Author: Aidan Joly

By Aidan Joly

It was a busy Friday in college basketball with the best slate of the season so far last night. Let’s get right into what happened.

First off, Arizona picked up a great win, going into Cameron Indoor Stadium and taking down No. 2 Duke 78-73 in the first ranked-on-ranked game of the season.

The Wildcats proved to be threats to win the national championship in the victory. Kylan Boswell was most impressive, scoring 12 points on 4-7 shooting and also grabbed eight rebounds in the win. All five Wildcat starters finished in double figures, led by Keshad Johnson, who had 14. It was a balanced scoring attack from Tommy Lloyd’s squad all-around.

One player that you need to be impressed with is Caleb Love. Love was returning to Cameron in just his second game since leaving North Carolina. He struggled most of the way, but kept his head up and made some key free throws down the stretch that helped Arizona put the game away. He also defended well. It could have been easy for Love to sulk after the win because he didn’t have a good game, but he did not. That shows maturity and that he can be a leader for this team.

This was also the first of a home-and-home between Arizona and Duke, with a return game at the McKale Center in Tucson next year. We need more of these in college basketball. Top teams, going head-to-head in the first week or two of the season. It brings eyeballs to the sport early on and it’s only helpful. Of course, there is a time and place for neutral site games, but it was amazing to see the Cameron Crazies at a 10 on November 10.

More true home and road games!

Elsewhere, Virginia picked up a 73-70 neutral site win against Florida in Charlotte. It’s a 2-0 start for Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers team after they made plays down the stretch and were able to walk out with a win.

Blake Buchanan was huge from the free throw line, going 10-16 from the charity stripe and finished with a team-high 18 points. He made up for bad shooting nights from Reece Beekman and Isaac McKneely.

I want to give a quick shoutout to Florida’s Micah Handlogten. He was terrific, albeit in a losing effort, finishing with 14 points and 14 rebounds – eight of them offensive – and played tough defense in the paint. In the preseason I had him marked down as a player who could make a huge difference for the Gators, and through two games, he has. It will be exciting to see how he does the rest of the way.

Memphis went on the road and picked up a thoroughly impressive 70-55 win against Missouri. The Tigers did it in the second game of Penny Hardaway’s three game suspension, so former Mississippi State and Western Kentucky coach Rick Stansbury was running the show.

The Tigers looked poised the whole way and were led by Jahvon Quinerly, who had 18 points on 7-10 shooting and had eight rebounds. Jaykwon Walton had 13 points on 5-8 shooting as well.

It’s tough to see the American getting more than three or so bids to the NCAA tournament, but this is a good early-season win for Memphis that may help tip the scales in their favor in a few months.

Speaking of those types of wins, BYU picked up an equally impressive win, taking down No. 17 San Diego State in Provo 74-65. The Cougars had five players in double figures in the win and out-rebounded the Aztecs 35-25.

Having moved to the Big 12 this season, BYU will absolutely have more chances to pick up quality wins along the way than it did in the WCC, but taking down a ranked team that was just in the national championship game, a win that will probably be a Quad 1 win when it is all said and done, it says a lot. This win will stay with BYU all the way to March.

Dayton, the best team in the Atlantic 10 coming into the season, hit 12 of 23 shots from behind the arc but struggled everywhere else, falling 71-66 to Northwestern in Evanston.

The loss shouldn’t hurt Dayton all too much, though. Northwestern has not cracked the top 50 in KenPom following the win. Ryan Langborn was impressive, putting up 19 points on 6-9 shooting, while Boo Buie had 15 points and Brooks Barnhizer had 13 points and 10 boards.

Now, to get to the bad.

Louisville…. lost to Chattanooga 81-71. It comes one game after the Cardinals trailed most of the way to UMBC before it won by one point. Chattanooga was picked to finish fifth in the Southern Conference this season in a 10-team league, and the Cardinals lose to them. It was a reprise of last season and a lot needs to be done to make sure this entire season isn’t a repeat of last year.

Louisville has already dropped 68 spots in KenPom since Monday, going from No. 109 to No. 177. That comes after it finished at No. 290 last season. How far will this slide go?

Kenny Payne is now 5-29 at Louisville, with losses to the aforementioned Chattanooga, Bellarmine, Wright State, Appalachian State and Lipscomb. That doesn’t even include losses to Division II teams in exhibitions, one last year and one this year. We might be at a point where Payne making it to the end of the season is a stretch.

LSU lost to Nicholls 68-66, with Jalen White hitting a corner three in the dying seconds to give Nicholls the win.

It is likely going to be another struggle for LSU this season as it continues the rebuild. Nicholls’ 28-year-old head coach Tevon Saddler, the youngest head coach in all of Division I, picks up his first career win against a foe from the SEC. Congratulations to him.

Some other notes:

• No. 9 Tennessee picks up an 80-70 road win against Wisconsin. Northern Colorado transfer Dalton Knecht had 24 points in the win. He is going to be a star.
• No. 15 Texas A&M similarly goes on the road and beats Ohio State 73-66. The Aggies had three players (Tyrece Radford, Wade Taylor IV and Henry Coleman III) with 20+ points.
• Georgia beats Wake Forest 80-77.
• Davidson with a minor upset, beating Maryland 64-61 on a neutral floor. Bobby Durkin hit a three with nine seconds left to give the Wildcats the win.
• Sean Pedulla had a great night for Virginia Tech, but it was not enough as the Hokies lost to South Carolina 79-77.
• PJ Hall had 27 points for Clemson as the Tigers beat UAB 77-76.

By Aidan Joly

The first night of the 2023-24 college basketball season is in the books. It featured things going mostly according to plan, albeit one massive upset and some other notable results.

Here are the takeaways from night one.

James Madison stuns Michigan State

James Madison was picked at the top of the coaches poll in the Sun Belt, but the Dukes went into East Lansing and picked up a stunning 79-76 win over No. 4 Michigan State in overtime.

JMU took advantage of Michigan State shooting just 1-20 from behind the three-point arc and not much production out of anyone else besides Tyson Walker, who scored 35 points for the Spartans.

Good on the Dukes for keeping their composure the whole way, and especially to Raekwon Horton, who hit a cold-blooded three with 8.6 seconds left in OT to put the game away. Terrence Edwards Jr. had 24 points for JMU, while former Boston College forward T.J. Bickerstaff had 21.

Another Big Ten team had a bad night, with Rutgers losing to Princeton 68-61 at a neutral site in Trenton.

Isaiah Collier impresses in debut

Collier, the top recruit out in this year’s class, put up 18 points on 7-9 from the field and had six assists in USC’s 82-69 win against Kansas State in Las Vegas. He did foul out late in the game, but he looked sharp throughout.

Boogie Ellis had 24 points for the Trojans as well, while Kobe Johnson added 16. This USC squad is good, and if they can get Bronny James back at some point this season as he recovers from a cardiac arrest over the summer, Andy Enfield’s squad can be lethal.

As a side tangent, can we talk about how good Enfield is? He was a relative unknown when he led FGCU to the Sweet 16 in his second season in Fort Myers, turned around and got the USC job and now he’s been winning there regularly for a decade. It’s impressive stuff.

Purdue is back and great

Moving back over to the Big Ten, it seems Purdue heard every single word of the criticism this off-season. The Boilermakers held a 51-17 halftime lead and completely overmatched Samford in a 98-45 win. The 53-point difference was Purdue’s largest lead of the game.

Purdue had four players in double figures, led by Zach Edey, who had 16 points on 5-6 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds in just 20 minutes. Of course, he will be playing more minutes when Purdue plays some more competitive opponents. Camden Heide had 13 points, and Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith had 12 points each.

(Edey, who stands at 7-foot-4, took the opening tip against 5-foot-8 Samford guard Dallas Graziani, which made for quite the visual)

Purdue is likely to be playing with a chip on its shoulder all season after the stunning and embarrassing loss in the NCAA tournament last season. This seems like just the start.

Louisville, North Carolina struggle but win

It might be a long season for Louisville and UNC.

First, Louisville struggled the whole way but snuck out with a 94-93 win against UMBC at the Yum! Center. The Cardinals trailed by eight at the half but recovered. This comes after Louisville lost an exhibition game to a Division II school in the preseason, so it might be a very long year for them. The Cardinals have Chattanooga on Friday.

Elsewhere in the ACC, North Carolina struggled a lot of the way, trailing for some of the first half and then only leading by as little as one in the second half, but ran away at the end and beat Radford 86-70. It was not exactly an inspiring performance, but gave a scare.

Hubert Davis is likely coaching for this job this season. The Tar Heels will have to tighten it up.

Oregon picks up nice win

It wasn’t always pretty, but Oregon picked up a nice 82-71 win against Georgia in the opening game of the Vegas doubleheader.

It was a game that was probably more about Georgia struggling than Oregon doing well, but alas. The Ducks were hit by the injury bug a bit this fall and it was encouraging to see them come together and play at least decently.

N’Faly Dante was impressive, scoring 16 points and grabbed 21(!) rebounds, six of them on the offensive glass. Brennan Rigsby also had a nice game with 16 points off the bench. Could he have a bigger role than some expect?

Jabri Abdur-Rahim had 18 for Georgia in the losing effort.

Oklahoma State loses a buy game

A second big 6 team lost at home to a opponent it should have beat, with Oklahoma State dropping the season opener to Abilene Christian 64-59. It is the second time in recent memory Abilene has beaten a high-major opponent after it upset Texas in the NCAA tournament in 2021.

Ali Abdou Dibba had 15 points for the Wildcats in the win, while Hunter Jack Madden had 14. The Cowboys shot under 50% from the free throw line, part of what did them in.

This might be a make-or-break year for Mike Boynton in Stillwater and it was not a good start.

By Aidan Joly

Over the summer, the WCC joined the laundry list of conferences being affected by conference realignment, with perennial league power BYU heading to the Big 12. Nearly every major program has been affected by the movement, and a few other teams in this league may move soon (coughgonzagacough).

Now, the league is down to just nine teams for the 2023-24. Gonzaga has won the league’s tournament all but one season since 2012. Saint Mary’s might be able to topple the Zags, but as always, it’ll always be a challenge.

That being said, let’s get into the teams.

Saint Mary’s Gaels

2022-23: 27-8 (14-2 WCC), lost in round of 32

Saint Mary’s looked headed for an outright league title last season after a win against Gonzaga in February, but lost the second matchup between the two squads, and a surprising loss to Loyola Marymount secured a tie in the standings. The Gaels were defeated soundly in the WCC title game by the Zags.

There’s lots of optimism in Moraga this fall with the return of sophomore Aidan Mahaney, who was a star as a freshman last season to the tune of 13.9 PPG on 40% shooting from three. Swingman Alex Ducas returns for a fifth year after averaging 12.5 PPG on 41.4% from three. Big man Mitchell Saxen is back too after putting up 11.6 PPG.

Augustus Marciulionis is also back after having a smaller role last year, but expect that role to increase. Joshua Jefferson showed some flashes as a freshman in limited time, but may be thrust into a larger role.

Four-star freshman Jordan Ross is an intriguing prospect and it will be interesting to see how much Randy Bennett uses him.

The Gaels were picked at the top of the WCC by the coaches and for good reason. There’s no reason to believe they won’t be at least in the top two. Can they take Gonzaga’s crown?

Gonzaga Bulldogs

2022-23: 31-6 (14-2 WCC), lost in Elite Eight

It’s quite a roster overhaul for the Zags and coach Mark Few. One of the best players in program history, Drew Timme, is gone. As are Julian Strawther, Rasir Bolton and Malachi Smith, who all decided to pursue professional careers. Hunter Sallis and Dominick Harris, both young studs, transferred.

There is one piece of continuity and that is Anton Watson, who averaged 11.3 PPG for Gonzaga last season. Nolan Hickman will likely have a similar role after a quietly solid sophomore season.

Gonzaga had a couple huge wins in the transfer portal, though. Ryan Nembhard is here from Creighton, one of the best players in the portal this off-season. Wyoming transfer Graham Ike averaged 19.5 PPG two seasons ago, but did not play at all last season due to a leg injury. It will be fascinating to see what type of player he is. Steele Venters averaged 15.3 PPG last season for Eastern Washington and should be a great rotational piece. He should compete with four-star freshman Dusty Stromer for minutes.

One more interesting piece is Korean transfer Jun Seok Yeo. He spent part of last season with the program but did not play. It will be intriguing to see what type of role he has.

This all being said, this is a reloaded Gonzaga team. It should be a national force once again.

Santa Clara Broncos

2022-23: 23-10 (11-5 WCC), lost in NIT first round

Santa Clara was back in the postseason for a second straight season last March, something the program has not accomplished since back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in 1995 and 1996.

A lot is gone, but the rotation is chalk-full of guys with experience.

