AJ Hoops

By Aidan Joly

The 2023-24 season was a banner year for the Mountain West, easily the best in the current iteration of the league. It sent six teams to the NCAA tournament and seven finished with 21 or more wins.

This year, the league will have an opportunity to follow up on that big year. That being said, let’s take a look at each of the 11 teams heading into the 2024-25 season.

Utah State Aggies

2023-24: 28-7 (14-4 Mountain West), lost in NCAA second round

28 wins marked the most for the program since the 2018-19 season, and the Aggies won an NCAA tournament game for the first time since 2011 before falling to Purdue in the first round.

This year it will have a new head coach in former Youngstown State coach Jerrod Calhoun after Danny Sprinkle departed for Washington after just one season in Logan. The Utah State job has been a springboard gig in recent years, after Craig Smith lasted three seasons to take the job at Utah, Ryan Odom left after two to go to VCU, and now Sprinkle leaves after one year.

Calhoun will have some pieces to work with from last year’s team, including Ian Martinez, who averaged 13.3 PPG last year, and Mason Falslev, who averaged 11.3 PPG.

From the portal, Calhoun got six players who averaged in double figures last season. Dextar Akanno is the only one that comes from a power league after he averaged 10.9 PPG at Oregon State. The rest include Deyton Albury (17.0 PPG at Queens), Tucker Anderson (14.5 PPG at Central Arkansas), Drake Allen (11.9 PPG at Utah Valley), Aubin Gateretse (11.6 PPG at Stetson) and Braden Housley (10.8 PPG at Southern Utah). An underrated pickeup is Pavle Stosic, who played sparingly at Gonzaga.

Three-star recruit Isaac Davis joins as a freshman.

The Aggies have been in the tournament five of the past six seasons. On paper, they have the talent to do it again.

Nevada Wolf Pack

2023-24: 26-8 (13-5 Mountain West), lost in NCAA first round

The Wolf Pack turned in another good season and was on the way to winning a tournament game before a second half collapse against Dayton that sent them packing.

Nevada returns a healthy dose of talent for coach Steve Alford. That includes Nick Davidson, who averaged 12.2 PPG, Tre Coleman, who averaged 8.5 PPG, along with depth pieces in K.J. Hymes, Daniel Foster and Tyler Rolison.

They also loaded up with a couple good portal additions, including Kobe Sanders, who had 19.6 PPG at Cal Poly, Xavier DuSell, who had 11.5 PPG at Fresno State, and Brandon Love, who had 10.4 PPG at Texas State. Yuto Yamanounchi-Williams (Wyoming) and Chuck Bailey III (Evansville) should provide depth as well.

Nevada has good depth, but seems to have a lack of top guys. Still, they should be able to compete in the top half of the league.

Boise State Broncos

2023-24: 22-11 (13-5 Mountain West), lost in NCAA First Four

Boise State was a team that felt underseeded in the NCAA tournament, but failed to make it out of the play-in round in Dayton.

This year’s addition of the Broncos should be back at the top of the league. Leading scorer Tyson Degenhart is back after he averaged 16.7 points per game last year, as is O’Mar Stanley, who had 12.7 PPG. Those two should create one of the best, if not the best, duo in the league.

Coach Leon Rice got them a third guy in the portal to create what may end up being a great trio. That new add is Alvaro Cardenas, who averaged 13.2 PPG at San Jose State last season. He also added Javan Buchanan, who averaged 20.5 PPG at the NAIA level last year, Dominic Parolin, who had 11.5 PPG at Lehigh, and Dylan Anderson, who last played for Arizona in 2022-23. Anderson, a seven-footer, is a breakout candidate.

The Broncos have the size – every player except Cardenas is six-foot-four or taller – to be one of the better teams in the country. Second weekend may be the goal in Boise.

UNLV Runnin’ Rebels

2023-24: 21-13 (12-6 Mountain West), lost in NIT quarterfinals

UNLV was the odd one out of the top seven in the Mountain West to miss the NCAA tournament, but still made a nice run to the quarterfinals of the NIT.

This year’s edition of the Runnin’ Rebels will be an interesting team. It has to replace the production of the Boone brothers as well as Luis Rodriguez. It does return leading scorer Dedan Thomas Jr., who had 13.6 PPG, as well as Jalen Hill, who had 10.7 PPG. Rob Whaley Jr. also returns and will look to take a step up this season.

Coach Kevin Kruger went out and got Oral Roberts transfer Jailen Bedford, who averaged 14.6 PPG for the Golden Eagles, as well as DePaul transfer Jaden Henley, who averaged 8.6 PPG. JUCO transfer Jeremiah Cherry will have a shot at good minutes as well.

Four-star freshman James Evans joins the fold, as well as a pair of three-stars in Papa N’Diaye and Jacob Bannarbie.

The Runnin’ Rebels likely won’t finish in the top three, but could certainly be in the conversation for the program’s first NCAA tournament bid since 2013.

San Diego State Aztecs

2023-24: 26-11 (11-7 Mountain West), lost in Sweet 16

Out of the six from the league to make the NCAA tournament, SDSU was the only one to make the second weekend, which followed up a trip to the national championship game in 2023.

It’s also a team that lost its entire core, forcing coach Brian Dutcher to bring in a ton of new players.

He brought in three very solid transfers in Wayne McKinney III, who averaged 13.5 PPG at crosstown San Diego, Jared Coleman-Jones, who had 11.0 PPG at Middle Tennessee, and Nicholas Boyd, who had 9.7 PPG at Florida Atlantic. Finally, Kimo Ferrari was a role guy at Brown.

The only notable returners are Reese Waters, who had 9.6 PPG, and role player Miles Byrd. Keep an eye on BJ Davis, who played sparingly last year but is poised to take on a much larger role.

SDSU brings in a pair of four-star recruits in Pharoah Compton and Taj Degourville, as well as three-star Thokbor Majak. Redshirt Magoon Gwath did not play last year, but should have a role as well.

The rebuild was handled quite well. Expect the Aztecs to be right back in the tournament next March.

New Mexico Lobos

2023-24: 26-10 (10-8 Mountain West), lost in NCAA first round

New Mexico was one of the main characters in the bubble conversation last year before ripping off four wins in four days at the conference tournament and getting the auto-bid. It was a sexy upset pick in the first round, but lost to Clemson.

This year, Richard Pitino’s Lobos could be the best team in the league. New Mexico returns Donovan Dent, who averaged 14.1 PPG last year and may end up being the best player in the conference. Also returning is Nelly Junior Joseph, who had 8.9 PPG and Mustapha Amzil and Tru Washington, who had 6.7 and 6.6 PPG respectively.

Pitino brought in CJ Noland, who averaged 10.9 PPG at North Texas last year, and three high-major transfers in Atiki Ally Atiki (BYU), Filip Borovicanin (Arizona) and Ibrahim Sacko (Georgia Tech).

Jovan Milicevic highlights a decent freshman class. Milicevic should have a big role from the start.

With all of this talent, the Lobos should be the clear favorite to win the league. The level of talent is exactly why.

Colorado State Rams

2023-24: 25-11 (10-8 Mountain West), lost in NCAA first round

The Rams lost a good amount of talent from last year, including Isaiah Stevens, who was probably the second best player in the conference. He was one of 10 players to depart.

That forced coach Niko Medved into rebuilding nearly the full roster.

The biggest piece back is Nique Clifford, who averaged 12.2 PPG. Jalen Lake (6.1 PPG) is the only other notable guy back.

It’ll be a young team that includes five freshmen and two of the transfers being sophomores. Two of the new transfers averaged in the double digits at their last stops, those being Keshawn Williams, who had 17.9 PPG at Northern Illinois in 2022-23 but didn’t play last year. Bowen Born had 13.3 PPG at Northern Iowa last year. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson had 9.1 PPG at a freshman at Little Rock.

There is talent here. But with how young it is and how deep the league is, winning consistently may be a challenge.

Wyoming Cowboys

2023-24: 15-17 (8-10 Mountain West), no postseason

This is where the pretty emphatic divide starts between the top seven and the bottom four.

This year’s edition of the Cowboys will have a new head coach in Sundance Wicks, who comes in after one season at Green Bay to replace Jeff Linder, who left to become the top assistant at Texas Tech.

It’ll be a big rebuild. The only notable returners are Oleg Kojenets, who averaged 3.7 PPG, and Kobe Newton, who had 4.5 PPG.

It’s not exactly clear who will be the number one. The leader of the nine transfers is Touko Tainamo, who had 15.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game at Denver last year, while Jordan Nesbitt averaged 10.2 PPG at Hampton. Dontaie Allen once played at Kentucky and averaged 8.2 PPG at Western Kentucky last year.

Jehvion Starwood is a three-star recruit.

It’s an older, experienced roster for sure. However, it’s tough to build a winning team with a first-year coach who is behind the eight ball in resources with the rest of the league.

Fresno State Bulldogs

2023-24: 12-21 (4-14 Mountain West), no postseason

After another lackluster season for the Bulldogs, they parted ways with former coach Justin Hutson after six seasons with the program.

Vance Walberg, a successful area high school coach who was once the coach of Pepperdine and served as an assistant on NBA staffs, takes the reigns to lead the program. 

Walberg has already shown an eye for getting talent, particularly from the JUCO ranks. He picked up Amar Auguillard, the Division I JUCO player of the year from Triton College, where he averaged 22.7 PPG on a team that went 34-3 and went all the way to the JUCO national championship game. Jasir Trimble and Alex Crawford are also both talent JUCO pickups that should have a role. New addition Mor Seck averaged 4.0 PPG at Hawaii, and Elijah Prince redshirted at Drake.

The only notable returner is Jalen Weaver, who averaged 7.4 PPG. 

Freshmen Makham Diouf and Brian Amuneke join the fold. 

The talent here is promising. Fresno likely won’t be a true contender, but has a great chance to improve on last year’s campaign.

San Jose State Spartans

2023-24: 9-23 (2-16 Mountain West), no postseason

It’s going to be a tall task to replace much of your top talent after winning just two league games a year ago.

But that’s what San Jose State and coach Tim Miles will attempt to do after barely returning any of the roster. All that is back is Latrell Davis, who averaged 5.7 PPG, Adrame Diongue, who averaged 4.8 PPG, and Robert Vaihola, who averaged 7.6 PPG in 2022-23.

Some decent transfers come in, led by Jose Uduje, who averaged 8.7 PPG at Utah State and won the league’s sixth man of the year award. Sadaidriene Hall had 10.7 PPG at Stephen F. Austin and Donovan Yap had 9.0 PPG at Fresno State. Three players have high-major experience, including Will McClendon (UCLA), Chol Marial (Oregon State) and Sadraque NgaNga (Seton Hall). No notable freshmen come in.

There is experience on this year’s team, but the talent and wins may not be there. It’s a worrying situation for Miles, who is 38-60 in three seasons at San Jose State.

Air Force Falcons

2023-24: 9-22 (2-16 Mountain West), no postseason

It is obviously excruciatingly difficult to bring in talent and win at a service academy. Air Force has only made the NCAA tournament four times in its history and has not made it since 2006.

It’s a challenge task that Joe Scott has dealt with for 15 years now. This time around, he will need to replace the production of Rytis Petraitis, his leading scorer who transferred to California. 

Beau Becker (13.8 PPG), Ethan Taylor (13.5 PPG) and Jeffrey Mills (9.1 PPG) are in the position to be the go-to guys for the Falcons. Other than that, not much there.

It’s unlikely, to say the least, that Air Force will get to double digit wins total this year.

By Aidan Joly

The 2024-25 season begins with a lot of talent in the American Athletic Conference, but it is fair to say that the league is top-heavy with the likes of Memphis, FAU, South Florida and UAB followed by a clear division with the rest.

However, that doesn’t mean a few more teams can’t make noise. Let’s take a look at each of the 13 that make up the league this season.

