universe to atone for that defeat. UConn and Dan Hurley look poised to vault back to the elite tier following last season’s melodramas. Purdue could be the best team of them all, led by maybe the most valuable player of them all, Braden Smith.
Rick Pitino and St. John’s are the preseason favorites in the Big East. Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and AJ Dybantsa headline a freshman class that might be the strongest in college basketball in a decade. The SEC will try to come close to matching last season’s record-shattering run of 14 NCAA Tournament teams, including two that made the Final Four. But the league will have to square up with the Big Ten and Big 12, which look built to be stronger than a year ago.
Coaching legends still strut the sidelines, even with high-profile departures of title-winning coaches in recent years. We’ve got still got Izzo and Self and Calipari and Barnes, in addition to the likes of Pitino, Hurley, Kelvin Sampson and more. Louisville is going to be good again. Big-brand teams like Arizona, Michigan, Illinois and UCLA could have Final Four fates. Even a league like the A-10 seems set to rattle back to some relevancy.
I. JUST. CAN. NOT. WAIT. FOR. THE. SEASON. TO. START!
With opening day barely a week away, it’s time to ratchet up the anticipation and take a long tour through all the teams I expect to matter most over the next five months. My labor of love for the devout, devoted college basketball fan: I’m thrilled to once again share my annual preseason…
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