Three former mid-major stars in Jalen Benjamin (Mount St. Mary’s), Johnny O’Neil (American) and Tyeree Bryan (Charleston Southern) all had significant roles at their last stops. Benjamin was the most significant of that group, averaging 16.0 PPG for the Mount.

Adama Bal is an interesting add. The Arizona transfer is a former top prospect from France, but was raw and never really got it going with the Wildcats and now gets a second chance. Francisco Caffaro has high-major experience with Virginia.

The main returner is Carlos Marshall, who averaged 10.0 PPG last season. Christoph Tilly was a role player off the bench and is back.

This team isn’t bad by any stretch. Herb Sendek always does more with less, so it will be interesting to see how he blends this new group.

Loyola Marymount Lions

2022-23: 19-12 (9-7 WCC), no postseason

Loyola Marymount had a decent season last year after two topsy-turvy seasons, which was a third place WCC finish in 2020-21 and then a 3-12 finish in 2021-22. A 9-7 last season and a fourth place finish evened it out.

A few good pieces are back, including Keli Leaupepe, who averaged 13.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game last season. Alex Merkviladze also returns after putting up 7.1 PPG.

From there, it’s new guys. UNC Central transfer Justin Wright had the best season last season, averaging 16.1 PPG for the Eagles. Will Johnston averaged 14.5 PPG at UTRGV last season on 43.8% from three, a true sharpshooter. He should have a big role. The aforementioned Dominick Harris arrives from Gonzaga, Lars Thiemann had a solid season at Cal, and Justice Hill was a role player at LSU.

With some good players in the frontcourt, that will have to be the team’s M.O. It’s fair to say that this is the third-fullest roster in the league behind Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga. How much success it translates to is the real question.

San Francisco Dons

2022-23: 20-14 (7-9 WCC), no postseason

Thus begins the second tier of the WCC. The first season of the Chris Gerlufson era went about as expected, but left some to be desired.

There is much roster turnover on this roster, but there are some interesting pieces here. Marcus Williams is the best returner. He averaged 7.8 PPG last season and showed the ability to shoot well from the perimeter. Forwards Isaiah Hawthorne and John Kunen did the same. They will be trusted with larger roles though, after being forced to play behind Khalil Shabazz, Tyrell Roberts and Zane Meeks, who are all gone.

Former top international prospect Mike Sharavjamts struggled at Dayton last season, but now he transfers to San Francisco, where he will look to get a better footing after averaging just 5.6 points last season. Stefan Todorovic was a role player at SMU last season and arrives in San Francisco.

If the Dons can maintain a semblance of last year’s shooting, there is no reason to believe that the team will not improve this season.

Pacific Tigers

2022-23: 15-18 (7-9 WCC), no postseason

It was a season better than expected for Pacific last season after the Tigers were picked to finish last in the WCC, but finished seventh out of 10 and won seven league games.

However, the two biggest pieces from last year, Jordan Ivy-Curry and Keylan Boone, are both gone. Luke Advalovic is also gone, meaning this year’s Tigers will have none of the three top scorers back.

Some help is here, th0ugh. Tyler Beard averaged 9.1 PPG in just 22 minutes per game last season and will surely be tasked with having a much larger role this year. Nick Blake is also back after averaging 8.6 PPG, mostly off the bench, while Donovan Williams also brings much experience to the table.

Only one new transfer coming in, that’s Burke Smith, who stands at 6-foot-11 but played very limited minutes at Boise State.

This all being said, a lack of proven talent puts Pacific towards the bottom of the WCC.

Portland Pilots

2022-23: 14-19 (5-11 WCC), no postseason

After a great 2021-22 season that resulted in a postseason appearance, injuries marred the Pilots 2022-23 season, which ended in much disappointment.

The Pilots did lose a lot of talent in the off-season including Mike Meadows, Moses Wood and Kristian Sjolund, but the fortunes flipped a bit with the return of Tyler Robertson. Robertson is a versatile wing who led the Pilots with 15.6 PPG last season and should be one of the better players in the league.

One interesting player is Juan Sebastian Gorosito, who averaged 7.7 PPG and shot 39.6% from three, but was a frequent target on the defensive end and struggled there. He will need to take a leap this season. Chris Austin is also back after taking a medical redshirt last season. He averaged 14.4 PPG last season.

Coach Shantay Legens brought in Alimamy Koroma, who averaged 10.8 PPG at Cal Poly last season, as well as Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams, a native of Japan who averaged 6.9 PPG at Lamar last season. Thomas Oosterbroeck was on the roster at Miami last year but did not see any playing time.

There are some good parts of this team, but they are likely outweighed by the weaknesses. This will likely be a down season in Portland.

San Diego Toreros

2022-23: 11-20 (4-12 WCC), no postseason

Many thought San Diego would make a breakthrough last season with former UCLA and St. John’s head coach Steve Lavin making his return to the sidelines.

That did not come close to happening. Losses piled on, players didn’t like their roles, no player played in all of the team’s 32 games, the Toreros ended the season on a six-game losing streak, part of a longer stretch in which San Diego lost 10 of its final 12 games.

A laundry list of players are gone and were not replaced through the portal. Instead, San Diego with trot out nine freshmen with a total rebuild in mind.

Wanye McKinney is the only starter back. McKinney averaged 7.4 PPG last season and will be relied upon heavily. Deuce Turner, who averaged 6.5 PPG last year, is back too.

From there, a trio of freshmen in Kevin Patton, Jimmy Oladokun and Keyon Kensie seem to be the best of the nine freshmen. Romania native Dragos Lungu played at the NBA Global Academy and may be an interesting part of the rotation.

There’s a scenario where San Diego can finish in the middle of the pack. But with unproven youth that needs development, it’s tough to see it happening.

Pepperdine Waves

2022-23: 9-22 (2-14 WCC), no postseason

Pepperdine had high expectations going into last year with a roster that seemed ready to compete.

Instead, the wheels fell off with players underperforming and others missing chunks of time to injury.

Things don’t seem as dire this season, with two of the top three scorers back. Houston Mallette had a breakthrough season last season with 13.0 PPG on over 30% from three and will likely be even better this season. 6-foot-11 forward Jevon Porter is back too after he put up 12.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest last season. The younger brother of Denver Nuggets guard Michael Porter Jr., seems poised for an even larger role. Former USC forward Boubacar Coulibaly was supposed to have a large role, but was limited to just 12 games last year.

The interesting add that coach Lorenzo Romar made was Wyoming transfer Ethan Anderson, who averaged 7.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game last year for the Cowboys. He is very experienced, with over 100 career games to his college career.

The bench is not much of anything, which is concerning. Someone there will need to step up. Nonetheless, it’s tough to imagine that things get worse in Malibu this season, but going over .500 would be a surprise.

By Aidan Joly

It was another good year for the Mountain West, when you look at it. Six teams made the postseason, four of them in the NCAA tournament. Four of those teams did not win a game, but San Diego State made up for all of that with a run to the national title game.

The league is safe, for now, from conference realignment after SDSU to the Pac-12 fell through. We will see what happens in the coming months.

It should be another strong year for the Mountain West. Let’s see how it stacks up.

San Diego State Aztecs

2022-23: 32-7 (15-3 Mountain West), lost in national championship game

A repeat trip to the Final Four seems unlikely, but a conference title seems much more reasonable for this squad.

Some of the key players from last year’s team are gone, but they retain plenty of talent and bring a few intriguing players in.

Keshad Johnson, Matt Bradley and Nathan Mensah are all gone. The two key returners are Lamont Butler, who averaged 8.6 PPG but etched his name into March Madness lore forever with a buzzer-beater against FAU that sent the Aztecs to the national title game. Darrion Trammel is also back and will likely be the scoring guard after putting up 9.5 PPG last season.

Micah Parrish (7.9 PPG) and Jaedon LeDee (7.8 PPG) are also back.

It’s a pair of transfer adds in Reese Dixon-Waters and Jay Pal for Brian Dutcher’s squad. Dixon-Waters averaged 9.8 PPG off the bench for USC last season and was the Pac-12’s sixth man of the year, while Pal averaged 12.3 PPG at Campbell. Four-star freshman B.J. Davis should have a solid role quickly.

Again, a trip to the Final Four again is unlikely, but the Aztecs will still be the team to beat in the Mountain West.

Boise State Broncos

2022-23: 24-10 (13-5 Mountain West), lost in round of 64

Leon Rice’s Bronco squad is coming off of a great season, but they lose a lot of talent for this year.

However, leading scorer Tyson Dogenhart and his 14.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game is back for another season. As is coach’s son Max Rice, who put up 14.0 PPG last season and shot over 40% from three.

The best new player is UC San Diego transfer Roddie Anderson II, who was the Big West freshman of the year after averaging 13.1 PPG last season. The second best is Chibuzo Agbo, who averaged 11.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game at Texas Tech. Cameron Martin (Kansas) and O’Mar Stanley (St. John’s) both have high major experience as well, but had small roles at their previous schools. Emmanuel Ugbo played professionally in Germany and is now a Bronco.

The pieces are there for Boise State to put together a run to the NCAA tournament, but the question is if everything works out right.

Utah State Aggies

2022-23: 26-9 (13-5 Mountain West), lost in round of 64

Usually, the Aggies are towards the top of the Mountain West. This year, that is unlikely to be the case.

The program lost just about everything this offseason. Virtually every contributor from last year is gone, as is head coach Ryan Odom, who left to take the job at VCU.

Former Montana State coach Danny Sprinkle arrives to try to pick up the pieces. He brings Darius Brown II with him, who averaged 9.1 PPG for Montana State last season. He figures to be the Aggies’ best player. Josh Uduje averaged 13.2 PPG at Coastal Carolina and will likely be a large part of the offense as well. Ian Martinez was a role player at Maryland last season and also has a previous stop at Utah.

As for the rest, the cupboard is pretty barren, and there’s a lot of freshmen. Sprinkle is a good coach, but the talent does not appear to be there. Expect some growing pains in year one. Here’s to hoping the program can get its swagger back.

Nevada Wolf Pack

2022-23: 22-11 (12-6 Mountain West), lost in First Four

Nevada snuck into the tournament last season as a play-in team, despite losing three of the last five regular season games and then bowing out in the conference tournament quarterfinals. But, it lost by 25 in the First Four game.

There is a good amount of continuity. Jarod Lucas was one of the best players in the Mountain West last year and averaged 17.0 PPG and shot 37.8% from three. He figures to be one of the best scorers in the league. Guard Kenan Blackshear is back too after a season of averaging 14.1 points and 4.6 assists per game.

One interesting player is Hunter McIntosh. He averaged 13.3 PPG at Elon in 2021-22, but was limited to just six games at the end of last season due to injury. It will be intriguing to see if he can re-claim what he was at Elon. If he can, Nevada’s stock rises dramatically.

It seems like a season of more of the same for Nevada. A good team, but being one of the best in the league is likely elusive.

San Jose State Spartans

2022-23: 21-14 (10-8 Mountain West), lost in CBI quarterfinals

Tim Miles’ second season at the helm was the program’s first 20-win season since 1980-81. It was the first time the program won double digit conference games since 1993-94.

There are now some levels of expectations at the long-dormant program. Miles lost his best player in Omari Moore, but return a fair amount.

The scoring duties will likely fall on Alvaro Cardenas, who averaged 10.0 PPG, as well as Robert Vaihola, who put up 7.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last year.

One interesting addition is Washington State transfer Adrame Diongue. He played sparingly at Wazzou, but he is a seven-footer and a former top 100 prospect, so he will likely get more chances at playing time in a probably better situation.

We’ll see how SJSU does this season. Could Miles leave for a better job if San Jose State has a good season? That may be something to monitor.

New Mexico Lobos

2022-23: 22-12 (8-10 Mountain West), lost in NIT first round

The Lobos made the postseason for the first time since 2014 this season, a great step in Richard Pitino running the program.

Now, the younger Pitino might be building something good at New Mexico. The Lobos bring back both of their two leading scorers in Jamal Mashburn (19.1 PPG) and Jaelen House (16.9 PPG).

The rest of the leading scorers should be transfers. Fresno State transfer Jemarl Baker Jr. will likely be the third member of the leading trio after putting up 12.5 PPG in the same league last season. Nelly Junior Joseph was a great player at Iona last season and should have a fairly large role. Mustapha Amzil was a guy in the rotation at Dayton last year and it should translate fairly well to New Mexico.

Four star freshman Tru Washington will likely have some kind of role, as will three star freshman Jadyn Toppin.

San Diego State is the odds-on favorite to win the league, but New Mexico shouldn’t be far behind. The program has not won a postseason game since 2012, it has the talent to change that.

UNLV Runnin’ Rebels

2022-23: 19-13 (7-11 Mountain West), no postseason

UNLV doesn’t have the best talent in the league, but it has depth and a deep rotation.