South Florida Bulls

2023-24: 25-8 (16-2 AAC), lost in NIT second round

It was a historically good season for the program in Amir Abdur-Rahim’s first season at the helm, winning 25 games for the first time in program history and its 16 conference wins also represented the most in program history. The Bulls reached the postseason for the first time since 2019 and the NCAA/NIT for the first time since 2012.

A solid plethora of talent returns. Kobe Knox (8.4 PPG), Jayden Reid (6.8 PPG) and Brandon Stroud (5.2 PPG) all return, as does Kasen Jennings, who averaged 6.2 PPG in 2022-23.

Kennesaw State transfer Quincy Ademokoya, who played for Abdur-Rahim with the Owls and averaged 10.2 PPG last season, joins the Bulls. Jamille Reynolds (Cincinnati) and De’Ante Green (Florida State) were both role players at their last stops. JUCO guard Jimmie Williams is a good talent.

Four-star prospect C.J. Brown and three-star Kameren Wright are the freshman adds here.

It’s fair to say that South Florida will be due for a step back, but rebuilds are something Abdur-Rahim has excelled at.

Florida Atlantic Owls

2023-24: 25-9 (14-4 AAC), lost in NCAA first round

It’s a new era in Boca Raton. After the back-to-back amazing seasons, former head coach Dusty May and the rest of the key pieces from the Final Four team in Johnell Davis and Vladislav Goldin are gone.

The replacement on the sidelines is former Baylor assistant John Jakus. Thankfully for Jakus, the program’s recent success has made FAU a transfer destination. He picked up KyKy Tandy, who averaged 17.8 PPG at Jacksonville State and formerly played at Xavier, Ken Evans Jr., who had 18.8 PPG at Jackson State, and Baba Miller, who had 7.6 PPG at Florida State. He also grabbed Leland Walker, who had 15.4 PPG at Eastern Kentucky.

That’ll be the core of the team. The only returner is Tre Carroll, who had 4.0 PPG last season. Six freshman come in, none of them truly heralded.

The depth may be a question here, but FAU still has the top-end talent to compete towards the top of the league.

Charlotte 49ers

2023-24: 19-12 (13-5 AAC), no postseason

Things went well in Aaron Fearne’s first season in Charlotte, but it did not make the postseason.

Nik Graves (10.3 PPG) and Robert Braswell IV (6.5 PPG) are the key returners and will be expected to take on a larger role. Jackson Threadgill (5.7 PPG) is also back after being solid depth piece last season.

As for the new guys, Nika Metskhvarishvili was the leading scorer at Louisiana Monroe with 12.3 PPG along with 5.8 RPG, Kylan Blackmon averaged 11.4 PPG at Coastal Carolina last season, Jeremiah Oden had 7.6 PPG at DePaul, and Giancarlo Rosado had 5.0 PPG at Florida Atlantic.

Unranked guard Ben Bradford is the only freshman.

There is a decent roster in Charlotte, but probably not enough to compete towards the top of the league.

UAB Blazers

2023-24: 23-12 (12-6 AAC), lost in NCAA first round

The defending league champions who gave San Diego State a scare in the first round of the tournament, the Blazers will again compete for a league title under coach Andy Kennedy.

UAB will return much of its talent. That all revolves around Yaxel Lendeborg, the team’s leading scorer, who had 13.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game last season. Efrem Johnson also returns after he had 10.7 PPG, Alejandro Vasquez is back after having 10.9 PPG, as is Christian Coleman, who had 7.2 PPG at 4.6 RPG.

As for transfer adds, it beings on Tyren Moore, who had 17.0 PPG at Georgia Southern, Greg Gordon, who had 16.0 PPG at Iona, and Bradley Ezewiro, who had 12.4 PPG at Saint Louis. Jaborri McGhee, a JUCO add, also seems like a great fit.

Three-star forward Makhi Miles headlines the freshmen on the roster.

This is a very good roster. UAB will once again be towards the top of the league in 2024-25.

Memphis Tigers

2023-24: 22-10 (11-7 AAC), no postseason

It’s never an off-season without some kind of Memphis discourse. There’s been plenty of that this summer and fall. It came after a season where Memphis was at one point 15-2 and 4-0 in the AAC, before it went 7-8 the rest of the way and failed to win an AAC tournament game.

However, if Memphis and Penny Hardaway can find a way to put it together, the Tigers have some talent, nearly all new adds.

PJ Haggerty leads the way of that group after he averaged 21.2 PPG at Tulsa last season. Colby Rogers had 15.5 PPG at Wichita State, and Tyrese Hunter had 11.1 PPG at Texas. PJ Carter (UTSA), Tyreek Smith (SMU) and Baraka Okojie (George Mason) were all solid at their last stops. Dain Dainja (Illinois) and Moussa Cisse (Ole Miss) were role guys for power conference teams.

The only returner is Nick Jourdain, who had 6.5 PPG.

The lone freshman is top-100 prospect Jaden Harris, a far cry from the high-level recruits Hardaway is used to pulling in.

Maybe Hardaway and Memphis can stay away from off-the-court drama this season. If it can, it has a real chance to make noise and maybe be the best team in the league.

North Texas Mean Green

2023-24: 19-15 (10-8 AAC), lost in NIT second round

It was a solid season for North Texas in Ross Hodge’s first season at the helm that ended in the postseason, but the Mean Green are in store for a rebuild.

No player who averaged more than 4.1 PPG, that being Rondel Walker, is back. Moulaye Sissoko is a solid rebounder, who had 4.7 RPG in 16.5 minutes per contest.

So, Hodge had to go to the portal. He got a solid group led by Atin Wright, who had 14.1 PPG from Drake and shot over 40% from three, Latrell Jossell had 12.9 PPG at Stephen F. Austin, and Jonathan Massie had 11.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game at Longwood. Jasper Floyd had a productive 9.9 PPG at Fairfield, and Grant Newell was a solid role guy at California.

North Texas brings in a pair of three-stars, guard Tyran Mason and center Baron Smith.

East Carolina Pirates

2023-24: 15-18 (7-11 AAC), no postseason

It was a tough season for the Pirates in Michael Schwartz’s third season in Greenville, but seven wins represented the most since it joined the league in 2014.

The Pirates do return leading scorer RJ Felton, who had 17.3 PPG, so that is something positive. He’s the only returner who averaged in double digits, though. Cam Hayes had 7.6 PPG.

There were some decent portal adds. Jayshayne Soumaoro averaged 12.7 PPG at Gardner-Webb and Jordan Riley had 12.4 PPG at Temple. Riley has potential for an even larger role at ECU. CJ Walker had 7.5 PPG at UCF and Yann Farell had 7.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game at St. Bonaventure.

One player to watch is center Cyr Malonga, who only had 2.1 PPG and 2.0 RPG, but started to come into his own in more consistent minutes towards the end of the year. He had 10 and 9 in a game against SMU at the end of the year.

There are good young pieces here, but there will surely be some growing pains.

Tulsa Golden Hurricane

2023-24: 16-15 (7-11 AAC), no postseason

The Golden Hurricane had an 11-win improvement in year two of the Eric Konkol era after a dreadful 5-25 campaign in 2022-23. It also won six more league games after going 1-17 two seasons ago.

Tulsa will bring back a number of key pieces. That group of returners is headlined by Jared Garcia, who averaged 9.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game last season, as well as Isaiah Barnes, who had 8.2 PPG. Tyshawn Archie had 7.4 PPG as well. Finally, Keaston Willis only played two games before a season-ending injury. In those two games though, he had 12.5 PPG.

As for new players, they bring on Dwon Odom, who had 11.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game at Georgia State. He is the headliner. Braeden Carrington was a solid role guy at Minnesota. Justin Amadi had 4.9 PPG at James Madison in 2022-23.

Konkol brings in two very good prospects. Guard Jaye Nash is a four-star hailing from outside Atlanta, as well as three-star center Ian Smikle. Both are top-70 prospects.

Tulsa does lose a lot, but brings back good talent. We will see how they can compete in the AAC.

Tulane Green Wave

2023-24: 14-17 (5-13 AAC), no postseason

Tulane took a dip after a 20-win 2022-23 season, winning just five conference games after going 12-6 in the league a year before.

No player with more than 3.6 PPG last season returns. So, coach Ron Hunter had to rebuild the roster.

Four of his five transfers in Tyler Ringgold (Texas A&M), Kaleb Banks (Indiana), Mari Jordan (Georgia) and Rowan Brumbaugh (Georgetown) were all on high-major rosters last season, but only one – Brumbaugh – played consistently, where he averaged 8.6 PPG. Ringgold and Jordan did not play at all. To supplement some experience, Hunter brought in Michael Eley, who had 13.2 PPG at Siena.

Three great freshmen come in: guard Kyle Greene and forward Kameron Williams are both four-star prospects, while Stefan Cicic is a three-star. All should have roles.

It’s worth noting that there are no seniors on this team. That bodes well for the future. But for now, it might be another tough year for Tulane.

Temple Owls

2023-24: 16-20 (5-13 AAC), no postseason

It was a difficult first season in Adam Fisher’s first season at the helm at Temple, but he showed off his recruiting prowess in this cycle.

Temple had three huge pickups that should send it towards the top of the American. The biggest is perhaps Jamal Mashburn Jr., a guy who averaged 14.8 PPG on a New Mexico team that won the Mountain West. Lynn Greer III is another big pickup after he averaged 11.2 PPG at crosstown rival St. Joseph’s last season. Elijah Gray had 8.7 PPG in limited minutes at Fordham, while Jameel Brown was a depth piece at Penn State.

The new big transfers will be supported by a nice cast of returners that includes Steve Settle III (8.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG), Shane Dezonie (7.7 PPG), Matteo Picarelli (7.6 PPG) and Zion Stanford (6.6 PPG).

Top-40 prospect Dillon Battie will have a role from the jump, while the Owls also bring in three-star prospects Aiden Tobiasen and Babatunde Durodola.

This is a Temple team that will take a big jump up. Double digit conference wins should be expected.

Wichita State Shockers

2023-24: 15-19 (5-13 AAC), no postseason

The Shockers struggled in Paul Mills’ first season with the program, but a good off-season has Wichita State in a good place heading into the season.

Mills was able to retain two double digit scorers in Xavier Bell (11.6 PPG) and Harlond Beverly (10.9 PPG, 5.1 RPG), as well as Quincy Ballard, who had 7.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last season. Ronnie DeGray III is also back and should take a step up this season.

A solid transfer class comes to Wichita. The group is led by AJ McGinnis, who had 13.2 PPG at Lipscomb, as well as Corey Washington, who had 16.1 PPG on a Saint Peter’s team that went to the NCAA tournament. Justin Hill was a role player at Georgia. Jalen Meeks played in five games at Arizona State. Finally, they bring in Matej Bosnjak, who played professionally in Croatia last season.

A pair of three-star prospects, Zion Pimpkin and TJ Williams, join the program.

There’s a lot to like about this Wichita State team. Expect it to make some noise and have a chance at making a run to the NCAA tournament.

Rice Owls

2023-24: 11-21 (5-13 AAC), no postseason

Rice really struggled in 2023-24, resulting in the firing of coach Scott Pera after seven years at the helm.

Replacing him is Rob Lanier, who spent the past two seasons at SMU and was at Georgia State before that.

Simply put, there is not much to like about this roster. Trae Broadnax (USC Upstate) and Kellen Amos (Central Connecticut) both averaged double figures at their previous stops, but it was at the low-major level. Three players followed Lanier to Rice, the most productive of whom was Jalen Smith, who had 6.0 PPG. As for other guys, Caden Powell had 5.5 PPG at Wyoming and Jimmy Oladokun Jr. had 5.7 PPG at San Diego.