Luis Rodriguez is the top scorer returning after he put up 10.7 PPG last season, while Justin Webster is also back after averaging 8.2 PPG last year.

Oklahoma transfer Jalen Hill is a great defensive presence and a good rebounder who will likely be a glue guy for the Runnin’ Rebels this season. Coach Kevin Kruger also picked up brother Keylan and Kalib Boone. Keylan was great at Pacific last season, with 13.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, while Kalib was a great role piece at Oklahoma State and finished with 10.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. The reunion of brothers should be a lot of fun to watch.

Roster turnover is always tough, but Kruger seems to have managed it well. A top half finish should be in order here.

Colorado State Rams

2022-23: 15-19 (6-12 Mountain West), no postseason

The conversation of the Rams begins and ends with Isaiah Stevens, one of the best players in program history. Last season he averaged 17.9 points and 6.7 assists per game, and should continue to be one of the best guards in the league. Where he goes, Colorado State goes.

Patrick Cartier will be a strong number two after he averaged 12.3 PPG last season for the Rams. He also shot 64.7% from the field, giving the team a strong interior presence. Jalen Lake is back for another year after putting up 7.5 PPG last season.

One new player to keep an eye on is Joel Scott. Scott was the Division II player of the year at Black Hills State while leading his squad to the D2 Final Four. He averaged 23.0 points and 9.6 rebounds per game at Black Hills and should be a double-double threat every night. Meanwhile, New Mexico transfer Javonte Johnson and Colorado transfer Nique Clifford will be solid depth additions.

Last year was certainly a down year, but with this talent and a good head coach in Niko Medved at the helm, it’s unlikely to happen again.

Fresno State Bulldogs

2022-23: 11-20 (6-12 Mountain West), no postseason

After getting to the postseason in 2022 for the first time since 2017, the fortunes flipped in Fresno last season with some struggles.

Former four-star prospect Joseph Hunter likely would have had a big role on this team, but was kicked off the team due to felony gun charges against him.

Instead, it’ll probably be Isaiah Hill leading the charge after he put up 12.6 PPG and shot over 30% from three last season. Eduardo Andre also returns after putting up 8.3 PPG last year. Donovan Yap and Leo Colimaro will also be part of the rotation.

For the rest, it is seemingly new guys. Isaiah Pope spent the past three years at Utah Tech, becoming one of the best scorers in the WAC and put up 13.1 points per game and also averaged over one steal per game. One other transfers Xavier DuSell (Wyoming) lines up to be in the rotation as well.

Fresno State is a dark horse to do well in this league, but right now it is towards the bottom of the pecking order.

Air Force Falcons

2022-23: 14-18 (5-13 Mountain West), no postseason

Air Force has not had a winning record in conference play since the 2006-07 season and has not been over .500 overall since 2012-13.

Several key players are now gone, but the main player back is Rytis Petraitis is back after he had a great freshman season where he averaged 10.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Ethan Taylor is also back after a good all-around season, and he’s also a good three-point shooter, making 38% of his shots from behind the arc.

There are no new players – and only 10 on the roster to begin with. But this is a military school that will always struggle to bring in high-level players and this year’s squad is no different. Air Force has not made the NCAA tournament since 2006. Don’t expect that to change.

Wyoming Cowboys

2022-23: 9-22 (4-14 Mountain West), no postseason

In 2021-22, Wyoming won 25 games and got an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

That script flipped quickly, with a last place finish in the Mountain West and single digit wins.

Most players are gone, including Hunter Maldonado to graduation, Graham Ike transferring after being out all season due to injury and Jake Kyman off to Washington State.

There isn’t much left. The top scorer will likely be Tulsa transfer Sam Griffin, who put up 15.2 PPG at Tulsa last season. The second leader will probably be Brendan Wetzel, who started 21 of his 24 games played and averaged 7.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per contest.

The rest of the roster has experience, but is very unproven. It’s tough to tell who will step up. An older roster should keep them in a lot of games, but it’s unlikely that will transfer to a lot of wins. There is a good chance the Cowboys will be in the cellar for the second straight season.

By Aidan Joly

It was a big off-season for the Atlantic 10 and its 15 programs. Teams at the bottom made moves to try to get back to the top, and teams at the top made moves to try to keep themselves there.

The 2022-23 season was a down season in the Atlantic 10, making it a one-bid league for the first time since 2005. The A10 must get multiple teams to the tournament this year.

That being said, here is how they all look heading into the 2023-24 season.

VCU Rams

2022-23: 27-8 (15-3 Atlantic 10), lost in round of 64

The Rams won the Atlantic 10 and were the lone team from the league to make the NCAA tournament, but it was an off-season of transition in Richmond.

Head coach Mike Rhoades left to take the job at Penn State. In his place is Ryan Odom, who is back in the area after serving as the head coach of Utah State for two seasons.

That being said, it is a completely new roster. Zeb Jackson is the only returner of note after he averaged 5.2 PPG in 17 minutes per game. Odom brings in a pair of Utah State transfers in Max Shulga (11.9 PPG) and Sean Bairstow (10.3 PPG), who will both have key roles. Former Richmond guard Jason Nelson is here too.

In the frontcourt, it is Kuany Kuany coming over after averaging 9.0 PPG at California last year. He’ll be a starter when he gets healthy. Former top 100 prospect Roosevelt Wheeler comes over from Louisville. A freshman in Michael Belle has great upside on a roster that struggles with depth.

In the end, the Rams should be competitive and should finish in the top half of the league. But some growing pains are to be expected.

Fordham Rams

2022-23: 25-8 (12-6 Atlantic 10), no postseason

The 2022-23 season brought success that the program has not seen in over three decades. It was the program’s first winning season since 2015-16, first time with a winning record in conference play since 2006-07 and the program’s first 20-win season since 1990-91!

This season will be a huge test of if last year was a fluke or if the fortunes of the program have turned around. Both stars, Darius Quisenberry and Khalid Moore are gone, as is Rostyslav Novitskyi, who was a big defensive piece.

However, the Rams have several role players coming back. Antrell Charlton, Will Richardson and Kyle Rose all averaged over 6.0 PPG last year. UTSA transfer Japhet Medor gives another option as well.

Abdou Tshimbile returns in the frontcourt. Lafayette transfer Joshua Rivera comes to Rose Hill after averaging 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game last year. He will have a role as well. Elijah Gray played solid minutes as a freshman last year and is a breakout candidate.

Will Fordham prove that last year wasn’t a fluke? We’ll see.

Dayton Flyers

2022-23: 22-12 (12-6 Atlantic 10), no postseason

Dayton dealt with a lot of injuries throughout the season. On paper, it was a fine season, but the Flyers did not meet expectations despite making the A10 tournament final. Missed out on the postseason entirely, too.

However, the Flyers should be the favorite to win the league this season. Star center DaRon Holmes II is back after flirting with the NBA Draft following a season where he averaged 18.4 PPG and 8.1 RPG. He will likely be the best player in the conference. Malachi Smith and Kobe Elvis both missed significant time last year and are back and both will be solid starters. Koby Brea shot 37% from three last year and is one of the best sharpshooters in the conference.

Some new players are here too. Enoch Cheeks averaged 15.4 PPG at Robert Morris last year, Javon Bennett averaged 9.6 PPG at Merrimack last year as a starting guard. Isaac Jack was a solid role player at Buffalo, and Pittsburgh transfer Nate Santos should have a larger role after a small one at Pitt.

Dayton’s talent is too good to not be the favorite this season. Will they capitalize?

Saint Louis Billikens

2022-23: 21-12 (12-6 Atlantic 10), no postseason

No team in the league lost more talent than Saint Louis did. Five of the top six scorers are gone. That being said, the depth is just not there.

Despite the losses, the one of that group back is Gibson Jimerson, who was the team’s leading scorer last season at 14.0 PPG. He is one of the better shooters in the country, but he won’t have Yuri Collins, who led the country in assists in each of the past two seasons, passing to him. Instead, it’ll be Portland transfer Mike Meadows, but he averaged just 2.2 assists per game, as opposed to 11.0 PPG.

Georgetown transfer Bradley Ezewiro is still looking for a waiver. If he doesn’t, look for freshmen Stef van Buseel and Bruce Zhang to get more minutes.

It’s a given that Saint Louis will fall in the standings. The question is, how far will it fall.

George Mason Patriots

2022-23: 20-13 (11-7 Atlantic 10), no postseason

Another program that had a coaching change and with it, a complete new roster. Former coach Kim English left to take the job at Providence. In his place is former GMU Final Four star Tony Skinn, who was previously an assistant at Maryland.

Skinn was able to keep point guard Ronald Polite, who averaged 11.5 points and 4.0 assists per game last season. Guard Devin Dinkins and forward Malik Henry both had small roles last year but have a chance to have larger ones as returners.

As far as new players, it’s a long list. Darius Maddox averaged 8.0 PPG at Virginia Tech and should have starting role. Jared Billups (Siena) and Keyshawn Hall (UNLV) are both versatile players who may start. Amari Kelly (UNC Wilmington) is a big body who averaged 7.8 points and 5.5 rebounds last season. Oklahoma State transfer Woody Newton has high-major experience. Jalen Haynes is still waiting to see if he will get a waiver after averaging 14.6 PPG at East Tennessee State last season.

The ceiling is high and the floor is low with this team. There’s a lot of unknowns here, making GMU tough to predict.

Duquesne Dukes

2022-23: 20-13 (10-8 Atlantic 10), lost in CBI first round

Duquesne was the most-improved team in the league last season, going from 1-16 and last place in 2021-22 to nearly finishing in the top four last season. It was just the CBI, but it also resulted in the program’s first postseason appearance since 2016.

Coach Keith Dambrot played a 12-deep rotation, so a few losses is not a huge deal. Leading scorer Dae Dae Grant is back after averaging 15.5 PPG last season. Jimmy Clark III is also back after after putting up 12.2 points per game and also proving a stout defender, possibly a top three defender in the league. Tre Williams is a very good defender as well. David Dixon and Halil Barre both had solid freshman campaigns.

There is some solid new talent, too. Brothers Fousseyni and Hassan Drame are here after averaging 8.8 and 6.4 PPG respectively at La Salle last season. Andrei Savrasov was very good at Georgia Southern last year, averaging 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. NC State transfer Dusan Mahorcic won’t play until December, but he put up 8.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game for an ACC team last season.

One question is at point guard. Kareem Rozier played decent and had some moment as a freshman last season and seems in line to take a step up.

The Dukes need Rozier to play well. If he does, Duquesne will have a chance to win this league and have a good shot at breaking an NCAA tournament drought that dates back to 1977.

George Washington Revolutionaries

2022-23: 16-16 (10-8 Atlantic 10), no postseason

The team formerly known as the Colonials had a decent season in Chris Caputo’s first season at the helm, but had no depth, which did them in at certain points in the season.

Only five players averaged more than 4.0 PPG. Three of them are gone, including Brendan Adams, who averaged 17.4 PPG last year.

However, James Bishop, who led the entire conference with 21.6 PPG last year, is back. The other notable returner is Maximus Edwards, who had 10.5 PPG and 6.5 RPG last season.

Caputo brought in some transfers who have high major experience, including Benny Schroder (Oklahoma) and Darren Buchanan (Virginia Tech). The only transfer with any real production in the past is Antoine Smith Jr., who averaged 7.7 PPG at Evansville last year.

Bishop and Edwards alone will win the Revolutionaries some games and should keep them out of the basement. The question is how good will the supporting cast be, that will determine the real ceiling.

Davidson Wildcats

2022-23: 16-16 (8-10 Atlantic 10), no postseason

Since Davidson joined the Atlantic 10 in 2014, the program has mostly finished in the top half of the league. Last season was just the second time the program joined the league nearly a decade ago.

There is rightful concern that the program could continue to go in the wrong direction. After several departures, there is just one player who averaged more than eight points per game last year anywhere in Division I basketball.

That player is returner Grant Huffman, who averaged 9.4 PPG for the Wildcats last season. Other than that, there isn’t really anything of note for returners. David Skogman (7.3 PPG) and Reed Bailey (5.5 PPG) both come back and will likely have bigger roles. Connor Kochera (6.3 PPG) is in line for a larger role as well.

Davidson brings in a pair of transfers in Jarvis Moss (Stanford) and Angelo Brizzi (Villanova). Neither did anything of note at their last stops, but Moss may be in line to start.

It’s tough to blame coach Matt McKillop, whose program is at a disadvantage due to not having a ton of academic programs. This season could be the result of that.

St. Joseph’s Hawks

2022-23: 16-17 (8-10 Atlantic 10), no postseason

St. Joe’s had an interesting season in 2022-23. It spent most of the season middling, but was one of the best teams in the league for nearly a month, winning seven games in a nine-game stretch from January 14 to February 11. Outside of that, the Hawks won just one other conference game. It also won two A10 tournament games.

The Hawks only lose one real player from the rotation, that being Ejike Obinna. They return both members of a backcourt that should be one of the best in the leagues in Erik Reynolds II (19.6 PPG) and Lynn Green (12.5 PPG). Cameron Brown (13.0 PPG) is also a great addition to the backcourt.

Freshman Christ Essandoko is set to replace Obinna in the frontcourt. He is a four-star prospect and is highly touted, so if he comes to Philadelphia as advertised, he will round out what will be a great lineup. Kacper Klaczek is back as a forward.

At the end of the day, this Hawks team has to show something more. It has not had a .500 record since Billy Lange took over in 2019. It has the talent to change that this year, will it?

St. Bonaventure Bonnies

2022-23: 14-18 (8-10 Atlantic 10), no postseason

It was a down season last season for the Bonnies, but it was for good reason, having a total roster turnover from 2021-22.

Thankfully for this year’s squad returns all five starters, including leading scorer Daryl Banks III (15.4 PPG). Kyrell Luc (11.3 PPG) and Moses Flowers (9.3 PPG both had their moments as the team’s other starting guards. In the front, Chad Venning averaged 12.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per contest, while Yann Farell had 8.9 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

Coach Mark Schmidt also brought in Cincinnati transfer Mika Adams-Woods, who averaged 9.1 PPG at Cincinnati last season. Charles Pride put up 14.6 points and 6.1 assists per game at Vermont. Both are good additions.

After a down season, things are sure to turn around for the Bonnies this season. They for sure project as a top-four team in the A10.

Richmond Spiders

2022-23: 15-18 (7-11 Atlantic 10), no postseason

It’s tough to find a larger loss in the entire conference than Richmond’s loss of Tyler Burton, an all-league guard who averaged 19.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game and the entire offense running through him the past few seasons.

On top of that, freshman Jason Nelson is another bad loss after he was good as a first year and appeared to be a key building block.

Coach Chris Mooney was forced to re-tool through the transfer portal. Jordan King averaged 15.6 PPG at East Tennessee State, while DeLonnie Hunt averaged 11.1 PPG at Wagner. Both have some skills, but aren’t the best pure shooters.

As for returners, big man Neal Quinn was second on the team last year with 9.5 PPG. He will need to have a bigger role. Same goes for Isaiah Bigelow, who put up 7.9 PPG last season. Wing Jason Roche averaged 6.3 PPG, but shot nearly 40% from three.

This roster, on paper, got worse. The Spiders will surely be towards the bottom of the league.

La Salle Explorers

2022-23: 15-19 (7-11 Atlantic 10), no postseason

The Explorers were competitive in 75-year-old Fran Dunphy’s return to coaching, but the same might not be able to be said for this season.

Some guards return, including leading scorer Khalil Brantley (14.3 PPG) as well as Jhamir Brickus (9.8 PPG). Anwar Gill and his 7.9 PPG are back as well.

The real issue lies in the frontcourt. They lost the Drame brothers and simply did not replace them in the portal. Rokas Jocius averaged 4.5 PPG last season and showed some flashes as a freshman, but he will need to have a breakout season. A pair of freshmen in Tunde Fasasi and Efe Tahmaz will need to develop quickly.

There’s no way to skirt around it; the Explorers will struggle to be competitive this season. The talent is simply not there.

Massachusetts Minutemen

2022-23: 15-16 (6-12 Atlantic 10), no postseason

It was a promising start to Frank Martin’s first season at the helm last season after a 9-3 start, but the Minutemen struggled after that.

Multiple key players transferred out, t0o. Matt Cross is the leading returning scorer after he put up 12.2 PPG last season in the frontcourt. Guard Rahsool Diggins returns after being a role player last season.

Saint Francis transfer Josh Cohen was the co-NEC player of the year last season after averaging 21.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game last season. How his game will translate to a higher level remains to be seen. Daniel Hankins-Sanford played sparingly at South Carolina, but has high-major experience.

Freshman Jaylen Curry is a decent prospect who could start early on. Otherwise, it will likely be all freshmen off the bench.

Lots of questions here. Cross is the only proven player at this level, so there will likely be some growing pains at the flagship this season.

Rhode Island Rams

2022-23: 9-22 (5-13 Atlantic 10), no postseason

Archie Miller’s return to college coaching after being fired at Indiana was a disaster. A few former top prospects didn’t work out, many of them left, and there was too much losing.

This season is unlikely to be much better. It’s a completely new roster. The key players figure to be Jaden House, who put up 17.3 PPG at High Point, Luis Kortnight, who averaged 10.3 PPG at Quinnipiac, as well as Bradley transfer Zek Montgomery, who put up 8.1 PPG as a role player. JUCO addition Tyson Brown is also one to watch.

Even if the duo of House and Kortnight works out to be decent, the talent on the rest of the roster is not there. They will need some unexpected production, or the Rams can expect a season at the bottom of the league.

Loyola Chicago Ramblers

2022-23: 10-21 (4-14 Atlantic 10), no postseason

Who would have thought? Loyola Chicago went from winning the Missouri Valley in 2021-22 to finishing dead last in the Atlantic 10 one season later.

A number of players from last year are gone, but each of the team’s three leading scorers are back. Forward Philip Alston averaged 14.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while a pair of guards, Braden Norris (10.9 PPG) and Ben Schwieger (9.2 PPG) also return. Forward Tom Welch, who averaged 7.0 PPG, also returns.

As for new players, it’s a pair of former Ivy League stars. Greg Dolan averaged 13.3 PPG and shot 42.5% from three last season at Cornell. Dame Adelekun averaged 13.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game at Dartmouth, as well. Adelekun is also a good defender. Patrick Mwamba averaged 7.9 PPG at Oral Roberts last season. All will have roles for the Ramblers.

All of the reasons to believe that Drew Valentine’s squad will move up in the standings. There’s reason to believe that they can move up fairy significantly. The question is, how far will the Ramblers move up?

By Aidan Joly

College hoops fans who have gotten used to the American Athletic Conference are in for quite an awakening this season.

The league is almost unrecognizable from this past year, thanks to three schools leaving for the Big 12, including last year’s regular season conference champion in Houston and a perennial March contender in Cincinnati. UCF is gone too.

Some reinforcements are here though. Six schools joined from Conference USA, including one that just came off a Final Four run (Florida Atlantic), both the NIT winner and runner-up (North Texas and UAB), and for good measure, the CBI champion in Charlotte.

Since nearly half of the league is new, it will be fascinating to see how adjustments are made. Let’s get into all of the teams.

Florida Atlantic Owls

2022-23: 35-4 (18-2 C-USA), lost in national semifinals

2023 represented the second NCAA tournament appearance in program history and it ended in the Final Four for Dusty May’s Owls.

Now joining the AAC, they are the team to beat. That’s what happens when you make the Final Four and return nearly all of the roster from the year before.

Michael Forrest’s graduation hurts, but everyone else is back. Johnell Davis was dominant in the NCAA tournament and should immediately become one of the best players in the country. Of course, there is also Vladislav Goldin, a great rebounder who was an all-conference player as a sophomore. And you can’t forget about Alijah Martin, who averaged 13.1 points per game as a sophomore and should continue to score regularly in the AAC.

The only real concern for this squad is staying the course and not getting complacent. It’s a higher level of competition this year. You can compare it to North Carolina of 2022 and 2023 – made the Final Four as a middle of the pack seed, returned much of its roster and then didn’t make the tournament at all in 2023. FAU needs to avoid that.

North Texas Mean Green

2022-23: 31-7 (16-4 C-USA), won NIT

North Texas had a great season in 2022-23. The banners hang, but it will be a much different look this year.

Coach Grant McCasland is gone after he took the job at Texas Tech. The team’s star player, Tylor Perry, moved on to Kansas State. The new coach is Ross Hodge, who has been the associate coach since 2017 so if there’s anyone who can keep the momentum going it is him, but it’ll be a step back first.

One notable returner is Aaron Scott, who has the ability to play multiple positions and averaged 7.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last year. UTSA transfer John Buggs III averaged 10.9 PPG last year for the Roadrunners. Other than that, it seems unsung players will need to step up. They have some high major transfers in Rondel Walker (TCU), Robert Allen (Ole Miss) and C.J. Noland (Oklahoma). None of them put up great stats, but they have high major experience.

Memphis Tigers

2022-23: 26-9 (13-5 AAC), lost in round of 64

Memphis won the AAC tournament last year, and although a certain newcomer poses a challenge at least for now, but this is a golden opportunity for the Tigers to become top dog in this league.

It’s partly ironic, because they lost to that newcomer in the NCAA tournament last March.

Anyway, this year’s Memphis team did lose a lot, including Kendric Davis, DeAndre Williams and Alex Lomax. However, Penny Hardaway made splashes in the portal, securing Jahvon Quinerly (Alabama), Caleb Mills (Florida State) and Jordan Brown (Louisiana), who put up 19.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game last year.

One of the better recruiting classes comes in, too. It features wing Javonte Taylor, guard Carl Cherenfant and Ashton Hardaway, Penny’s four-star son. The jewel of the group was supposed to be Mikey Williams, but he is facing trial in California on gun charges and it’s unclear if he will ever suit up for Memphis. Until that is resolved in either way, it will be an unwelcome distraction hanging over the program’s head.

As for on the court, the talent is there, we will have to see how it blends.

UAB Blazers

2022-23: 29-10 (14-6 C-USA), lost in NIT final

Andy Kennedy’s UAB program is one of those that has been on the rise for a while, and it got to the NIT final last season.

A lot of that success hinged on Jelly Walker and Trey Jamison, but both of them are gone. Eric Gaines is the best retuning player, havng averaged 11.6 points per game last season and flirted with the NBA draft before returning.

It’s a lot of newcomers. Daniel Ortiz put up 14.8 points per game at North Alabama last season and will have a chance to be one of UAB’s better players. They also bring in a good amount of JUCO transfers. An older team, they will have the upper hand on a lot of teams in terms of experience.

Tulane Green Wave

2022-23: 20-11 (12-6 AAC), no postseason

Ron Hunter may be the best ‘bad job’ coach in the country. The year before he took over (2018-19) Tulane went 0-18. In his fourth season on the job, he narrowly missed the NCAA tournament, somewhere the progrm has not been since 1995. It was the first time the program won 20 games since 2012-13 and the program’s second 20-win season in this millennium.

The team brings back three of its top four scorers, including Jaylen Forbes (18.5 PPG), Kevin Cross (14.8 PPG) and Sion James (9.7 PPG). They did lose Jalen Cook to LSU, but some larger roles, especially for James, can make up for that.

As for a newcomer, Asher Woods averaged 14.2 points per game for VMI last season and should see something of a large role.

This is a program on the rise. He won’t be here this year, but the program also landed its best recruit ever in Kameron Williams recently. Ron Hunter and Tulane is a quietly dangerous combination that could find a way to sneak into the NCAA tournament.

Temple Owls

2022-23: 16-16 (10-8 AAC), no postseason

After four mediocre seasons at the helm, former head coach Aaron McKie moved over into a different role in Temple’s athletic department.

Replacing him is Adam Fisher, who was Penn State’s associate head coach. This is Fisher’s first head coaching job.

Gone are star guards Khalif Battle and Damian Dunn to the portal. Replacing them are incoming transfers in Matteo Picarelli, who averaged 10.1 PPG for UMBC last season, and Jordan Riley, who was a role player at Georgetown last season. In the frontcourt, Steve Settle III put up 11.1 PPG at Houston Christian last year.

Hysier Miller is back after he flirted with the portal. He put up 8.6 PPG last year and was a full-time starter.

There’s no way for the Owls to replace the production of Battle and Dunn, but they will sure will try. Expect it to be a down year in Philadelphia for Temple.

Wichita State Shockers

2022-23: 17-15 (9-9 AAC), no postseason

Wichita State has been without mojo for a few years now after Gregg Marshall was forced out ahead of the 2020-21 season. In his place was Isaac Brown, whose first season went very well but took steps back in each of the past two seasons and was fired at the end of 2022-23.

In his place is former Oral Roberts head coach Paul Mills. This year’s Shockers don’t have much left from last year, so the keys will be handed to Kenny Pohto, who averaged 8.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last year, as well as Colby Rogers, who did not play last year but averaged 14.1 PPG for Siena in 2021-22.

One intriguing incoming transfer is Jacob Germany, who averaged 12.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, despite only starting 18 of UTSA’s 30 games. Harlond Beverly (Miami) and Bijan Cortes (Oklahoma) both had bit roles at their previous schools.