The only notable returner is Alem Huseinovic, who had 7.5 PPG last season. The only freshman recruit is top-40 guard Aaron Powell, a good one, but a freshman can only do so much here.

It’s going to be really tough sledding for Lanier in year one. It will just be about making games competitive.

UTSA Roadrunners

2023-24: 11-21 (5-13 AAC), no postseason

A third straight season with five or less league wins resulted in the firing of Steve Henson after eight seasons with UTSA.

In his place is Austin Claunch, a 34-year-old already on his second head coaching job after serving as the head coach of Nicholls from 2018-2023 before he left to be an assistant coach at Alabama last season.

A few players with high-major experience come in. Primo Spears, who has become something of a college basketball nomad, is the leader of that sect after he averaged 10.3 PPG at Florida State. He will be on his fourth school in four years. Damari Monsanto averaged 5.1 PPG across 11 games for Wake Forest last season.

From there, it is mid-major guys with varying levels of success. Tai’Reon Joseph averaged 20.5 PPG at Southern last season and Skylar Wicks, who had 13.7 PPG at Incarnate Word, are the only double digit scorers at their previous stops. South Alabama transfer Marcus Millender (9.7 PPG) and Buffalo transfer Jonnivius Smith (8.0 PPG) came the closest. Finally, Raekwon Horton had 6.9 PPG at James Madison.

David Hermes comes in from JUCO school Indian Hills.

Claunch is one of the better young minds in coaching, but it will be a tough season for him in year one. UTSA doesn’t have a ton of basketball resources, making it a challenge for them to compete on a nightly basis.

By Aidan Joly

The 2024-25 edition of SEC basketball will have plenty of intrigue.

In 2024, the league sent two teams as far as the Elite Eight, and Alabama made the Final Four for the first time in program history.

This season, the league adds two massive brands from the Big 12, two of the most talked-about head coaching changes in the country at Arkansas and Kentucky.

Overall, the league could boast a few top-10 teams in the nation heading into the new season, with the top of the league at the top of the sport nationally. Let’s take a look at each of the 16 teams.

Tennessee Volunteers

2023-24: 27-9 (14-4 SEC), lost in Elite Eight

The Vols had a very good season in 2023-24 and it resulted in a regular season championship and a run to the Elite Eight.

Despite the loss of All-American Dalton Knecht, Tennessee has the chance to have another season similar to last year.

Rick Barnes’ team returns double digit scorer Zakai Ziegler, who should be the go-to guy this year. It will also return a pair of role players in Jordan Gainey and Jahmai Mashack, who both should take a step up this season.

Tennessee got one of the best mid-major players in the portal in North Florida’s Chaz Lanier, who averaged 19.7 PPG last season. It also brings in Darlinstone Dubar, who averaged 17.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game at Hofstra. Igor Milicic Jr. had 12.8 PPG at Charlotte, while Felix Okpara was a solid role guy at Ohio State.

Borderline top-60 prospect Bishop Boswell may have an early role as a freshman in Knoxville.

Overall, Tennessee will be a very good team that will have expectations come March.

South Carolina Gamecocks

2023-24: 26-8 (13-5 SEC), lost in NCAA first round

The Gamecocks were one of the biggest surprises of the season last year, finishing tied for second in the SEC and won 26 total games after being picked last place in the preseason poll. 26 wins was tied for the most in program history, albeit it came to an early close when it lost in the first round of the tournament.

Lamont Paris’ group will bring back two key pieces from the 2023-24 squad, those being Collin Murray-Boyles, who averaged 10.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game as a freshman in 2023-24, as well as Myles Stute, who averaged 8.3 PPG. Role players Jacobi Wright and Zachary Davis, who averaged 5.9 PPG each, are both back as well.

New additions to this squad include Jamarii Thomas, who averaged 16.9 PPG at Norfolk State, and Nick Pringle, who averaged 6.8 PPG at conference rival Alabama.

Top-40 prospect Cameron Scott, a six-foot-five forward, is the key freshman here.

The Gamecocks lost a lot, and will have to prove that it can compete at a high level this year.

Auburn Tigers

2023-24: 27-8 (13-5 SEC), lost in NCAA first round

Auburn is the defending SEC champions, but the postseason run came to a screeching halt when it was a NCAA tournament upset victim, falling to Yale.

However, Auburn will bounce back in 2024-25. It returns Johni Broome, who courted with the NBA after averaging 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Chad Baker-Mazara, who averaged 10.0 PPG, and Denver Jones, who averaged 9.1 PPG, are both back too. Role guys Dylan Cardwell and Chaney Johnson are both back too.

Coach Bruce Pearl was able to bring in JP Pegues, who averaged 18.4 PPG at Furman, as well as Miles Kelly, who averaged 13.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game at Georgia Tech. Ja’Heim Hudson had 5.4 PPG at SMU.

Auburn also brings in top-40 guard Tahaad Pettiford as well as top-60 forward Jahki Howard. Pettiford may have an immediate role.

This is an Auburn team that should once again contend for an SEC title. It has the talent to do so.

Kentucky Wildcats

2023-24: 23-10 (13-5 SEC), lost in NCAA first round

Kentucky will begin a new era for the first time in nearly a decade and a half.

After a disappointing NCAA tournament exit, John Calipari – who had been in Lexington since 2009, won a national title in 2012, brought the program to four Final Fours and won more than 400 games – left the program to take the job at Arkansas.

In his place is former BYU coach Mark Pope, an alum of the school.

Pope had a long to-do list. This year’s Kentucky team does not return a single player from last year.

Pope brought in a mix of good high-major talent and stud mid-major players. From the high-majors, he got Jaxon Robinson (14.2 PPG) to follow him from BYU, got Andrew Carr (13.5 PPG) from Wake Forest, Otega Oweh (11.4 PPG) from Oklahoma, Kerr Kriisa (11.0 PPG) from West Virginia and Brandon Garrison (7.5 PPG) from Oklahoma State.

A number of mid-major players will make the step up. Kentucky brought in Ansley Almonor (16.4 PPG) from Fairleigh Dickinson, Amari Williams (12.2 PPG) from Drexel, Koby Brea (11.1 PPG) from Dayton and Lamont Butler (9.4 PPG) from San Diego State.

It also brings in Collin Chandler, who was ranked in the top 40 in the class of 2022 rankings and is coming to college basketball after a two-year Christian mission trip. Guard Travis Perry is a top-75 prospect.

It’s all new faces in Kentucky. How will it do?

Alabama Crimson Tide

2023-24: 25-12 (13-5 SEC), lost in national semifinals

It was a dream season for Alabama in 2023-24, winning 25 games and advancing to the Final Four for the first time in program history.

This year’s team may end up being the best in the SEC. The Tide will return Mark Sears, a second team All-American last year who will have a case as the best point guard in the country this season. The tide will also return a big part of the frontcourt in Grant Nelson, who averaged 11.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season. Important role player Latrell Whitesell Jr. (8.9 PPG) is also back, as is Jarin Stevenson, who averaged 5.9 PPG as a freshman and showed flashes of brilliance. Expect him to take a step up in 2024-25.

Coach Nate Oats also brought in four good transfers, highlighted by Chris Youngblood, who averaged 15.3 PPG at South Florida. Houston Mallette, who averaged 14.7 PPG at Pepperdine is here, as is Clifford Omoruyi, who averaged 10.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game at Rutgers while being a terrific defender. Aden Holloway was a solid role player at Auburn.

A good freshman class is also here, headlined by five-star prospect Derrion Reid. Two more top-30 prospects in Aiden Sherrell and Labaron Philon also come to Tuscaloosa, as does top-70 prospect Naasir Cunningham.

This Alabama team should be the best in the SEC. The sentiment around Alabama in recent years is that it’s a when, not an if, the Tide win a national title. Could this be the year?

Florida Gators

2023-24: 24-12 (11-7 SEC), lost in NCAA first round

Florida was a solid surprise in 2023-24 in Todd Golden’s second season at the helm, returning to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2021 and winning 22+ games for the first time since 2016-17.

The Gators may be even better this season. Florida does lose some key guys, but does return Walter Clayton Jr., who averaged 17.6 points per game. Double-digit scorer Will Richard returns as well, as does important role player Alex Conlon. Micah Handlogten, who averaged 5.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, will miss the entire season after breaking his leg in the SEC tournament last March.

Golden brought in a great transfer in Alijah Martin, who was a big part of the FAU teams of the past two seasons and averaged 13.1 PPG last season. Sam Alexis had 10.8 PPG at Chattanooga last season, while Rueben Chinyelu played sparingly at Washington State.

Four-star prospect Isaiah Brown may be the best freshman that Florida brings in, but seven-foot-nine(!) Olivier Rioux is the one going viral. If he gets any sort of playing time, he will be must-watch.

Texas Longhorns

2023-24: 21-13 (9-9 Big 12), lost in NCAA second round

The first of two additions to the SEC this season. Texas is coming off a solid season, winning an NCAA tournament game for the third straight season.

It does not return much outside of role players Kadin Shedrick and Chendall Weaver, neither of whom averaged more than 7.7 points per game.

The transfers that coach Rodney Terry brought in are the keys here. Jordan Pope is the leader of the pack after he averaged 17.6 PPG at Oregon State. Tramon Mark, quietly one of the best guards in the nation, comes to Austin after averaging 16.2 PPG at Arkansas. Arthur Kaluma is also a big add after he averaged 14.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game at Kansas State. Two double digit scorers from mid-major darling Indiana State, Jayson Kent and Julian Larry, also arrive.

Texas successfully recruited five-star guard Tre Johnson, who should have a big role immediately. Top-100 prospect Nic Codie also arrives and may be a little bit of a project.

Overall, the Longhorns have the talent to compete in the SEC. Winning in the Big 12 certainly translates to winning in the SEC.

Texas A&M Aggies

2023-24: 21-15 (9-9 SEC), lost in NCAA second round

It was a good season in College Station, winning an NCAA tournament game for the first time since 2018 and nearly advancing to the Sweet 16 when it took Houston to overtime in the round of 32.

It returns good talent. Wade Taylor IV will be at the forefront after becoming one of the better scorers in the country, averaging 19.1 PPG last season. Henry Coleman III also had a solid season, averaging 8.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Depth pieces Soloman Washington, Manny Obaseki, Jace Carter, Andersson Garcia and Hayden Hefner, all of whom averaged at least 5.0 PPG, are back.

Three solid transfers come in. Zhuric Phelps averaged 14.7 PPG at SMU, Pharrel Payne had 10.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game at Minnesota, and C.J. Wilcher had 7.7 PPG at Nebraska.

A trio of four-star freshmen, Andre Mills, George Turkson and Chris McDermott, are the top recruits. It will be interesting to see if any of them have a big role.

This Texas A&M team returns a lot of necessary talent. It should be able to compete in the league.

LSU Tigers

2023-24: 17-16 (9-9 SEC), lost in NIT first round

Despite missing the NCAA tournament things went much better in Baton Rouge in Matt McMahon’s second season, improving to 9-9 in the SEC after a 2-16 league campaign in 2022-23.

This year’s Tigers do not return any double digit scorers. Tyrell Ward leads the group of returners after averaging 9.1 PPG last season, while Jalen Reed had 7.9 PPG and Mike Williams III had 7.2 PPG. Role guys Derek Fountain and Daimion Collins, a former five-star prospect, also return.

McMahon brought in three Division I transfers. Jordan Sears was great at UT Martin and had 21.6 points per game, while Cam Carter had 14.6 PPG at Kansas State and should be a key factor for LSU. Dji Bailey had 10.2 PPG at Richmond.

Curtis Gives and Vyctorius Miller are both top-50 prospects, while Robert Miller is in the top 100.

The SEC is unforgiving. McMahon’s teams always play hard and are always a tough out, but that may not translate to consistent wins.