It may be a bit of a rebuild job for Mills, but he got ORU to the tournament twice, one of those appearances culminating in the second weekend.

Charlotte 49ers

2022-23: 22-14 (9-11 C-USA), won CBI

Charlotte had a losing record in conference play last year, but won a national tournament for the first time in program history. And now they enter a new conference.

To make things weirder, the 49ers have a new coach in Aaron Fearne after Ron Sanchez – who had a losing record in five seasons in Charlotte – left to take an assistant job at Virginia.

Charlotte lost some key pieces, but does bring back Lu’Cye Patterson, who averaged 10.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game last year. Jackson Threadgill averaged 6.7 PPG last year too.

Some new players include Dishon Jackson, who averaged 6.0 PPG for Washington State while starting a handful of games, as well as Dean Reiber, who has had a bit role for Rutgers the past three years.

Rice Owls

2022-23: 19-16 (8-12 C-USA), lost in CBI quarterfinals

Rice’s first season in the AAC might be a tough one. They had a decent season last year, but this is a major step up.

The Owls do bring back two important players in Travis Evee, who averaged 15.6 PPG last year, and Max Fielder, a center who scored 11.1 points and grabbed 7.6 rebounds per game last season. A lot 0f the scoring expectations will likely fall on Evee, who was an all-conference honorable mention last season.

Coach Scott Pera brings in a couple players who have high major experience: Sam Alajiki from California and Noah Shelby from Vanderbilt. Both were role players. One solid addition is Anthony Selden, who averaged 11.5 PPG for Gardner-Webb last season.

Again, even coming off a season where it went above .500, won a conference game and won a CBI game, it might be a tough year for Rice as it adjusts to this new level.

South Florida Bulls

2022-23: 14-18 (7-11 AAC), no postseason

Brian Gregory’s sixth season in Tampa was one of his better ones, but it still wasn’t a good one, ending his tenure with a 33-72 record in the league.

In comes Amir Abdur-Rahim, who is coming off one of the best rebuild jobs in the sport: his Kennesaw State team went 1-28 in his first season in 2019-20, and then went 26-9 in year four and made the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.

Abdur-Rahim brings three players with him: Chris Youngblood, Brandon Stroud and Kasen Jennings. Youngblood is the most important of the group after he averaged 14.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game last year for Kennesaw State. He also shot 41.5% from three. Stroud had 9.2 PPG and 6.5 RPG last year. One other good incoming transfer is Josh Placer, who averaged 14.0 PPG for North Florida last year.

Selton Miguel is the best returner here, he averaged 10.3 PPG and shot 33% from three.

There will be some growing pains here for sure. But if Abdur-Rahim’s tenure at South Florida is anything like Kennesaw, he could have the Bulls winning quickly.

East Carolina Pirates

2022-23: 16-17 (6-12 AAC), no postseason

Coach Michael Schwartz’s first season at the helm didn’t bring a ton of impressive wins but kept the program somewhat relevant throughout the year, which can’t be said about a lot of other East Carolina seasons.

Schwartz made some interesting moves in the transfer portal, picking up Bobby Pettiford Jr. from Kansas, who played sparingly last year but he was deep in the depth chart. He also picked up former LSU guard Cam Hayes, who averaged 8.1 PPG for the Tigers last season. They bring back guards RJ Felton (13.8 PPG) and Jaden Walker (7.6 PPG), which creates one of the better guard groups in the conference.

The frontcourt is a little thin – it’s seemingly Brandon Johnson, who averaged 12.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, and everyone else. Ezra Ausar is a candidate to step into a larger role after averaging 9.8 PPG as a freshman last year.

The Pirates are a bit of a sleeper team in the AAC – and if things go right, the team has a good shot at snapping the program’s 31-year NCAA tournament drought.

SMU Mustangs

2022-23: 10-22 (5-13 AAC), no postseason

There were definitely some growing pains in Rob Lanier’s first season at the helm, which ended up being SMU’s worst season since it joined the AAC in 2013. This is also SMU’s final season in the league before it jumps ship to the ACC next summer.

This year’s Mustangs did lose Zach Nutall to graduation, but do bring back Samuell Williamson, who averaged 9.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in an increased role last season. He will probably have an even larger role this season. They also bring back leading scorer Zhuric Phelps, who averaged 17.5 PPG last year and also had 2.3 steals per game, which led the league and was good for 16th in the country.

SMU does bring in some good transfers, including Chuck Harris, who averaged 10.4 PPG at Butler last season. Tyreek Smith was a role player for Oklahoma State last year, while Ja’Heim Hudson averaged 10.1 PPG for Georgia State last year.

All in all, the talent is certainly there for SMU to improve and get back to the NCAA tournament and make their AAC swan song a good one.

UTSA Roadrunners

2022-23: 10-21 (4-16 C-USA), no postseason

It’s going to be a rough year for UTSA in year one in the AAC. Steve Henson took over this program in 2016 and seemed to have the rebuild going in the right direction, but have bottomed out and have gone 7-31 in league play the last two seasons and finished last in Conference USA last season.

A whole new crop of players are in this year, 11 of them to be exact, and only five have Division I experience. One intriguing player is Jordan Ivy-Curry, who is making his return to the program after averaging 10.3 PPG at Pacific last year. He averaged 13.9 PPG for UTSA in 2021-22. He should jump in as the team’s leading scorer.

UTRGV transfer Adante’ Holiman came on strong at the end of the year last year, but was a bit inconsistent and averaged 7.5 PPG.

Tulsa Golden Hurricane

2022-23: 5-25 (1-17 AAC), no postseason

Eric Konkol’s first season at the helm in Tulsa was about as bad as expected. Tulsa has been a bottom feeder in this league for some time now.

The entire roster was overhauled, which may not be the worst thing. Some of them have high major experience in Chauncey Gibson (Clemson), PJ Haggerty (TCU) and Isaiah Barnes (Michigan). Konkol also brought over two of his former Louisiana Tech recruits in Cobe Williams, who averaged 18.8 PPG last year, and Keaston Willis, who averaged 12.4 PPG last year. Williams was all-conference in defense for the C-USA last year, too.

In addition, St. John’s transfer Mohamed Keita was limited by injuries last year, but has played professionally in Africa in the past.

This season should be a little better, but Tulsa will likely still be in the bottom third of the league.

By Aidan Joly

This year’s edition of the SEC will be an intriguing one with plenty of teams able to compete. The league saw eight teams make the NCAA tournament last March with three of them reaching the second weekend. It has an argument to be the deepest and best conference in the country this season.

Meanwhile, some “eras” got off to good starts for first-year head coaches in 2022-23 and the league also has what might be one of the most interesting coaching hires of this carousel.

Let’s get into it.

Alabama Crimson Tide

2022-23: 31-5 (16-2 SEC), lost in Sweet 16

Alabama has just three players coming back from a 2022-23 squad that won 31 games, won the SEC tournament and advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament: Mark Sears, Rylen Griffen and Nick Pringle.

Sears is the best of that group, having averaged 12.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game last season. Griffen put up 6.0 points per game in 2022-23.

A group of new transfers highlighted by North Dakota State transfer Grant Nelson will have to pick up the slack. Nelson was an All-Summit League talent last year. He averaged 17.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game and is a defensive menace. Aaron Estrada (Hofstra), Latrell Wrightesell Jr. (CSU Fullerton) and Mohamed Wague (West Virginia) are all new as well.

Jarin Stevenson is the top freshman on the team, he will need to step up quickly.

This year’s Alabama team likely won’t be at the top of the SEC, but it should still be a good year in Tuscaloosa.

Texas A&M Aggies

2022-23: 25-10 (15-3 SEC), lost in round of 64

Coming off of a very good season that ended slightly prematurely, the Aggies return eight players from last year’s edition.

They bring back leading scorer Wade Taylor IV, who averaged 16.2 points and 3.8 assists per game from the point as a sophomore. He will be one of the best players in the league, most likely. Tyrece Radford and Julius Radford will also have large roles for the Aggies. Henry Coleman III and Manny Obaseki also are back after solid seasons.

As for newcomers, coach Buzz Williams brings in Jace Carter (UIC), Eli Lawrence (Middle Tennessee) and Wildens Leveque (Massachusetts), who should all have varying roles.

With a group of great returners and solid additions, Texas A&M likely projects as the second-best team in the SEC.

Kentucky Wildcats

2022-23: 22-12 (12-6 SEC), lost in round of 32

A lot of the roster in Lexington feels unproven. They bring back just three players: Antonio Reeves, Adou Theiro and Ugonna Oneynso. Reeves is the best of the group, coming off a season where he averaged 14.4 points per game and won the SEC Sixth Man of the Year.

The Wildcats bring in one of the better recruiting classes in the country, including Justin Edwards, D.J. Wagner, Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard. The best transfer add is Tre Mitchell, who comes to Lexington from West Virginia.

Again, a lot of this roster is unproven and there are some question marks, but Calipari usually figures it out. They’ve got a great chance to be a very talented group.

Missouri Tigers

2022-23: 25-10 (11-7 SEC), lost in round of 32

The first season of the Dennis Gates era at Missouri was a huge success, resulting in the program’s first NCAA tournament win since 2010.

Gates already has a top recruiting class for 2024, headlined by Trent Burns, but he won’t come to Missouri until the 2024-25 season.

Still, for this year, Noah Carter, Nick Honor, Sean East II and Aidan Shaw are good building block pieces as returners. Carter averaged 9.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in 2022-23. As for additions, it’ll be John Tonja (Colorado State), Tamar Bates (Indiana), Caleb Grill (Iowa State), Jesus Carralero (Campbell) and Connor Vanover (Oral Roberts) making up an interesting blend of high-major and mid-major talent.

Vanover is 7-foot-5, and blocked 3.2 shots per game for Oral Roberts last season. He’ll look to emerge as a big frontcourt presence.

There’s lots of guard depth here, but questions in the frontcourt remain. We will see how the Tigers look. The program has not made back-to-back NCAA tournaments since a five-year stretch from 2009 to 2013.

Tennessee Volunteers

2022-23: 25-10 (11-7 SEC), lost in Sweet 16

After a good season last year that resulted in the program’s first appearance in the second weekend since 2019, this year’s Vols might be the team to beat in the SEC.

Rick Barnes returns a quartet of Josiah-Jordan James, Santiago Vescovi, Zakai Zeigler and big man Jonas Aidoo. Zeigler will have a bigger role at the point guard spot and is a great passer. Vescovi is a very real perimeter threat and will probably take more shots from behind the arc. James is as versatile as they come with the ability to play multiple positions. Aidoo will have a shot to have the starting center job.

As for newcomers, Dalton Knecht (Northern Colorado) was quietly one of the best gets of the off-season. He averaged 20.2 points per game for the Bears last season. Top prospects Freddie Dilione and J.P. Estrella should contribute quickly.

With a cast of experience players and probably a chip on their shoulder, look for the Vols all season long.

Vanderbilt Commodores

2022-23: 22-15 (11-7 SEC), lost in NIT quarterfinals

The 2022-23 edition of Vanderbilt was an interesting one. After an embarrassing 101-44 loss against Alabama that dropped the Commodores to 3-6 in the SEC, they rattled off eight wins in the final nine regular season games to finish 11-7 in league play, and then made it to the SEC semifinals, good enough to make the NIT. In total, it won 12 of its final 15 games after that loss.

Seemingly finding their stride midway through the season, the Commodores bring back five players, headlined by Tyrin Lawrence, who averaged 13.2 points per game last season. Ezra Manjon averaged 10.3 points per game last season.

As for newcomers, three transfers that make sense to have big roles off the bat are Evan Taylor (Lehigh), Ven-Allen Lubin (Notre Dame) and Tasos Kamateros (South Dakota).

With a nice mix of old and new, Vanderbilt has a good shot at making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2017.

Auburn Tigers

2022-23: 21-13 (10-8 SEC), lost in round of 32

After a slight dip last season, Bruce Pearl and the Tigers should be a nationally relevant team again this season.

The Tigers return two key members of the frontcourt in Jaylin Williams (11.2 PPG) and Johni Broome (14.2 PPG), along with K.D. Johnson in the backcourt (8.9 PPG), all of them should see expanded roles in 2023-24. Broome finished 11th in the country last year in total blocks, with 78.

A key transfer add is Denver Jones from Florida International, who put up 20.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game on 37.1% shooting from three. He should be a secondary ball-handler. Freshman Aden Holloway is a decent prospect but maybe a bit of a project.

Coming off back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances, look for Auburn to keep it rolling as a top 5 team in the SEC.

Florida Gators

2022-23: 16-17 (9-9 SEC), lost in NIT first round

Head coach Todd Golden had some growing pains in his first season at the helm, but returns a decent crop of players and made some good adds in the portal.

Will Richard is the biggest returner on the team after averaging 10.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game this past season. Aleks Szymczyk and Denzel Aberdeen both are back after having some small roles last year, which likely will expand somewhat. Riley Kugel showed some serious flashes as a freshman averaging 9.9 points per game and is one of the best sophomore breakout candidates in the country.

The additions are where it is interesting. The Gators bring in Walter Clayton Jr. from Iona, the 2022-23 MAAC Player of the Year after averaging 16.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and shot 43.1% from three. Marshall transfer Micah Handlogten is a 7-foot-1 force in the middle, a great rebounder and defensive presence. UC Riverside transfer Zyon Pullin put up 18.3 points per game for the Highlanders last season and shot nearly 40% from three.

The potential is certainly there. If the transfers can have impacts and gel, look for the Gators to compete for a tournament bid.

Mississippi State Bulldogs

2022-23: 21-13 (8-10 SEC), lost in First Four

The first year of the Chris Jans era in Starkville went fairly well, resulting in the program’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 2019. With seven players back and a solid transfer portal addition, the Bulldogs look to turn a corner this year.

That starts with Tolu Smith, albeit that he is out until mid-January with an injury suffered over the summer. In the meantime, look for Shakeel Moore to have an expanded role after averaging 9.8 points per game last season. Dashawn Davis is there too after averaging 8.7 points per game in 2022-23. D.J. Jeffries and Cameron Matthews are set to man the frontcourt.

Marshall transfer Andrew Taylor arrives in Starkville after putting up 20.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game last season. He should have a sizable role in the post, especially so early in the season in Smith’s absence.

Again, Mississippi State is looking to turn the corner this year. After squeaking into the tournament last year, they hope to be a contending force in the SEC.

Arkansas Razorbacks

2022-23: 22-14 (8-10 SEC), lost in Sweet 16

Expectations remain high for Arkansas and Eric Musselman.

This year’s edition of the Razorbacks includes a slew of transfer portal adds, including El Ellis (Louisville), Khalif Battle (Temple) as the highlights. They also bring in Tramon Mark (Houston), Keyon Menifield (Washington) and Danijay Harris (Southern Miss).

Ricky Council IV, Nick Smith, Anthony Black and Jordan Walsh were all off to the NBA but the Razorbacks bring back Devo Davis, Travon Brazile, Mekhi Mitchell, Jalen Graham and Joseph Pinion.

Arkansas has not missed the NCAA tournament since Musselman came aboard in 2019 and have won at least 20 games each of his four seasons. The Razorbacks will once again be a very good team in 2023-24.

Georgia Bulldogs

2022-23: 16-16 (6-12 SEC), no postseason

Mike White managed a .500 record in his first season at the helm in Athens after defecting from Florida after the 2021-22 season.

It’s a program that hasn’t made the NCAA tournament since 2015 and White’s attempt at reviving the program will continue another season. However, the Bulldogs don’t bring back anyone that averaged more than 8.6 points per game last season – that would be Justin Hill. Jabri Abdur-Rahim averaged 7.1 points per game last season and will likely have an expanded role.

Noah Thomasson (Niagara), Jalen DeLoach (VCU) and Russel Tchewa (South Florida) are interesting adds out of the portal, but the impact of them remains to be seen. Georgia brings in some underrated freshman guards in Silas Demary Jr. and Blue Cain who could contribute right away.

It’s unlikely that Georgia will compete with the top of the league, but there’s some room for improvement.

South Carolina Gamecocks

2022-23: 11-21 (4-14 SEC), no postseason

It was a major struggle in Lamont Paris’ first year at the helm, winning just four games in the SEC.

Meechie Johnson is the main returner after he averaged 12.7 points per game last season. He will be the leader in the backcourt. Jacobi Wright should have a decent-sized role too.

B.J. Mack (Wofford) and Stephen Clark (The Citadel) are expected to be the names trusted to fill voids in the frontcourt. Ta’Lon Cooper (Minnesota) and Myles Stute (Vanderbilt) should have roles as well.

They’ll need frontcourt help, or it could be another losing season.

Ole Miss Rebels

2022-23: 12-21 (3-15 SEC), no postseason

The Rebels made the semi-rare move of firing a coach midseason when it fired now-former coach Kermit Davis on Feb. 24 while the team was 2-13 in SEC play.

Replacing him is one of the most interesting names in the carousel this past season in Chris Beard, who was fired midseason by Texas last year amid domestic violence allegations; the charges were later dropped.

Beard will look to right the ship in Oxford this season. The top two scorers from last season in Matthew Murell (14.4 PPG) and Jaemyn Brakefield (11.1 PPG) both return along with T.J. Caldwell (4.7 PPG), but those are the only returners from last year.

The three biggest additions are Auburn transfer Allen Flanigan, who averaged 10.1 PPG last year, Jaylen Murray from St. Peter’s, who put up 12.5 PPG last year, and Moussa Cisse from Oklahoma State, who is somewhat of a limited scorer but a talented rebounder and defender.

It will be a rebuild job for Beard, and that starts now. The Rebels will try to be relevant in a talent-deep SEC.

LSU Tigers

2022-23: 14-19 (2-16 SEC), no postseason

It was a rough season for LSU’s first season with Matt McMahon at the helm, a season that included a 14-game losing streak that lasted the better part of two months.

LSU does return five players, but only two of note, that being Derek Fountain, who averaged 8.0 PPG, and Trae Hannibal, who scored 6.8 PPG last season.

There are eight new faces on the team, including Jalen Cook, who averaged 19.9 points per game for Tulane last season and Jordan Wright (Vanderbilt) who averaged 10.5 points and 5.0 rebounds for the Commodores. Carlos Stewart was a very good WCC player, averaging 15.2 PPG for Santa Clara last year. Will Baker averaged 13.6 PPG for Nevada.

McMahon and LSU will need those portal adds to contribute in a big way if they want to compete. It’s fairly likely that LSU will find itself in the basement once again.

By Aidan Joly

The Pac-12 is the league affected by conference realignment next summer.

In July 2024, all of the schools in the current league except for Washington State and Oregon State will leave for either the Big 12, ACC or the Big Ten. The other two schools do not have destinations as of this writing, but this is the final season for the Pac-12 as we know it.

Let’s get into this current version of the Pac-12, one last time.

UCLA Bruins

2022-23: 31-5 (18-2 Pac-12), lost in Sweet 16

It was a tough off-season for Mick Cronin and the Bruins, losing nearly their entire core from this past season in Jaime Jacquez, Jaylen Clark, Tyger Campbell and Amari Bailey. What makes it even tougher is that all of them could have come back, but did not.

Who will replace that output? A pair of sophomores in Adem Bona and Dylan Andrews will have to lead that charge. Bona averaged 7.5 points per game last year as a freshman, those numbers are sure to increase.

Utah transfer Lazar Stefanovic is a new addition, but is something of a strange fit with the rest of this roster. Freshman Aday Mara, who stands at 7-foot-3, is a huge addition for Cronin and he will play meaningful minutes early on.

With a roster in influx, a dip in the record is almost a certainty. Getting to the NCAA tournament would be an accomplishment.

Arizona Wildcats

2022-23: 28-7 (14-6 Pac-12), lost in round of 64

The Wildcats were a top 10 team in the country for most of the season last year until falling victim to 15 seed Princeton in the first round of the NCAA tournament, a Tigers team that went on to the Sweet 16.

Losing Azoulas Tubelis is definitely tough, but some good pieces return to bring it to a point where it’s not the end of the world. Oumar Ballo should be one of the best all-around players in the country next season, he averaged 14.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game this past season and is sure to get better.

San Diego State transfer Keshad Johnson also mitigates some losses in the frontcourt. Losing Kerr Kriisa to the portal was a bit of a surprise, but Alabama transfer Jaden Bradley slides in nicely there. Caleb Love is a good late add after he wasn’t able to get into Michigan due to academics after entering the portal from North Carolina. Love is a bit of a project and will need to get his shooting under control.

Overall, this is a very solid team for Tommy Lloyd. The Wildcats should be back at the top of the league again.

USC Trojans

2022-23: 22-11 (14-6 Pac-12), lost in round of 64

It’ll likely be a strange season for the Trojans in Los Angeles. Leading scorer Boogie Ellis returns, which is huge after he averaged 17.3 points per game this past season.

He’ll have some reinforcements too. Consensus five-star prospect Isaiah Collier will be a huge player for USC right off the bat. He’s only 18 years old, so he may require some development as the season goes on. Washington State transfer DJ Rodman is also a decent player who will start. Kobe Johnson returns.

The Trojans landed Bronny James, the son of LeBron, late in the game, but suffered a cardiac arrest during a workout and is out indefinitely. However, signs point to him suiting up at some point this season. His health is paramount, but seeing him in college basketball this year would be a lot of fun.

Oregon Ducks

2022-23: 21-15 (12-8 Pac-12), lost in NIT quarterfinals

The Ducks are in a strange spot. This was a program that made the second weekend four times in a span of five NCAA tournaments from 2016 to 2021 and made a Final Four in 2017, but has missed back-to-back NCAA tournament now, a first for the program since 2011 and 2012.

With a move to the Big Ten looming, a time for change may be soon. That being said, the Ducks bring back some decent talent from the 2022-23 team, including leading scorer and rebounder N’Faly Dante, Jermaine Couisnard, who averaged 12.8 points per game, and Keeshawn Barthelemy, who averaged 9.3 points per game.

They also bring in a couple good recruits in Marquis Cook and Kwame Evans, who should play big minutes from the start.

Overall, this is a big year for Oregon. How will it fare before a big move to the Big Ten?

Arizona State Sun Devils

2022-23: 23-13 (11-9 Pac-12), lost in round of 64

The Sun Devils probably saved Bobby Hurley’s job by squeaking into the NCAA tournament last March, but the majority of that team is now gone.

The highest scorer returning is Frankie Collins, who averaged 9.5 points per game, but didn’t have as large of a role as the season went on. Bryant Selebangue in the middle is a major downgrade from Warren Washington. Really the only player on this roster worth a mention is Zane Meeks, who averaged 10.3 points per game at San Francisco in 2022-23.

This Arizona State team is likely to struggle. Will an 11 seed and a victory in the First Four be enough to keep Hurley around for two more seasons, or will he back on his brother’s staff at this time next year?

Washington State Cougars

2022-23: 17-17 (11-9 Pac-12), lost in NIT first round

Kyle Smith brought the Cougars to the postseason for the second straight season, something the program had not accomplished since 2011 and 2012.

The issue in Pullman in recent years isn’t struggling to get talent, but being able to retain or maximize it. That being said, Idaho transfer Isaac Jones and Kansas transfer Joseph Yesufu are both interesting adds and we will see what they are able to do with the Coogs. Yesefu was once good enough to play at Kansas, so we will see. Jabe Mullins returns after averaging 8.4 points per game.

This team doesn’t project as anything special, but being in the middle of the pack in the conference will likely be the result.

Utah Utes

2022-23: 17-15 (10-10 Pac-12), no postseason

The Utes were mediocre this past season, but this team is absolutely loaded with seniors.

The headliner of that group is Branden Carlson, who projects as one of the best players in the country after averaging 16.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game this past season for the Utes. Gabe Madsen averaged 11.6 points per game and shot 36.5% from three, Rollie Worster is a solid player, and Ben Carlson will likely see decent minutes as a role player.

This being said, this team needs to take a step forward this season and NCAA tournament should be the goal. If not, it might be a tough, and lengthy, rebuild.

Colorado Buffaloes

2022-23: 18-17 (8-12 Pac-12), lost in NIT second round

The Buffaloes return a very good group for this season. Tristan Da Silva is quietly one of the better players in the country, and KJ Simpson will team up with him to make a very good one-two punch.

Cody Williams, a top NBA draft prospect, comes to Boulder for this season as well. He will likely play a big role early on. TCU transfer Eddie Lampkin put up decent numbers for the Horned Frogs this past season. J’Vonne Hadley and Julian Hammond III will both have roles on a Buffaloes team that should be pretty good.

Overall, this probably projects as an 8 or 9 seed in the NCAA tournament. We shall see. It would be an improvement from last year.

Washington Huskies

2022-23: 16-16 (8-12 Pac-12), no postseason

Mike Hopkins is another coach who has flirted with being on the hot seat who will get another shot in 2023-24.

Thankfully, this is an improved Huskies roster. They bring back Keion Brooks, who averaged 17.7 points per game last season and he will remain one of the best players in the conference. Franck Kapnang was limited to just eight games last season due to injury, but averaged 9.0 points per game in that time.

There are some newcomers as reinforcements, too. Kentucky transfer Sahvir Wheeler didn’t get as many minutes as he probably should have in Lexington, and he’s now the clear number two player for Washington. He’s joined by Rutgers transfer Paul Mulcahy, who is as well-rounded as they come. Freshman Wesley Yates will be an impact player immediately.