Oklahoma Sooners

2023-24: 20-12 (8-10 Big 12), no postseason

Oklahoma was once in the top 10 of the AP poll last season, but was inconsistent in league play and missed the tournament.

Not a ton of talent returns. The main guy is Jalon Moore, who averaged 11.2 points per game. Sam Godwin is a solid depth piece and is also back.

Coach Porter Moser brought in mid-major players to take the step up. Duke Miles is the leader of that group after he averaged 17.5 PPG at High Point. Brycen Goodine, who has played at Providence and Syracuse, had a solid season with 13.9 PPG at Fairfield. Other solid mid-major players in Jadon Jones (Long Beach State) and Kobe Elvis (Dayton) are also here. Glenn Taylor Jr. (St. John’s) and Mohamed Wague (Alabama) had small roles on high-major teams.

The Sooners have some tools in place. It should be able to compete somewhere in the middle of the pack.

Mississippi State Bulldogs

2023-24: 21-14 (8-10 SEC), lost in NCAA first round

Mississippi State earned a second straight NCAA bid in 2024, the first time the program has had back-to-back tournament bids since 2008 and 2009.

Leading scorer Josh Hubbard, who averaged 17.1 points per game as a freshman, will return. Expect him to blossom into one of the best players in the SEC. Cameron Matthews, who averaged 9.4 PPG and earned all-defense honors, also returns.

Coach Chris Jans brought in Kanye Clary, who averaged 16.7 points per game at Penn State, will be in a big role from the jump. Claudell Harris Jr. had 13.7 PPG at Boston College and Riley Kugel had 9.2 PPG at Florida. All of these guys will great a very solid backcourt. In addition, RJ Melendez had 9.6 PPG at Georgia and will be relied on in the frontcourt.

Dellquan Warren is a top-100 prospect, while Eric Paymon is a decent four-star.

This team may take some time to gel, but it can be dangerous team come the end of the season.

Ole Miss Rebels

2023-24: 20-12 (7-11 SEC), no postseason

Ole Miss started the season 18-3 in Chris Beard’s first season the helm, but the schedule caught up with them and the Rebels lost nine of their final 11 games of the season.

The Rebels will return three double digit scorers from last year’s team: Matthew Murell (16.9 PPG), Jaylen Murray (13.8 PPG) and Jaemyn Brakefield (12.9 PPG). Depth piece TJ Caldwell (5.9 PPG) is also back.

Ole Miss brought in a good blend of talent from the portal. Floor general Sean Pedulla likely headlines that group after averaging 16.4 PPG at Virginia Tech. Dre Davis averaged 15.0 PPG at Seton Hall and will be a key member of the frontcourt. Mikeal Brown-Jones, who averaged 18.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game at UNC Greensboro and Davon Barnes, who had 13.5 PPG at Sam Houston State, are good frontcourt additons.

John Bol is a top-60 prospect coming to Oxford.

It should be an exciting year for Ole Miss. The pieces are there to compete in the top half of the SEC.

Georgia Bulldogs

2023-24: 20-17 (6-12 SEC), lost in NIT semifinals

Georgia found itself in the NCAA tournament conversation in late January as it sat at 14-5, but the wheels fell off and the Bulldogs lost 11 of 14 between the rest of the regular season and the SEC tournament.

However, things ended on a high note as it ended up going all the way to the semifinals of the NIT.

It will look to keep the momentum going heading into this season. Silas Demary Jr. and Blue Cain are the only noteworthy returners, though. From there it is all new players. Coach Mike White re-tooled and went and got Tyrin Lawrence, who had 13.8 PPG at Vanderbilt. He also got Mount St. Mary’s teammates Dakota Leffew (17.6 PPG) and De’Shayne Montgomery (13.2 PPG). Justin Abson should be a solid depth piece after he had 7.9 PPG at Appalachian State. RJ Godfrey is an intriguing piece after he averaged 6.1 PPG at Clemson.

Georgia has a very good recruiting class, headlined by five-star forward/center Asa Newell, top-50 center Somto Cyril and a pair of four-stars in Savo Drezgic and Jordyn Kee.

It feels like a lot will need to go right for Georgia to really compete in as strong a league as the SEC, but the Bulldogs will never go away quietly.

Arkansas Razorbacks

2023-24: 16-17 (6-12 SEC), no postseason

Last year was a disappointing season in Fayetteville, leading to coach Eric Musselman to depart and take the job at USC.

Taking his place is the dean of SEC coaches, John Calipari, who comes to Arkansas after 15 seasons leading Kentucky.

It’s an entirely new roster. Calipari brought three players who played for him at Kentucky last season in D.J. Wagner, Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivisic, all of whom had a solid role for the Wildcats last season. Ivisic is especially interesting. He averaged 5.5 PPG in 15 games played as a freshman, showing flashes of brilliance in limited minutes.

The jewel of the portal class is guard Johnell Davis, who averaged 18.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game at Florida Atlantic last season. Jonas Aidoo comes to Fayetteville after averaging 11.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game at Tennessee. Melo Sanchez averaged 14.6 PPG at Division II Hawaii Pacific. The only returner from the Musselman roster is Trevon Brazile, who averaged 8.6 points per game.

As with any Calipari class, there’s highly touted freshman. The top player is five-star guard Johnuel Fland, along with two more top-40 prospects in Karter Knox and Billy Richmond.

Lack of depth is a concern, but talent-wise, this top eight will be able to compete with just about anyone in the country. The expectations are sky-high in a new era for Arkansas and Calipari.

Vanderbilt Commodores

2023-24: 9-23 (4-14 SEC), no postseason

After five seasons with no NCAA tournament appearances, Vanderbilt opted to move on from coach Jerry Stackhouse.

Replacing him is former James Madison head coach Mark Byington, who went 32-4 last season and reached the second round of the tournament.

There’s plenty to like about the portal additions Byington brought in. He brought in some mid-major studs like Jason Edwards, who averaged 19.1 PPG at North Texas, Grant Huffman, who had 12.8 PPG at Davidson, and Chris Manon, who had 12.5 PPG at Cornell.

He also brought in guys with high-major experience. The best player there will likely be A.J. Hoggard, who had 10.7 PPG at Michigan State and will bring a much-needed veteran presence. Devin McGlockton (Boston College), Tyler Nickel (Virginia Tech), MJ Collins (Virginia Tech), and Jaylen Carry, who followed Byington from JMU, were all productive at their last stops.

The talent is there, but it will take a while to put it all together. A lot will need to go right to get out of the bottom of the SEC.

Missouri Tigers

2023-24: 8-24 (0-18 SEC), no postseason

After a 25-win campaign in 2022-23 that went to the second round of the NCAA tournament, Missouri had a woeful 2023-24 and failed to win a league game for the first time in the NCAA tournament era.

Coach Dennis Gates did a large overhaul of the roster. Two productive players in Tamar Bates (13.5 PPG) and Caleb Grill (8.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG) return, but that is it for the consistent rotation guys.

Missouri was a bit selective when it came to portal additions, but picked up some productive high-major players in Tony Perkins, who averaged 14.0 PPG at Iowa, and Mark Mitchell, who had 11.6 points and 6.0 rebounds per game at Duke. Also arriving are mid-major stars in Marques Warrick, who had 19.9 PPG at Western Kentucky, and Jacob Crews, who had 19.1 PPG at UT Martin.

Gates brought in a talented freshman class that includes top-40 forward K. Annor Boateng, top-75 forward Marcus Allen, and three more four-star prospects in Peyton Marshall, T.O. Barrett and Trent Burns.

All in all, things can’t get worse than they did last year. There is plenty of room for improvement. The Tigers can be a real sleeper team in the SEC, so we will see.

By Aidan Joly

When the national championship crown is hoisted in 2025, it will have been a quarter of a century since the Big Ten won a national title, when Michigan State won it all in 2000.

It’s one of those streaks that’s hard to believe. Especially so when the league has had 144 NCAA tournament bids since then, more than any other league in the country.

The record for most tournament bids by one conference in one year is 11 by the Big East in 2o11. National title or not, the league will have a chance at breaking that record this year. Let’s get into each of the 18 teams.

Purdue Boilermakers

2023-24: 34-5 (17-3 Big Ten), lost in national title game

Purdue nearly ended the Big Ten national title drought, but ended up getting blown out by UConn in the national championship game in the program’s second-ever appearance in the national title game.

Two-time national player of the year and the best player in college basketball last year Zach Edey is gone. As is important role player Lance Jones.

Thankfully for the Boilermakers, there will be plenty of returners. Braden Smith, who had 12.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore, will be expected to make the jump to be the go-to guy. Fletcher Loyer, who had 10.3 PPG as a freshman, will be the number two. Solid role player Trey Kaufman-Renn (6.4 PPG) will also be back.

Role players Myles Colvin, Cameron Heide and Will Berg could also have larger roles.

Coach Matt Painter did not go into the portal at all, but picked up top-100 freshman Gicarri Harris, along with a pair of four-star prospects Raleigh Burgess and Daniel Jacobson. All should see playing time at some point.

Purdue won’t be as good as years past, but still should be a contender in the top half of the league.

Illinois Fighting Illini

2023-24: 29-9 (14-6 Big Ten), lost in Elite Eight

Pretty much every piece from the Big Ten tournament-winning and Elite Eight team, including Terrence Shannon, Marcus Domask, Coleman Hawkins, Quincy Gurrier and Dain Dainja, is gone.

Only two players, role player Ty Rodgers (6.2 PPG) and benchwarmer Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, are back.

Coach Brad Underwood had to bring in five players from the transfer portal, including Ben Humrichous, who had 14.7 PPG at Evansville, and Tre White, who had 12.3 PPG at Louisville. It also brought in Arizona transfer Kylan Boswell (9.6 PPG), Mercer transfer Jake Davis (9.0 PPG) and Notre Dame transfer Carey Booth (6.4 PPG).

This is a team that will also feature five freshman. Two of them are top-30 ranked in forward Will Riley center Morez Johnson. Four-star prospect Jason Jaksyts, is also here. One interesting freshman is Lithuanian wing Kasparas Jakucionis, who played for FC Barcelona in Spain, averaging 19.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game for the club’s second team. He will be an interesting player to look at, not one who was on the radar of a ton of programs.

Nebraska Cornhuskers

2023-24: 23-11 (12-8 Big Ten), lost in NCAA first round

Nebraska was one of the biggest surprises in college basketball last season, winning 20 games for the first time since the 2017-18 season and reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014. It likely saved Fred Hoiberg’s job in the process.

Leading scorer Keisei Tominaga is gone, but the other three leading scorers in Brice Williams, Rienk Mast and Juwan Gary are all back for the Cornhuskers. However, those are the only notable returners.

In the portal, Nebraska got Andrew Morgan, who had 12.9 points per game at North Dakota State, Rollie Webster, who had 9.9 PPG at Utah, and Ahron Ulis, who had 6.1 PPG at Iowa in 2022-23 and did not play last year. Other portal additions have high-major experience, including Gavin Griffiths (Rutgers), Braxton Meah (Washington), Berk Buyuktencel (UCLA) and Connor Essegian (Wisconsin).

The only notable prospect is four-star combo guard Nick Janokski.

Plenty of talent is there for the Huskers. Expect them to be in the tournament conversation all year long. The program has not gone to back-to-back tournaments since four straight appearances from 1991-1994.

Northwestern Wildcats

2023-24: 22-12 (12-8 Big Ten), lost in NCAA second round

Northwestern won an NCAA tournament game for the second straight season to cap off another good year in Evanston.

The Wildcats will bring eight players back from that squad, including double digit scorers Brooks Barnhizer, who had 14.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, along with Ty Berry, who had 11.6 points per game. Nick Martinelli and his 8.8 points per game are back, along with important role player Matthew Nicholson.