The Huskies have not been to the NCAA tournament since 2019. If things fall right, that could change.

Stanford Cardinal

2022-23: 14-19 (7-13 Pac-12), no postseason

It’s hard to find many coaches who have been given as many chances as Jerod Haase has been given. He’ll enter year eight without an NCAA tournament appearance, while having three NBA players on his rosters in that time.

The Cardinal do return leading scorer Spencer Jones, but after that there are not many returners of note.

As for new players, Providence transfer Jared Bynum is here, but he regressed in 2022-23, dropping from 41% from three in 2021-22 to 32% last season and scored about two less points per game. There are a couple decent freshman in Kanaan Carlyle and Andrej Stajakovic, but they don’t inspire a ton.

It’s fair to say that there is a fair amount of talent here, but in recent years, talent hasn’t equaled wins. It’s hard to see that changing this year and what may be Haase’s final season in Palo Alto.

Oregon State Beavers

2022-23: 11-21 (5-15 Pac-12), no postseason

Remember when Oregon State was in the Elite Eight in 2021? How things have changed.

The Beavers won just three games in the season following and won 11 this past season. The program is in a dire spot as there is no real path for them to remain in a power conference with very limited success over the years. Only two NCAA tournament appearances in the past 32 seasons.

Wayne Tinkle’s system requires players to stick around, which the Beaves bring back just about everyone from last year, but six of those players are sophomores. Jordan Pope, Dexter Akanno and Tyler Bilodeau are the only real players of note on the roster.

The team is still very young. If Tinkle’s system works well, the Beavers should be able to get out of the bottom of the league’s basement. If they will, who knows.

California Golden Bears

2022-23: 3-29 (2-18 Pac-12), no postseason

The Golden Bears are coming off a dreadful season in every sense of the word. However, new coach Mark Madsen made some swings in the portal and made some intriguing gets.

The leader of that pack is former Utah Valley centerpiece Fardaws Aimaq, who played 11 injury-plagued games at Texas Tech last year. He will need to be a star to get the Bears out of the bottom half of the league. Some other intriguing veterans brought in are Jalen Tyson (Texas Tech), Jalen Cone (Northern Arizona) and Keonte Kennedy (Memphis).

Leading scorer and former Kentucky Wildcat Devin Askew returns, but that’s it for notable returns.

There is no doubt that the talent on paper has taken a leap. Chemistry is another thing in figuring out whether a program that has been terrible for years will be able to make that leap in terms of results. The program hasn’t had a winning season since 2016-17 and Madsen is the program’s third coach since then. It will be interesting to watch. How will Cal respond?

By Aidan Joly

In 2023, the Big Ten sent eight of its 14 teams to the NCAA tournament, but only one of them got to the second weekend. This has been something of a theme of the Big Ten in recent years.

In 2023-24, can the league change that narrative? Let’s get into each of the fourteen teams that make up the league, one last run with this group before USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon join next summer.

Purdue Boilermakers

2022-23: 29-6 (15-5 Big Ten), lost in Round of 64

Purdue was a number one seed in the NCAA tournament and seemed poised to make a deep run into March.

Fairleigh Dickinson got in the way of that, becoming the second 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed in tournament history, a stunning end to what was a dream season before that.

This year, Matt Painter returns 169 of his 175 starts from last season, the centerpiece being Zach Edey, who will again be a top-three player in the country. Meanwhile, Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer were in the starting lineup all season as freshmen and played well. Mason Gillis is back as well.

One new addition is freshman Myles Colvin, a high-level player who should bring a burst of athleticism to the team.

In 2023-24 the Boilermakers look to run it back, and maybe not have its season come to a premature end.

Indiana Hoosiers

2022-23: 23-12 (12-8 Big Ten), lost in Round of 32

Of course, losing first round draft pick Jalen Hood-Schfino and All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis is a high order for the Hoosiers. So, who will step up?

Indiana does have depth, but there are certainly some questions here. Xavier Johnson and Trey Holloway are both key returners, but are they able to take the next step to compete at the top of the Big Ten? Oregon transfer Kel’el Ware has the ability to be one of the best rim protectors in the league, how will he fit into that role? Malik Reneau showed flashes as a freshman, will he come into his own?

Mike Woodson flipped Mackenzie Mgbako from a commitment at Duke, and a pair of transfers in Payton Sparks (Ball State) and Anthony Walker (Miami) should all have solid roles.

This is a team with players who have had varying levels of success, how will it all fit together?

Northwestern Wildcats

2022-23: 22-12 (12-8 Big Ten), lost in Round of 32

Northwestern put together one of the best seasons in program history that lasted in the program’s second-ever NCAA tournament appearance. It will look to replicate that success this year.

All-league guard Boo Buie is back after averaging 17.3 points and 4.5 assists per game in 2022-23. Princeton transfer Ryan Langborn was the Tigers’ second-leading scorer last season, it’s easy to see him being able to make a jump to a starter role in the Big Ten.

Ty Berry had a solid junior season and is sure to have a larger role this season. A seven-footer in the middle in Matthew Nicholson is a prime breakout candidate after averaging 6.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in 2022-23.

The big question here is, can the Wildcats sustain success?

Michigan State Spartans

2022-23: 21-12 (11-8 Big Ten), lost in Sweet 16

By Spartan expectations, the 2022-23 regular season was something of a disappointment for Michigan State, but Tom Izzo’s group made up for it with a run to the Sweet 16, the only team in its league to get to that point.

The Spartans are poised to potentially be the best team in the league this season. All five projected to be in the starting lineup are returners. AJ Hoggard is a terrific passing point guard, Tyson Walker averaged 14.1 points per game last season, Jaden Akins shot 42.2% from three, Mady Sissoko is a good rebounder and Malik Hall is a great blend of skill and experience.

A four-man recruiting class is a top-10 one in the country, so there is plenty of depth and room for development. Overall, there is a lot to like about this roster and hopefully the Spartans are able to put it all together.

Maryland Terrapins

2022-23: 22-13 (11-9 Big Ten), lost in Round of 32

It was a solid season for the Terps in Kevin Willard’s first season at the helm. In theory, it wants to take the next step, but there are questions here.

They have three players, Jahmir Young, Donta Scott and Julian Reese, all returners, who make up 60% of a starting lineup that can compete with just about anyone in the league. Young is set to be one of the best players in the conference after putting up 15.5 PPG in 2022-23. A pair of freshmen, Deshawn Harris-Smith and Jamie Kaiser, will likely make up the rest of it. How will those two look?

The bench is also a question mark. Jahari Long is a candidate to step up, but only averaged 2.1 points per game as a junior last season. Indiana transfer Jordan Geronimo was a role player for the Hoosiers, what kind of role will he have in College Park?

How quickly will this team get up to speed? That’s the question here.

Illinois Fighting Illini

2022-23: 20-13 (11-9 Big Ten), lost in Round of 64

It was a bit of a tumultuous season for the Illini and coach Brad Underwood, a season that ended in the first round of the tournament at the hands of Arkansas.

Coming into the season, the Illini might be ranked a little bit lower than they should be and that’s due to the point guard position. At least starting the season, don’t be surprised to see it done by committee with Ty Rodgers and freshman Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, at least until they see what they have in the latter.

Terrence Shannon, Coleman Hawkins and Dain Dainja all return after putting up decent seasons in 2022-23. Southern Illinois transfer Marcus Domask is likely to have a starter role.

Oregon transfer Quincy Gurrier and returners Sencire Harris and Luke Goode will all have bench roles. Harris is interesting in seeing how the former four-star recruit takes the next step as a sophomore.

Iowa Hawkeyes

2022-23: 19-14 (11-9 Big Ten), lost in Round of 64

For the past few years the Hawkeyes have had a “guy,” whether it be one of the Murray brothers or Luka Garza. This year’s Hawkeyes team doesn’t really have that. Valparaiso transfer Ben Krikke was one of the best players in the Missouri Valley Conference. Tony Perkins took a big step last year on both sides of the ball, so he might be a candidate to do so from the guard position.

Payton Sandfort is another to expect a big year from, and keep an eye on little brother Pryce Sandfort, who comes into the program as a freshman. It will be interesting to see how he does as a first-year player.

Patrick McCaffrey, the coach’s son, has some experience to his name. The Hawkeyes also have a pair of freshmen bigs in Owen Freeman and Ladji Dembele who may be able to play impact minutes at some point during the year.

This being said, this is probably a team that will be in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten, which should result in a tournament appearance.

Michigan Wolverines

2022-23: 18-16 (11-9 Big Ten), lost in NIT second round

This team is really going to come down to how Jaelin Llewellyn performs. He only played eight games this past season before tearing his ACL, ending his season and with it, the Wolverines’ chances at making a deep postseason run.

Dug McDaniel and Tarris Reed will also be key for the Wolverines andboth should have some decent roles for this season. Tennessee transfer Olivier Nkamhoua is a solid addition as well. Off the bench, former top prospect Nimari Byrnett is suddenly a senior and will try to return to form.

This Michigan team has a lot of names, but a lot of questions coming with it. How will Juwan Howard’s group look?

Penn State Nittany Lions

2022-23: 23-14 (10-10 Big Ten), lost in Round of 32

Penn State’s first NCAA tournament appearance since 2011 and first win in the tournament since 2001 led to coach Micah Shrewsberry leaving to take the same job at Notre Dame.

In his place enter Mike Rhoades, the former VCU head coach. Along with him came point guard Ace Baldwin, the 2022-23 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year as well as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. In three seasons, Rhoades and Baldwin won 68 games together. Nick Kern also followed Rhoades to VCU and be a solid depth piece. Returner Kanye Clary will back up Baldwin.

A pair of North Carolina transfers in Puff Johnson and D’Marco Dunn come in, both looking for new beginnings after a disappointing season in Chapel Hill. Georgetown transfer Qudus Wahab and Miami transfer Favour Aire are two good pieces in the middle, although Wahab figures to be the starter in the middle. One intriguing piece is Kansas City transfer Rayquawndis Mitchell, who was second team All-Summit League after putting up 17.3 points per game.

There are certainly lots of intriguing pieces and the season can go many different ways for the Nittany Lions. Probably the biggest wild card in the league.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

2022-23: 19-15 (10-10 Big Ten), lost in NIT first round

This roster is another interesting one. Replacing Paul Mulcahy and Cam Spencer is a tall task.

Three of the five starters, Derek Simpson, Mawot Mag and Cliff Omoruyi, are all returners. Simpson showed some flashes as a freshman, Mag is one of the best defenders in the league, provided he stays healthy and Omoruyi should make a run at all-league honors.

Massachusetts transfer Noah Fernandes fills into a starter role after putting up big numbers for the Minutemen in 2022-23 and should be one of the main scorers. Gavin Griffiths is a sharpshooter who should play impact minutes as a freshman.

FIU transfer Austin Williams and returners Aundre Hyatt and Oskar Palmquist will all have depth roles off the bench.

The big question is staying healthy. If they can do that, it could be a good season in Piscataway.

Wisconsin Badgers

2022-23: 20-14 (9-11 Big Ten), lost in NIT semifinals

Lots of roster continuity for the Badgers this off-season. Wisconsin brings back 157 of its 175 starts in 2022-23 and might as well have a sixth starter in St. John’s transfer AJ Storr, who will almost certainly be first to come off the bench each night.

Connor Essegian and Max Klesmit both were decent last season, but were inconsistent at times. Tyler Wahl is one of the best mid-range players in the country and is great off the block, he averaged 10.9 points per game on 48.2% shooting. Chucky Hepburn shot the ball well as a point guard, but dealt with some turnover issues. He needs to be better there.

Expect another step from center Stephen Crowl, who shot 51% from the field in 2022-23.

It’s clear that there is a lot of roster continuity, like just mentioned. After a mediocre season, can the Badgers take a step up?

Nebraska Cornhuskers

2022-23: 16-16 (9-11 Big Ten), no postseason

It was another mediocre season for the Huskers.

They key that might make this Huskers team go is Keisei Tominaga, who is one of the best shooters in the country and took a big leap as a sophomore in 2022-23, averaging 13.1 points per game on 50.3% shooting, including 40% from three.

The other starting guard is Jarron Coleman, who put up 14.3 points per game at Ball State this past season. He has 86 career starts to his name, including 21 at Missouri in 2021-22. in Charlotte transfer Brice Williams is a swing player who averaged 13.8 points per game and is a career 39.5% three point shooter.

Returner Juwan Gary is a capable forward, and Bradley transfer Rienk Mast was a first team All-MVU player last year.

Off the bench, New Mexico transfer Josiah Allick has 84 career starts to his name and CJ Wilcher started 24 games for the Nebraska last year.