Two transfers come in. Jalen Leach had 16.2 points per game at Fairfield and seven-footer Keenan Fitzmorris had 10.9 PPG at Stony Brook.

Three-star prospect KJ Windham is the only notable freshman and will surely be a project.

Northwestern has slowly built itself into one of the better programs in the league in recent years. It will look to earn a third straight trip to the NCAA tournament.

Oregon Ducks

2023-24: 24-12 (12-8 Pac-12), lost in Sweet 16

One of the four new additions from the Pac-12 is the final champion from the Pac-12. Oregon ended up reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2021 and won a pair of games.

The Ducks will return six players from that team, five of whom averaged at least 7.3 points per game. Leading scorers N’Faly Dante and Jermaine Couisnard are gone. The responsibility for filling those roles will likely go to Nate Bittle, who had 10.0 PPG, and Jackson Shelstad, who had 12.6 PPG, respectively.

Other players back include Keeshawn Barthelemy (7.9 PPG), Jadrian Tracey (7.6 PPG) and Kwame Evans Jr. (7.3 PPG).

Coach Dana Altman also brought in five players who averaged double digits at their previous stops. That includes Ra’Heim Moss, who had 15.5 PPG at Toledo, Brandon Angel, who had 13.0 PPG at Stanford, Supreme Cook, who had 10.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game at Georgetown, and TJ Bamba, who had 10.1 PPG at Villanova. The fifth is Jayson Williams-Johnson, who did average 14.2 PPG at Division III Muhlenberg, but it was a team that went 8-18.

Top-50 prospect Jamari Phillips is the freshman add here.

Wisconsin Badgers

2023-24: 22-14 (11-9 Big Ten), lost in NCAA first round

Wisconsin had a very solid season and earned a No. 5 seed in the tournament, but the March run ended prematurely with an upset loss in the first round.

This year’s Badgers will return eight players, many of them key contributors to last year’s team. The likes of AJ Storr, Tyler Wahl and Chucky Hebpburn are gone, but a solid trio of Steven Crowl (11.2 PPG, 7.3 RPG), Max Klesmit (9.9 PPG) and John Blackwell (8.0 PPG) are all back. The three will be expected to be the main guys for the Badgers.

From the portal, Camren Hunter missed all of last year, but averaged 16.9 PPG at Central Arkansas in 2022-23. Northern Illinois transfer Xavier Amos had 13.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game last season. John Tonje played sparingly at Missouri.

A pair of four-star prospects, Daniel Freitag – the highest-ranked PG prospect in program history – and wing Jack Robison arrive in Madison.

Wisconsin will be another one of those teams right on the bubble all season. We will see how this group plays out.

UCLA Bruins

2023-24: 16-17 (10-10 Pac-12), no postseason

It was a very disappointing season in Westwood in 2023-24, missing the postseason for the first time since Mick Cronin took over the program in 2019.

This season should be different. The Bruins return three double digit scorers, including leading scorer Dylan Andrews, who averaged 12.9 points per game. Sebastian Mack (12.1 PPG) also returns, as does big man Lazar Stefavonic, who averaged 11.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

UCLA also brings in six transfers, all of whom averaged more than 9.3 PPG at their last stops. Tyler Bilodeau averaged 14.3 points and 5.7 rebounds at Oregon State, Dominick Harris had 14.3 points per game at Loyola Marymount, Skyy Clark had 13.2 PPG at Louisville, William Kyle III had 13.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game at South Dakota State, Kobe Johnson had 10.9 PPG at crosstown rival USC and Eric Dailey Jr. had 9.3 PPG at Oklahoma State.

Cronin also brings in top-30 guard Trent Perry and top-100 prospect Eric Freeny.

This is a team that definitely should be in the top half of the league and will have a shot at playing in the second weekend.

Indiana Hoosiers

2023-24: 19-14 (10-10 Big Ten), no postseason

It was a disappointing season for the Hoosiers, missing the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2021, the final season of Archie Miller’s tenure.

Much was made about Mike Woodson’s job status, especially so with Indiana alum Dusty May available on the market, but Woodson stays in Bloomington for at least one more year.

For this year’s Hoosiers, they bring back Malik Reneau, who had 15.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, Mackenzie Mgbako, who had 12.2 PPG, and Trey Galloway, who had 10.6 PPG.

Indiana also picked up plenty of talent in the portal. The best of the group is Oumar Ballo, who averaged 14.2 points and 10.1 rebounds per game at Arizona as one of the best big men in the nation. Another solid addition is Myles Rice, who averaged 14.8 PPG at Washington State. Guard Kanaan Carlyle had 11.5 PPG at Stanford, and Luke Goode had 5.7 PPG at Illinois. Finally, Langdon Hatton averaged 10.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per gam at Bellarmine.

The only big freshman is top-20 prospect Bryson Tucker.

This should be a great rebounding team. If they can do that, Indiana will have a great chance to make noise in the postseason. It should be much-improved.

Iowa Hawkeyes

2023-24: 19-15 (10-10 Big Ten), lost in NIT second round

Iowa missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018 and settled for the NIT.

The level of continuity here is interesting. The Hawkeyes breathed a sigh of relief earlier in the off-season when leading scorer Payton Sandfort, who averaged 16.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, said he would be back after going down to the wire with the NBA. Owen Freeman, who averaged 10.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, is also back, as is Josh Dix, who had 8.9 PPG as a sophomore. Other returners like Brock Harding, Pryce Sandfort and Ladji Dembele may be expected to take on larger depth roles.

Coach Fran McCaffery brought in a pair of transfers. Seydou Traore averaged 11.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game at Manhattan, and Drew Thelwell had 10.0 PPG at Morehead State.

Forward Cooper Koch is a top-70 prospect, and we will see how much he plays.

Overall, there is some semblance of talent here, but it may be tough for Iowa to get to a point to call itself a tournament lock.

Michigan State Spartans

2023-24: 20-15 (10-10 Big Ten), lost in NCAA second round

The Spartans did just enough late in the season to reach the NCAA tournament and advanced to the second round.

Michigan State does not return a ton of key pieces. Jaden Akins, however, is back after he averaged 10.4 PPG in 2023-24. Tre Holloman, one of the better role guys in the league, is also back. That is it though, meaning guys like Xavier Booker, Jeremy Fears Jr., Carson Cooper and Coen Carr may be expected to take on a larger role.

Coach Tom Izzo brought in three top-100 prospects, the best of which is six-foot-three guard Jase Richardson, ranked No. 24 in the ESPN top 100. Kur Teng is ranked No. 52.

Not much for transfers, but MSU does bring in Frankie Fidler, who averaged 20.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game for Omaha. Szymon Zapala had 9.8 PPG for Longwood.

There will be better teams in the league, but it is still wise to trust that Izzo will be able to bring it together and have a good season. Michigan State has not missed the NCAA tournament since 1997, 26 years straight being the longest in the nation.

Washington Huskies

2023-24: 17-15 (9-11 Pac-12), no postseason

Another disappointing season in Seattle, missing the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight season, resulted in the firing of coach Mike Hopkins after seven seasons.

The new head coach is former Utah State coach Danny Sprinkle, who only spent one season in Logan after four seasons as coach at Montana State.

The new additions are the name of the game here. Sprinkle was able to get Great Osobor, who averaged 17.7 points and 9.0 rebounds for Utah State last season, to follow him to Washington.

Sprinkle also got a number of players with mid-major success to come to Washington, including North Dakota transfer Tyree Ihenacho (14.5 PPG), Rice transfer Mekhi Mason (14.0 PPG), Portland’s Tyler Harris (12.1 PPG), Oakland’s Chris Conway (10.0 PPG) and Rhode Island’s Luis Kortright (10.0 PPG). They also brought in DJ Davis, who had a breakout season at Butler, averaging 13.5 PPG.

The Huskies return two players, the most notable is Franck Kepnang, who had 8.3 PPG and 5.9 RPG.

Washington brings in top-50 guard Zoom Diallo, along with four-star guard Jase Butler.

Sprinkle is a great coach who should have the Huskies off and running from the jump. We will see how it does against the deep league.

Ohio State Buckeyes

2023-24: 22-15 (9-11 Big Ten), lost in NIT quarterfinals

The Buckeyes, although they did not make the tournament, were one of the bigger surprises in the sport the last few weeks of the season.

Coach Chris Holtmann was fired with the team sitting at 14-11 and 4-10 in league play. Jake Diebler was named the interim and the Buckeyes won five of six to close the regular season, won a Big Ten tournament game and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT. All in all, Ohio State won eight of its last 11 games. That was good enough to get the interim tag taken off and he was named the permanent coach between the Big Ten tournament and the NIT.

For this year’s Buckeyes, although the likes of Jamison Battle, Roddy Gayle, Zed Key and Felix Okpara are gone, the team’s leading scorer Bruce Thornton (15.7 PPG) is back in Columbus. As for other returners, Devin Royal and Evan Mahaffey are candidates to take steps up.

A familiar face comes back to Columbus in the transfer portal in South Carolina’s Meechie Johnson, who returns to the program after averaging 14.1 PPG in a breakout season with the Gamecocks. He played two seasons for OSU from 2020-2022.

Micah Parrish, who had 9.3 PPG at San Diego State, Aaron Bradshaw, who had 4.9 PPG at Kentucky and former top prospect Sean Stewart, who averaged 2.6 PPG at Duke, also arrive. Ques Glover also is a new add, he missed all of last year but had 14.7 PPG at Samford in 2022-23.

Top-50 prospect John Mobley and four-star Colin White are the notable freshmen.

The momentum from the end of last year is there. We will see if the team can keep that momentum going this season.

Minnesota Golden Gophers

2023-24: 19-15 (9-11 Big Ten), lost in NIT second round

Albeit the NIT, Minnesota was back in the postseason for the first time since 2019 last spring.

Ben Johnson suffered a big loss in Cam Christie, who decided to go to the NBA after a brilliant freshman season. However, the Golden Gophers do return leading scorer Dawson Garcia, who averaged 17.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, as well as double-digit scorer Mike Mitchell Jr. Role player Parker Fox is also back.

Johnson did some good work in the portal. He picked up Lu’Cye Patterson, who had 14.6 PPG at Charlotte, Tyler Cochran, who had 14.4 PPG at Toledo, Frank Mitchell, who was fourth in the nation with 11.6 rebounds per game at Canisius while averaging 12.1 points per game, and Femi Odukale, who had 10.7 PPG at New Mexico State. Brennan Rigsby (Oregon) was a role player for the Ducks.

The only notable freshman is four-star guard Isaac Asuma.

An interesting mix of talent is here. It will look to take a step up from last season.

Penn State Nittany Lions

2023-24: 16-17 (9-11 Big Ten), no postseason

It wasn’t a great go of things for Penn State in Mike Rhoades’ first season at the helm and it ended in the league tournament.

The Nittany Lions saw a lot of pieces leave from last year. However, they have a great piece returning in Ace Baldwin, who averaged 14.2 points per game and averaged six assists per game as well, making himself one of the best ball-handling guards in the league. It will also return a bunch of solid depth and role options in Nick Kern Jr., Zach Hicks and Puff Johnson. D’Marco Dunn is also back. All of these players will need to take steps up.

The transfer class isn’t great. Eli Rice (Nebraska), Kachi Nzeh (Xavier) and Freddie Dillione V (Tennessee) all have high-major experience, but were all depth pieces off the bench at best. Yanic Konan Niederhauser was solid at Northern Illinois, averaging 7.3 PPG.

Four-star freshman Miles Goodman is the only notable freshman here as part of a four-player freshman class.

Ace Baldwin will have to be a dude, the other returners will have to step up, and a couple of the new guys need to emerge. If that doesn’t happen, it may be tough for Penn State to win consistently.

USC Trojans

2023-24: 15-18 (8-12 Pac-12), no postseason

It was a much-hyped USC team in 2023-24 with star Boogie Ellis, the top freshman prospect in Isaiah Collier and Bronny James, the son of LeBron, but it was a major disappointment.

Coach Andy Enfield, amid rumors about his job status, left for the parachute of SMU.

In his place is former Arkansas coach Eric Musselman, who took a parachute to Los Angeles of his own after a disappointing season in Fayetteville.

Musselman basically had to rebuild the entire roster, with only one returning player.

Nine of the 11 transfers brought in averaged in double figures at the previous stops. The majority of them were at mid-majors, including Saint Thomas, who had 19.7 PPG and 9.8 RPG at Northern Colorado, Bryce Pope, who had 18.3 PPG at UC San Diego, and Clark Slajchert, who had 18.0 PPG at Pennsylvania.

However, some of the main contributors have experience at high-majors, including Desmond Claude, who had 16.6 PPG at Xavier, Chibuzo Agbo, who had 13.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game at Boise State, and Terrance Williams II, who had 12.4 PPG at Michigan.

Josh Cohen (UMass), Rashaun Agee (Bowling Green) and Matt Knowling (Yale) all had double digits at their previous stops. Kevin Patton Jr. came close, with 9.8 PPG at San Diego.

Two top-60 prospects come in, forwards Jalen Shelley and Isaiah Elohim.

This will be a good team. NCAA tournament will be a realistic goal in the first year of the Musselman era in LA.

Maryland Terrapins

2023-24: 16-17 (7-13 Big Ten), no postseason

It was a disappointing season in College Park in year two of the Kevin Willard era, missing the tournament for the second time in three seasons.

A few interesting pieces are back. Julian Reese, who had 13.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, is back for the Terrapins. Some solid role players in DeShawn Harris-Smith (7.3 PPG), Jordan Geronimo (5.4 PPG) and Jahari Long (4.7 PPG) are all back as well and will look to take steps up.

Willard brings in a great portal add in Ja’Kobi Gillespie, who had 17.1 PPG at Belmont. Selton Miguel had 14.7 PPG at South Florida and comes to College Park. Tafara Garape (Georgia Tech) and Jayhlon Young (Memphis) both come from good teams. Rodney Rice (Virginia Tech) and Chance Stephens (Loyola Marymount) both missed all of last season.

Willard brings in a five-star prospect Derik Queen, who stands at six-foot-ten, and he should have an immediate role. He is just the third five-star prospect in program history and the first since Diamond Stone in 2015 (remember him?). Four-star prospect Malachi Palmer also arrives.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

2023-24: 15-17 (7-13 Big Ten), no postseason

It was a disappointing season for Rutgers in 2023-24, but the fortunes should change based on a historic recruiting class.

Rutgers brings in not one, but two of the top five players in this year’s recruiting class in Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper. The program had never had a five-star recruit until this cycle, now they have two. It’s historic for the program. Both will have a large, immediate role.

Those two will surely be paired with returner Jeremiah Williams, who had 12.2 points per game last season. Role player Jamichael Davis is also back.

Coach Steve Pikiell also brought in a number of studs from the portal, including Eastern Michigan transfer Tyson Acuff (21.7 PPG), Merrimack transfer Jordan Derkack (17.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG) and San Diego transfer PJ Hayes (10.5 PPG).

Going back to freshmen, Rutgers also brings in a couple four-stars in forward Dylan Grant and center Lathan Sommerville.

It’s simple. Rutgers is going to have one of the most hyped-up teams in not just the Big Ten, but in the country. Will it deliver?

Michigan Wolverines

2023-24: 8-24 (3-17 Big Ten), no postseason

Last season’s edition of Michigan was nothing short of a disaster. Lots of losing on the court and lots of drama off of it.

Coach Juwan Howard was fired after five seasons at the helm. In his place is former Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May, cashing in on making FAU one of the best small programs in the country, making the Final Four in 2023.

May kept a couple important role players in Nimari Burnett (9.6 PPG) and Will Tschetter (6.8 PPG).

Outside of those two and benchwarmers, it’s an entirely new team. May got Vladislav Goldin, a key piece in those FAU teams, to come to Ann Arbor. He had 15.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game last year. Also coming to Ann Arbor is Danny Wolf, who had 14.1 points and 9.7 rebounds per game on a Yale team that reached the second round of the NCAA tournament. The aforementioned Roddy Gayle comes to the other side of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry after averaging 13.5 PPG for the Buckeyes last year. Rubin Jones had 12.1 PPG at North Florida.

Two more players in Tre Donaldson (Auburn) and Sam Walters (Alabama) both have great SEC experience.

Michigan also brings in top-75 prospect Justin Pippen as well as four-star guard Durral Brooks.

This should be a tournament team in May’s first season in Michigan.

By Aidan Joly

Last April, the UConn Huskies became college basketball’s first back-to-back national champion since Florida in 2006 and 2007.

It capped off an unprecedented run for the Huskies, who have now won 12 straight NCAA tournament games.

To do it, it had to get through a competitive Big East, although the program that resides in Storrs, Connecticut has dominated the league. How does the Big East stack up for this season? Let’s get into it.

UConn Huskies

2024-25: 37-3 (18-2 Big East), won national championship

One of the biggest storylines will be whether the Huskies can be the first threepeat in the sport since the UCLA dynasty of the late 60s and early 70s.

Usually you get into players who are returning, but the biggest returner is coach Dan Hurley, who turned down gigs with both Kentucky and the Los Angeles Lakers to remain in Storrs and go for three straight. He got a hefty pay raise for doing so.

However, as for players, the Huskies don’t return a ton. Alex Karaban, however, is back after he averaged 13.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last year that led to him flirting with the NBA over the summer. From there, it is depth and bit players such as Hassan Diarra (6.1 PPG), Samson Johnson (5.5 PPG) and Solomon Ball (3.3 PPG). Johnson and Ball seem like candidates to have breakout campaigns.

Hurley went to the transfer portal and picked up Aidan Mahaney, who averaged 13.9 PPG with Saint Mary’s and shot over 35% from three. Tarris Reed Jr. also arrives after he averaged 9.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game at Michigan.

Five-star forward Liam McNeeley should have a role early as a freshman. Ahmad Norwell is a top-40 prospect, and Isaiah Abraham ranks in the top 60.

It might not feel like a national title-winning team right now, but there is very little doubt that the Huskies will be right there come March.

Creighton Bluejays

2023-24: 25-10 (14-6 Big East), lost in Sweet 16

After a solid season in Omaha, Creighton brings some talent back for 2024-25.

One of three-headed monster of Baylor Scheierman, Trey Alexander and Ryan Kalkbrenner returns, and that is Kalkbrenner. He averaged 17.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game last year and will be the go-to guy for the Bluejays. Steven Ashworth also returns after dropping 11.1 PPG last year. Depth piece Mason Miller (5.6 PPG) is also back.

Coach Greg McDermott brought in transfer Pop Isaacs, who averaged 15.8 PPG at Texas Tech, as well as Jamiya Neal, who averaged 11.0 PPG at Arizona State.

Six-foot-nine forward Jackson McAndrew should have an early role as a freshman, while Creighton also brings in top-100 prospect Larry Johnson.

All in all, another good run should be in store here.

Marquette Golden Eagles

2023-24: 27-10 (14-6 Big East), lost in Sweet 16

Continuity is the name of the game for Shaka Smart’s squad this season.

The Golden Eagles bring nine players back, the most of any team in the league. Leading that charge is leading scorer Kam Jones, who averaged 17.2 points per game, as well as David Joplin, who had 10.8 points per game as a forward. Stevie Mitchell had 8.8 PPG as well.

The rest coming back are depth pieces who should have a larger role this season, including Chase Ross, Sean Jones and Ben Gold. That production will have to replace the production of Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro, who are both gone.

No transfers here. Damarius Owens is a top-100 prospect, while the Golden Eagles also bring in four-star prospect Royce Parham.

With a ton of players back, it is wise to think that Marquette can make the jump to the top echelon of this league.

Seton Hall Pirates

2023-24: 25-12 (13-7 Big East), won NIT

Seton Hall may have missed the NCAA tournament, but it finished its season celebrating after winning the NIT, a nice consolation prize.

Not much is back from that team, though. Dylan Addae-Wusu is the only key player back, he averaged 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Depth piece Isaiah Coleman is also back.

Coach Shaheen Holloway went hard in the portal. The Pirates picked up Chaunce Jenkins, who averaged 15.9 PPG at Old Dominion, Zion Harmon, who had 14.6 PPG at Bethune-Cookman, and Yacine Toumi, who averaged 10.6 PPG at Evansville. He also brought in role players from high-majors, including Prince Aligbi (Boston College), Scotty Middleton (Ohio State), Garwey Duel (Providence) and Emmanuel Okafor (Louisville). All should see playing time.

Four-star prospect Godswill Erheriene is a six-foot-nine forward/center and Jahseem Felton is a three-star combo guard who is an interesting project.

St. John’s Red Storm

2023-24: 20-13 (11-9 Big East), no postseason

Year one of the Rick Pitino era with the Johnnies didn’t go fully as planned, missing the NCAA tournament.

That should change this year. Pitino went out and got what could be one of the better 1-2 punch guard duos in the country in Kadary Richmond, taking him from crosstown rival Seton Hall, and Deivon Smith, who averaged 13.3 PPG at Utah. Add that in with returner RJ Luis Jr., and the Red Storm could be great at the guard position.

Another addition is Aaron Scott, who averaged 11.0 PPG at North Texas. As is seven-footer Vincent Iwuchukwu, who had 5.6 PPG for USC and earned 11 starts.

Returners Zuby Ejiofor, Brady Dunlap and Simeon Wilcher should all see expanded roles. As for freshman, Jaiden Glover is a top-100 guy.

In year two with the hall of fame coach, NCAA tournament needs to be the goal.

Providence Friars

2023-24: 21-14 (10-10 Big East), lost in NIT first round

It was a decent season for Providence in year one of the Kim English era, winning 20 games, but that was not enough to reach the NCAA tournament.

The Friars will look to rebound back into the tournament in 2025.

Bryce Hopkins will return after he averaged 15.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game before he suffered a season-ending knee injury 14 games into the season. Jayden Pierre is also back after averaging 9.5 PPG. From there it is role players, including Corey Floyd (4.8 PPG), Rich Barron (4.4 PPG) and Justyn Fernandez, who did not play last year but averaged 4.1 PPG for George Mason in 2022-23.

English brought in a very interesting transfer in Wesley Cardet, Jr., who averaged 18.7 PPG at Chicago State of all places last year. Jabri Abdur-Rahim averaged 12.2 PPG at Georgia, Bensley Joseph dropped 9.6 PPG at Miami. Finally, seven-foot big man Christ Essandoko averaged 8.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game at St. Joseph’s.

As for freshmen, top-40 prospect Oswin Erhunmwunse joins the fold.

As previously stated, Providence will hope to get back to the tournament.

Villanova Wildcats

2022-23: 18-16 (10-10 Big East), lost in NIT first round

The headlines surrounding Villanova is the job status of Kyle Neptune coming into the season. Neptune is 35-33 overall and 20-20 in Big East play since he took over for the legendary Jay Wright in 2022.

Neptune likely knew this in the off-season. He went into the portal and got decent pieces, including Jhamir Brickus, who averaged 13.9 PPG at La Salle, Tyler Perkins, who had 13.7 PPG at Penn, and most notably picked up Wooga Poplar, a former Miami star who averaged 13.1 PPG with the Hurricanes.

That is to replace the production of several departing players. Eric Dixon does return, though, after he led the team with 16.1 PPG while also grabbing 6.5 rebounds per contest. Jordan Longino (6.6 PPG) is also back.

Two top-100 prospects in Josiah Moseley and Matthew Hodge come in.

This is a make-or-break year at Villanova. It seems that if Villanova misses the tournament for a third straight year, the Neptune era will be over.