There is some interesting talent on this roster, it will cpme down to how these players are able to gel together.

Ohio State Buckeyes

2022-23: 16-19 (5-15 Big Ten), no postseason

After an incredibly disappointing season, coach Chris Holtmann has put together a roster with both talent and depth.

One key piece is Minnesota transfer Jamison Battle, who once averaged 17.5 points per game in the Big Ten, but took something of a step back in 2022-23. Still a good player, but he will look to get back to that form.

Meanwhile, Bruce Thornton will look to build off of a good freshman season, freshman Scotty Middleton is very good. Senior Zed Key is one of the better paint players in the league; he led the team in rebounding (7.5) and was finished second in blocks. Meanwhile, Roddy Gayle is a big breakout candidate as a sophomore.

Penn State transfer Evan Mahaffey is a stout defensive players who should get even better as a sophomore. Depending on how things go, he could get starter minutes at some point. Taison Chatman is an intriguing prospect. Another freshman, Devin Royal, has skill that certainly can translate to the Big Ten.

All if this talent and depth makes it all but a certainly that it won’t be another bad season in Columbus.

Minnesota Golden Gophers

2022-23: 9-22 (2-17 Big Ten), no postseason

It was a disaster of a season for Ben Johnson and the Gophers, but they re-tooled in the portal.

Most notably those additions come in the backcourt in Mike Mitchell, who averaged 11.4 points per game last season at Pepperdine and Elijah Hawkins, who started 55 games over two seasons at Howard and averaged 12.9 points per game in that time. Both are well-rounded players.

Returners Pharrel Payne and Dawson Garcia both showed flashes last year and will look to take another step up in 2023-24. Freshman Cam Christie, the younger brother of Los Angeles Lakers guard Max Christie, has high upside, possibly the most of anyone on this roster.

Joshua Ola-Joseph can play both forward positions, while Braden Carrington is back healthy and ready to make a push. Isaiah Ihlen, Kadyn Betts, Parker Fox and Jack Wilson are depth pieces.

Minnesota will look to get out of the basement of the Big Ten. The Gophers haven’t finished higher than 12th in the league each of the past four years and will try to avoid a third straight last place finish.

By Aidan Joly

Last March and April certainly make the Big East look like the Big East of old.

UConn became the first school in the league not named Villanova to win a national championship since 2011 (and that school was, in fact, UConn) and a pair of ground-shaking hires gives the league plenty of intrigue heading into the new season.

That being said, it’s time to get into the 11 teams that will make up the league.

Marquette Golden Eagles

2022-23: 29-7 (17-3 Big East), lost in Round of 32

The defending Big East champions return most of the roster. The only major loss was Olivier Maxence-Prosper, who stayed in the NBA Draft.

What this means is a lot of the same team for Shaka Smart. Kam Jones didn’t test the NBA Draft waters, which is something of a surprise because he was expected to. Reigning conference player of the year Tyler Kolek returns to the fold as well as does Oso Ighodaro, who will see a larger role this season.

Overall, this is a strong team that will remain towards the top of the Big East for another year. Smart is a great coach and since he came to Marquette he has gotten the most out of his teams. This seems likely again.

Xavier Musketeers

2022-23: 27-9 (15-5 Big East), lost in Sweet 16

The injury bug is already hitting the Musketeers after recent news that both Zach Freemantle and Jerome Hunter will likely miss the entire season, Freemantle with a foot injury and Hunter with an undisclosed injury.

That news comes after losing Souley Boum, Jack Nunge and Colby Jones; Boum to the portal, Nunge to graduation and Jones to the NBA.

So, who is left? North Texas transfer Abou Ousmane and Western Kentucky transfer Dayvion McKnight will be thrust into big roles immediately. Rice transfer Quincy Olivari will need to play well too for the Musketeers to succeed.

The highest-scoring returner who will play this season is Desmond Claude, who averaged 4.8 points per game last year.

It might be tough for the Musketeers out of the gate. They’ll need to figure out what works, fast.

Creighton Bluejays

2022-23: 23-12 (14-6 Big East), lost in Elite Eight

The Bluejays might project as the best team in the Big East, talent-wise, right now. Ryan Kalkbrenner is one of the best players in the country, one of four players the Bluejays have that you can fairly put in the top 75 players in the country.

Utah State transfer Steven Ashworth is a star who should translate to this level extremely well. He was probably the best non-big in the portal in the country. A pair of returners in Trey Alexander and Baylor Scheierman both have star potential after putting up 13.5 and 12.6 points per game last year, respectively.

Arthur Kaluma is gone, but the argument can be made that that was addition by subtraction.

All in all, this team has so many scorers who will put up a lot of points. This makes Creighton a scary team in 2023-24.

UConn Huskies

2022-23: 27-8 (13-7 Big East), won national championship

The Huskies had a chance to return everyone that matters from a dominant run in the NCAA tournament that led to the program’s fifth national championship.

Unfortunately for them, Andre Jackson, Jordan Hawkins and Adama Sanogo chose to capitalize on their NBA Draft stock and turn professional.

Donovan Clingan will probably be the guy for the Huskies this season after putting up a good year, while playing behind Sanogo. Tristen Newton and Alex Karaban are both capable returners from the championship squad, too.

As for new guys, five-star prospect Stephon Castle is coming in and is likely to have a role. It seemed as those UConn waited for the NBA Draft deadlines to pass before making any portal decisions. It got slightly burned there, but recovered by picking up Rutgers transfer Cam Spencer.

This year’s UConn will be much different than last year’s, but is still one with plenty of talent and experience.

Providence Friars

2022-23: 21-12 (13-7 Big East), lost in Round of 64

The Friars were one of the teams who were caught up in the Big East coaching shuffle and ended up bringing in former George Mason head coach Kim English to run the program.

English has a lot of talent returning in leading scorer Bryce Hopkins and Devin Carter, so they project to be the team’s best players this season. English brought Josh Oduro with him from George Mason, but it remains to be seen how much he will move the needle.

It’s rare that a Big East team would bring in a coach with just two years of experience and a record of 34-29 to lead the program, but English is one of the hot young coaches in the sport. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to this new challenge.

Seton Hall Pirates

2022-23: 17-16 (10-10 Big East), lost in NIT first round

There were for sure some growing pains in Shaheen Holloway’s first season as head coach, and it ended with a fairly average season, but were never really in the NCAA tournament conversation.

Three of the top four scorers return in Al-Amir Dawes, Kadary Richmond and Dre Davis, all of whom had solid seasons in 2022-23. Richmond was not the team’s leading scorer but is probably the best player on the team, very all-around.

Santa Clara transfer Jalen Bediako and St. John’s transfer Dylan Addae-Wusu are both notable portal adds.

The Pirates will be a great defensive team, similar to last year. It is the offense that has questions, and it might be another middle-of-the-pack season in South Orange.

Villanova Wildcats

2022-23: 17-17 (10-10 Big East), lost in NIT first round

In Villanova standards, it was an extremely disappointing season in Kyle Neptune’s first season at the helm after replacing the retired Jay Wright. However, the Wildcats seem to be primed for a bounce-back season.

Cam Whitemore, Brandon Slater and Caleb Daniels all are gone, but Neptune did a fantastic job in the transfer portal, picking up former Richmond star Tyler Burton, Maryland’s Hakim Hart and Washington State’s TJ Bamba, all of whom have significant high-level experience. Lance Ware (Kentucky) is a former top prospect, but didn’t amount to much during three seasons in Lexington. This may just be the change of scenery he needs.

The team’s leading scorer, Eric Dixon, is back, as well as Justin Moore, who played just 13 games last season after suffering a torn Achilles in the 2022 NCAA tournament. Chris Arcidiacono is back for the Wildcats as well. Jordan Longino started 2022 in the starting lineup, but was relegated to a bench role after a slow start.

At the very least, this Villanova team should be a contender for a NCAA tournament bid.

St. John’s Red Storm

2022-23: 18-15 (7-13 Big East), no postseason

St. John’s comes into the season being nationally relevant for the first time in about two decades, luring Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino to join them.

The hire was the biggest one of this year’s coaching carousel, and the question is how long it takes before he turns the program around.

Joel Soriano is the only returner. He was the team’s leading scorer at 15.2 points per game as well as the leading rebounder, with 11.9 per game. Technically, he’s not he only returner, as Drissa Traore and his 49 total minutes last year is back too.

Anyway, for the roster. Penn transfer Jordan Dingle and Harvard transfer Chris Ledlum are the safest bets to be key contributors after starring in the Ivy League. Naheim Alleyne was a role player for a national championship team last year. Former top prospect Zuby Ejiofor never caught on at Kansas as a freshman and now he’s here. There’s other guys who we don’t have time for right now, too.

As for freshman, it’s a gimme that Brady Dunlap and Simeon Wilcher will have immediate roles.

As for how the Red Storm will do this year? Man, it’s hard to have any idea. But there’s not a head coach in the league better than Pitino, and it’ll be a real show to watch.

Butler Bulldogs

2022-23: 14-18 (6-14 Big East), no postseason

It was a promising start to Thad Matta’s return to Indianapolis after an 8-3 start, but things went south quickly and resulted in a finish towards the bottom of the Big East.

The Bulldogs also lost a ton of players in the off-season. Butler lost each of its top five scorers, seven of eight who averaged more than two rebounds per game, and all of its players who averaged more than one assist per game.

The only notable returner is Jalen Thomas, who made 13 starts in 21 appearances to the tune of 7.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.

That leaves a big group of new players. St. John’s transfer Posh Alexander is here now after putting up decent career numbers with the Johnnies. However, he is coming off his worst collegiate season. Jahmyl Telfort (Northeastern), DJ Davis (UC Irvine), Landon Moore (St. Francis PA) and Andre Screen (Bucknell) all put up good numbers last year, albeit at the mid-major level.

Michigan State transfer Pierre Brooks has high-major experience, but didn’t put up eye-popping numbers with 3.6 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.

There are a few moving parts here. One is that there’s a new collection of players, and basically every player responsible for last year is gone. The second is Matta, who definitely struggled in his first season back on the sidelines since the 2016-17 season. He’ll need to catch back up or risk another losing season.

DePaul Blue Demons

2022-23: 10-23 (3-17 Big East), no postseason

It was another rough season for DePaul towards the bottom of the Big East.

DePaul was supposed to be decent last season, but that did not come close to happening. Now, the Blue Demons lost five of its top six scorers, four of the five top rebounders and two of three who averaged more than two assists per game.

Who is left? Da’Sean Nelson is the highest scorer returning after putting up 10.0 points per game. Caleb Murphy was limited to 15 games due to injury, but wasn’t bad in those games. Zion Cruz and Jalen Terry were role players who are back.

As for new guys, Texas Tech transfer Elijah Fisher is a former top prospect who never gelled with the Red Raiders and now he is here. Freshman Dramane Camara is a decent prospect, but it’s hard to know what his role will be. Chico Carter (South Carolina), Jeremiah Oden (Wyoming), Mac Etienne (UCLA) and Jaden Henley (Minnesota) all had varying roles as their last stops, but are all sure to find a spot for Tony Stubblefield.

Overall, it’s unlikely that DePaul will be much of anything this season. Someone needs to do something well, and it’s tough to see where that will come from.

Georgetown Hoyas

2022-23: 7-25 (2-18 Big East), no postseason

Georgetown has been bad for years now, and finally got the shot in the arm that it needed in the off-season, parting ways with Patrick Ewing after a disaster of a tenure and luring former Providence coach Ed Cooley to the nation’s capital.

When Georgetown pulled out an out-of-nowhere Big East tournament title in 2021, it was seen as the moment Ewing had it figured out. In retrospect it was all a big fluke and Ewing won just two league games the rest of his tenure.

So, it’s a big rebuilding job for Cooley, one of the better coaches in the country. It won’t be a quick one, though. The Hoyas have 11 new faces and the one with the most significant experience is Fairfield transfer Supreme Cook, a decent rebounder who should have a fairly large role. Kansas State transfer Ismael Massoud had a coming-out party in the Sweet 16 with 15 points, but it seemed to be a fluke after averaging 5.4 points per game on the season. Donteez Styles (North Carolina) and Jayden Epps (Illinois) are former high level prospects who will look to carve out a role.

Rowan Brumbaugh did not play as a freshman for Texas last season, so he will play his first year of college hoops this season. Cooley pulled four-star guard Drew Fielder from his commitment to him at Providence to come to Georgetown.

The only returners are Jay Heath and Wayne Bristol. Heath averaged 12.3 points per game, which is good, while Bristol was a bit player.

All in all, it won’t be a pretty first year for Cooley at Georgetown. He’s a great coach, but the talent just isn’t there. This was seen as one of the best hires of the carousel, and Cooley will get it done eventually. Just not yet.