Butler Bulldogs

2023-24: 19-15 (9-11 Big East), lost in NIT first round

After a somewhat underwhelming season the Bulldogs are another team with continuity, bringing back seven players.

Two of them were double digit scorers: Pierre Brooks, who averaged 14.8 points per game, and Jahmyl Telfort, who averaged 13.9 points per game. The rest are role players, although one in Andre Screen seems poised for a breakout season after averaging 5.2 points per game in very limited minutes.

Transfers coming in include Kolby King, who averaged 10.4 PPG at Tulane, and Patrick McCaffery, who averaged 8.9 PPG at Iowa.

It’s hard to believe that Butler has not been in the NCAA tournament since 2o18. It may be tough for this squad to break that drought, but stranger things have happened.

Xavier Musketeers

2023-24: 16-18 (9-11 Big East), lost in NIT first round

Xavier suffered from the injury bug in 2023-24 and it showed, hard.

Thankfully, some of those key guys are back.

Most notably, Zach Freemantle will return to college basketball after missing all of last season. He was one of the best players in the Big East in 2022-23, averaging 15.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game before going down after 22 games with that foot injury. Jerome Hunter also missed all of last season after averaging 7.8 PPG in 2022-23.

A non-injured returner is Dayvion McKnight, who averaged 12.4 PPG at the point for the Musketeers.

Coach Sean Miller got seven players in the portal. That includes mid-major stars Marcus Foster, who averaged 17.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game at Furman, Ryan Conwell, who had 16.6 points per game at Indiana State, and Dante Maddox, Jr., who had 15.6 PPG at Toledo.

Also joining the fold are Lassina Traore (11.9 PPG at Long Beach State), John Hugley IV (8.4 PPG at Oklahoma), Cam’Ron Fletcher (6.7 PPG at Florida State) and Roddie Anderson III (6.5 PPG at Boise State).

It’s an impressive collection of talent for Xavier. We will see how it unfolds on the court.

Georgetown Hoyas

2023-24: 9-23 (2-18 Big East), no postseason

It was an extremely rough first season in the Ed Cooley era at Georgetown. The Hoyas’ only two league wins came against lowly DePaul and it went 3-21 against power conference teams.

The rebuild continues with another young team. Jayden Epps does return after he averaged 18.5 PPG, but he needed to tale 15.6 shots per game to get there. Drew Fielder (5.2 PPG), also returns, but that’s the end of the list for returning players.

A freshman-laden team will include seven first year players. It has a pair of top-100 prospects in Thomas Sorber and Kayvaun Mulready, while also bringing in four-star prospect Caleb Williams and three-star Jayden Fort.

Transfers here include Malik Mack, who averaged 17.2 PPG at Harvard and Micah Peavy, who had 10.9 PPG at TCU. Curtis Williams was a role player with Louisville and Jordan Burks played sparingly at Kentucky.

It may be another long year for the Hoyas. The NCAA tournament seems like a far-fetched goal, but there should be at least some marginal improvement.

DePaul Blue Demons

2023-24: 3-29 (0-20 Big East), no postseason

DePaul was the laughingstock of college basketball in 2023-24. Three total wins were the least of any power conference team. It did not win a game after Dec. 30, losing 20 games in a row to end the season.

Tony Stubblefield was fired as coach mid-season and replaced in the interim by Matt Brady, who went 0-14.

New head coach Chris Holtmann, the former Ohio State coach, is in for quite the rebuild job.

There is not a single player from the 2023-24 team returning. Holtmann brought in 10 transfers. Five of them, Jacob Meyer (Coastal Carolina), Isaiah Rivera (UIC), David Skogman (Davidson), David Thomas (Mercer) and JJ Traynor (Louisville) were all double digit scorers at their last stops. Two more in CJ Gunn (Indiana) and Layden Blocker (Arkansas) played at high-major schools last year.

Holtmann was also able to bring in a three-star freshman in Chris Riddle, who stands at six-foot-five.

DePaul has the longest NCAA tournament drought of any power conference program, dating back to 2004. It won’t happen this year, but this year can’t be worse than last year, right?

By Aidan Joly

The Big 12 was the best league in the country in the 2023-24 season. It sent eight teams to the NCAA tournament and had more in contention all year.

The 2024-25 season should be more of the same. Power teams already here and the league adds another of of the sport’s premier programs in Arizona, while adding three more programs that have traditionally seen success.

That being said, let’s get into what the league will look like this season.

Houston Cougars

2023-24: 32-5 (15-3 Big 12), lost in Sweet 16

Houston was the regular season champion in its first year in the Big 12 and relatively dominated the league, good enough to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tourmament.

The 2024-25 team will return many key pieces. The biggest of the group is leading scorer LJ Cryer, who averaged 15.5 points per game after transferring in from Baylor. Guard Emanuel Sharp, who averaged 12.6 PPG, is also back for Kelvin Sampson’s team. J’Wan Roberts, who averaged 9.5 PPG, also returns, as does role player Ja’Vier Francis. Cryer, Sharp and Roberts will be tasked with replacing the production of All-American guard Jamal Shead, the only big departure.

Sampson only brings in one transfer, that being Oklahoma’s Milos Uzan, who averaged 9.0 PPG last season. Freshmen are top-100 guard prospect Mercy Miller and four-star prospect Chase McCarty.

This is a team that should be back towards the top of the Big 12 and be one of the best teams in the nation.

Arizona Wildcats

2023-24: 27-9 (15-5 Pac-12), lost in Sweet 16

Arizona is the biggest add for the league as one of the best programs in the sport in recent years.

Tommy Lloyd’s team will have a fair amount of production to replace from last year’s team, but they also got one of the top returners in the country in All-American guard Caleb Love, who averaged 18.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Love has played 137 games of college basketball and should end up being a top-two guard in the country and a player of the year contender.

Other returners include Jaden Bradley (7.0 PPG), KJ Lewis (6.1 PPG) and Motiejus Krivas (5.4 PPG). All will be expected to take on a larger role.

Arizona did a solid job in the transfer portal to pick up mid-major stars. It picked up Anthony Dell’Orso, who averaged 19.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game at Campbell, as well as Trey Townsend, who averaged 17.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game at Oakland. Townsend scored 17 points in Oakland’s first round upset of Kentucky last March. Tobe Awaka also arrives after averaging 5.1 PPG at Tennessee.

Top-20 forward Carter Bryant is the big freshman to watch in Tucson. They also bring in top-100 prospect Emmanuel Stephen.

In Arizona’s first season in the Big 12, the Wildcats will be an immediate contender.

Iowa State Cyclones

2023-24: 29-8 (13-5 Big 12), lost in Sweet 16

The 2023-24 campaign was one of the best in the history of the program. 29 wins represented the second-most in a season in program history and reached the second weekend of the NCAA tournament.

The Cyclones bring back four double-digit scorers for this season, that being Keshon Gilbert (13.7 PPG), Tamin Lipsey (12.4 PPG), Curtis Jones (11.0 PPG) and Milan Momcilovic (10.9 PPG). The rest of the key players, that really being just Tre King and Robert Jones, are gone.

Coach T.J. Otzelberger brought in Nate Heise, who averaged 13.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game at Northern Iowa, along with Dishon Jackson, who averaged 11.4 points and 6.1 rebounds at Charlotte. St. Mary’s transfer Joshua Jefferson (10.2 PPG) and Seattle transfer Brandton Chatfield (9.4 PPG) also arrive in Ames. The only freshman is top-70 prospect Nojus Indrusaitis, a guard.

Baylor Bears

2023-24: 24-11 (11-7 Big 12), lost in NCAA second round

After a solid season in Waco, coach Scott Drew is tasked with re-tooling a roster that lost a lot of talent.

Excitement is coming in the form of a freshman, five-star forward V.J. Edgecombe, who is expected to be a top pick in the NBA Draft next summer, He should be an immediate contributor for the Bears. Two more top-50 prospects, Robert Wright III and Jason Asemota, should also be in the rotation.

They will in part be tasked to replace the production of four double digit scorers that depart. Two return though, that being Langston Love (11.0 PPG) and Jayden Nunn (10.5 PPG).

Baylor did get one of the better portal adds in Norchad Omier, who averaged 17.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game at Miami. He will have a large role immediately. Jeremy Roach, who averaged 14.0 PPG at Duke, also arrives to a big role. Jalen Celestine averaged 8.7 PPG at Cal. Finally, an interesting add is Davidson Hubbard, who averaged 14.9 points and 7.2 rebounds at Division III Hampden-Sydney, a team that won 31 games and went to the Division III national championship game. It’ll be interesting to see how he adjusts from D3 to the Big 12.

Colorado Buffaloes

2023-24: 26-11 (13-7 Pac-12), lost in NCAA second round

Colorado is the next team entering its first season at the Big 12. It is coming off of a good season that resulted in reaching the second round of the NCAA tournament.

It will have a lot to replace. KJ Simpson, Tristan da Silva, Cody Williams, J’Vonne Hadley and Eddie Lampkin Jr. are all gone. The only notable returner is Julian Hammond III, who averaged 7.4 PPG in 24 games (5 starts). Bench pieces RJ Smith, Javon Ruffin or Bangot Dak may be forced to take on a larger role.

The transfer portal adds are outside-the-box. Coach Tad Boyle brought in Trevor Baskin, who averaged 18.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game at Division II Colorado Mesa. Elijah Malone, who averaged 17.3 PPG at NAIA school Grace College is also here. The only transfer add with D1 experience is Andrej Jakimovski, who averaged 9.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game at Washington State.

Top-100 prospect Andrew Crawford is the only freshman who should see regular minutes.

A lot of questions surround this roster on paper. It’ll be interesting to see how it mixes on the court.

Texas Tech Red Raiders

2023-24: 23-11 (11-7 Big 12), lost in NCAA first round

Things were solid in Lubbock in the first season of Grant McCasland at the helm, a seven-win improvement from 2022-23.

The Red Raiders will bring a fair amount of talent back this season. That includes Darrion Williams, who averaged 11.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore, as well as Chance McMillian, who averaged 10.8 PPG. Role players Devan Cambridge (10.5 PPG) and Kerwin Walton (8.5 PPG) are also back.

McCasland got one of the most exciting transfers on the market in JT Toppin, who averaged 12.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game at New Mexico as a freshman in 2023-24. Kevin Overton averaged 11.1 PPG at Drake, Elijah Hawkins averaged 9.5 PPG at Minnesota, and Federiko Federiko, who averaged 4.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game at Pittsburgh and is also a great defender.

In McCasland’s second season the helm, Texas Tech will look to make a step up and maybe get the program close to where it was when Chris Beard was running the show.

BYU Cougars

2023-24: 23-11 (10-8 Big 12), lost in NCAA first round

It was a very solid season in Provo in the program’s first season in the Big 12, getting back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2021.

After former coach Mark Pope departed for Kentucky, the Cougars brought in NBA assistant Kevin Young as the new coach.

Young was able to keep many key pieces from the 2023-24 squad, including Fousseyni Traore (10.9 PPG, 5.2 RPG), Trevin Knell (10.6 PPG), Richie Saunders (9.6 PPG) and Dallin Hall (9.0 PPG). They will be tasked with replacing the production of the likes of Jaxon Robinson, Spencer Johnson and Noah Waterman.

Young has already shown off his recruiting ability, picking up three top-100 prospects in Kanon Catchings, Brody Kozlowski and Elijah Crawford. Catchings is set to be the best one of that group.

From the portal, Mawot Mag, a forward who averaged 9.1 points per game at Rutgers, joins the fray. As does Keba Keita, who averaged 8.3 PPG at Utah.

Kansas Jayhawks

2023-24: 23-11 (10-8 Big 12), lost in NCAA second round

It was almost something of a down year in Lawrence in 2023-24, if you say that winning 23 games and reaching the second round of the tournament is a down year.

Thankfully though, Kansas has a top-three roster in the country this year on paper. It brings back All-American center Hunter Dickinson, who averaged 17.9 points and 10.9 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 55% from the field. K.J. Adams and his 12.6 points per game is also back, as is Dajuan Harris, who averaged 8.5 PPG. Elmarko Jackson averaged 4.3 PPG as a freshman and saw his role get bigger as the year went on. He is in line to make a step up as a sophomore.

Coach Bill Self brought in some great pieces too. David Coit was a late add after averaging 20.8 points per game at Northern Illinois. Zeke Mayo averaged 18.8 PPG at South Dakota State. AJ Storr had 16.8 PPG at Wisconsin. Rylan Griffin averaged 11.2 PPG at Alabama and was one of the best role players in the country. Finally, Shakeel Moore averaged 7.9 PPG at Mississippi State.

Self also brings in a pair of top freshman, six-foot-nine center Flory Bidunga, who hails from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and guard Rakease Passmore.

Overall, this is one of the best rosters in the country and should result in Kansas being a national title contender.

Utah Utes

2023-24: 22-15 (9-11 Pac-12), lost in NIT semifinals

The third addition to the Big 12 for this year, the Utes had a deep March run, albeit in the NIT.

The Utes won’t have a ton of production back, but they do bring back Gabe Madsen, who averaged 13.6 points per game at center. Role players Lawson Lovering and Hunter Erickson may be candidates to take steps up.

Utah brings in some decent players from the portal, but most didn’t have large roles at their previous stops. Ezra Ausar did average 11.4 points per game at East Carolina, but the rest averaged in the single digits. The most notable ones are Mason Madsen (Boston College), Mike Sharavmjats (San Francisco) and Keanu Dawes (Rice).

As for freshmen, Jaxon Johnson is a top-100 prospect, while Utah also has a pair of three-stars in David Katoa and Ibrahim Traore.

All in all, it might be a tough season in Utah, but some pieces are there to possibly compete in the higher-level league.

TCU Horned Frogs

2023-24: 21-13 (9-9 Big 12), lost in NCAA first round

TCU had a rough off-season. After a solid 2023-24 all but one player is gone. The only returner is Ernest Udeh Jr., a 4.3 point per game scorer.

Jamie Dixon had a lot to do. He brought in six transfers, five of whom were double digit scorers at their previous schools. Noah Reynolds averaged 20.0 PPG at Green Bay, Trazarien White had 19.8 points and 6.8 rebounds at UNC Wilmington, Vasean Allette had 17.4 PPG at Old Dominion, Frankie Collins had 13.8 PPG at Arizona State and Brendan Wenzel had 11.6 PPG at Wyoming.

TCU will have seven freshmen, two of them top-100 in Micah Robinson and David Punch.

There is a lot of unproven pieces on this TCU roster. It’s very tough to say how this team will look on the court.

Kansas State Wildcats

2023-24: 19-15 (8-10 Big 12), lost in NIT first round

After a run to the Elite Eight in Jerome Tang’s first season at the helm in 2023 things took a dip in Manhattan, not even making the NCAA tournament.

In response, Tang and the Wildcats went hard in the transfer portal to re-tool for this season. K-State was able to get Dug McDaniel, who averaged 16.3 points and 4.7 assists per game at Michigan as well as Coleman Hawkins, who averaged 12.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game on an Illinois team that went to the Elite Eight.

It also picked up mid-major stars Achor Achor, who averaged 16.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game on a Samford team that almost picked off Kansas in the first round of the tournament, as well as Max Jones, who averaged 15.3 PPG at CSU Fullerton. CJ Jones had 11.3 PPG at UIC. In addition, additions Brendan Hausen (Villanova), Ugonna Onyenso (Kentucky) and Baye Fall (Arkansas) all have high-major experiences.

The only key piece back is David N’Guessan, who averaged 7.8 PPG. Macaleab Rich had a limited role and may take on a larger role.

Overall, a re-tooled Kansas State team should be back at the top half of the league.

Arizona State Sun Devils

2023-24: 14-18 (8-12 Pac-12), no postseason

The fourth and final addition to the Big 12 for this season, the Sun Devils may end up having a rough go of it at first as the program navigates a better league after not being world-beaters in its old league.

Adam Miller, who averaged 12.0 PPG is the only big-time returner, while Shawn Phillips Jr. and Brycen Long each had limited roles and may be asked to take on a larger role.

Coach Bobby Hurley was able to get three very good prospects in top-25 talents Jayden Quaintance and Joson Sanon, while borderline top-50 prospect Amier Ali also joins the fold.

ASU also brings in three mid-major studs who move up to a larger program. BJ Freeman averaged 21.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game at Milwaukee, Basheer Jihad had 18.6 PPG and 8.0 RPG on Ball State, and Alston Mason had 17.5 points per game at Missouri State.

This feels like a team that in theory could compete, but in the best league in the country could prove a real challenge.

Cincinnati Bearcats

2023-24: 22-15 (7-11 Big 12), lost in NIT quarterfinals

A team that went on a solid postseason run, albeit in the NIT, brings back a number of solid pieces.

Leading scorer Dan Skillings Jr., who had 12.9 PPG and 6.5 rebounds per game, returns. As does the Bearcats’ second and third leading scorers Simas Lukosius (11.8 PPG) and Day Day Thomas (11.8 PPG). Leading rebounder Aziz Bandaogo, who grabbed 7.4 rebounds per game while adding 6.6 points per game, is back. Jizzle James seems poised to breakout after he averaged 8.8 points per game as a freshman.

Coach Wes Miller brought in two solid transfers in Connor Hickman, who averaged 14.5 points per game at Bradley, and Dillon Mitchell, who had 9.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game at Texas, starting 33 of 34 games.

A pair of top-100 forwards come in as freshman, six-foot-eight Tyler Betsey and six-foot-nine Tyler McKinley. Both of them have shots at seeing minutes for the Bearcats.

UCF Knights

2023-24: 17-16 (7-11 Big 12), lost in NIT first round

The Knights were looking decent for a minute there, sitting at 12-6 and 3-3 in Big 12 play in late January before losing eight of 12 to close the regular season.

UCF will lose a handful of role players, but the top dogs are still here. Jaylin Sellers, who averaged 15.9 points per game, along with Darius Johnson, who averaged 15.2 points per game, are back.

A number of good transfers come to Orlando for this year. Jordan Ivy-Curry is the best of the bunch after he averaged 17.1 points per game at UTSA. Keyshawn Hall had 16.6 PPG at George Mason and Rokas Jucias had 8.5 PPG at La Salle. Benny Williams had a decent freshman year at Syracuse, seeing limited minutes.

UCF also brings in Mikey Williams, a former five-star prospect who committed to Memphis before a felony gun charge forced him to leave basketball for a time. He has never played a game of college basketball. Coach Johnny Dawkins is giving him a second chance and it will be interesting to see what kind of role he has and what he does with it.

Top-30 prospect Moustapha Thiam, a center standing at seven-foot-two, is sure to have an immediate role as a freshman.

Oklahoma State Cowboys

2023-24: 12-20 (4-14 Big 12), no postseason

It was a rough season in Stillwater last year, resulting in the firing of Mike Boynton after seven seasons at the helm.

Replacing him is former Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Western Kentucky coach Steve Lutz, who is now coaching his third different program in four years as part of a meteoric rise.

The Cowboys bring in 11 transfers. Khalil Brantley, who had 15.1 PPG at La Salle, Arturo Dean, who had 13.1 PPG at FIU, and Brandon Newman, following Lutz from Western Kentucky after averaging 10.1 points per game last season, are the ones who were most productive in their last stops.

Meanwhile, Marchelus Avery (UCF), Abou Ousmane (Xavier), Davonte Davis (Arkansas), Robert Jennings (Texas Tech) and Patrick Suemnick (West Virginia) all had various depth roles at their last stops. In addition, Mikey Kelvin II comes to Stillwater after he averaged 10.1 PPG at Queens University in Canada. Tyler Caron had 12.1 PPG at Division II St. Mary’s in San Antonio.

Bryce Thompson, who had 11.6 PPG last year, is the key returner. Jamyron Keller was a depth piece who is also back. It will be interesting to see how all of these pieces fit together in Lutz’s first year at the helm.

West Virginia Mountaineers

2023-24: 9-23 (4-14 Big 12), no postseason

The summer of 2023 in Morgantown was chaotic and culminated in the dismissal of longtime coach Bob Huggins in June after a drunk driving arrest.

Assistant Josh Eilert ran the program in the interim with little success, the first time the program failed to reach double digit wins since the 2001-02 season and just the third time in the NCAA tournament era (since 1939).

Now leading the Mountaineers is Darian DeVries, who had a ton of mid-major success at Drake. It comes with a complete rebuild of the roster, with 10 transfers.

DeVries brought in his son Tucker, who led the Bulldogs with 21.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Jayden Stone had 20.8 points per game at Detroit Mercy, and Javon Small had 15.1 PPG at Oklahoma State, which may create a fantastic 1-2 punch with Tucker DeVries. Other additions from the portal include Toby Okani (UIC), Eduardo Andre (Fresno State), Joseph Yesufu (Washington State), Sencire Harris (Illinois) and Amani Hansberry (Illinois), who all had various roles. Also coming in is Haris Elezovic, who had 12.2 PPG and 10.3 rebounds per game at Laval University in Canada.

Four-star prospect Jonathan Powell and three-star KJ Tenner are the freshman pieces here.

It may be tough sledding for a bit, but WVU has found a great head coach to lead the program into the future.

By Aidan Joly

It was a rough regular season for the ACC in 2023-24. Teams like Virginia, Miami, Florida State and Louisville had rough seasons behind the traditional powers of Duke and North Carolina.

The NCAA tournament brought success though. Clemson made a nice run to the Elite Eight and NC State went on a nine-game winning streak as part of a miracle run in the conference tournament to steal the league’s automatic bid and then getting to the Final Four as a No. 11 seed.

Heading into 2024-25, the ACC adds two schools from California – Stanford and Cal – as well as one from Dallas in SMU.

Lots of questions linger about how they will compete, as well as how some others will bounce back. Let’s get into it.

North Carolina Tar Heels

2023-24: 25-6 (17-3 ACC), lost in Sweet 16

The Tar Heels got one of the biggest returners of the 2024-25 season, bringing back All-American point guard RJ Davis after he averaged 21.2 points per game. He is sure to be a preseason All-American and has a very good shot at being the best guard in the country in his fifth season. Fellow returner Elliott Cadeau should have a larger role this year too.

It will have to find a way to replace stalwart Armando Bacot. Vanderbilt transfer Ven-Allen Lubin seems like a good candidate to replace at least some of that production after he averaged 12.3 points per game in Nashville last season. Belmont transfer Cade Tyson was quietly one of the better players on the market and he’ll have a great shot at sliding into the starting lineup.

UNC brings in star freshman Ian Jackson, who is No. 7 in the ESPN top 100 as well as Drake Powell, who ranks No. 13. Both should find a role quick in this rotation.

Returners Seth Trimble, Jae’Lyn Withers and Jalen Washington, as well as transfer Tyzhaun Claude (Georgia Tech) should all be able to find various depth roles.

Duke Blue Devils

2023-24: 27-9 (15-5 ACC), lost in Elite Eight

This season is all about the freshmen. Duke has the consensus top recruiting class in the nation, headlined by five five-star prospects. That includes consensus No. 1 prospect Cooper Flagg, the likely top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. He is joined by Isaiah Evans (No. 14 in ESPN top 100), Kon Knueppel (No. 18), Pat Ngongba (No. 25), Darren Harris (No. 29) and the fifth five-star is Khaman Maluach.

The team will return Tyrese Proctor, who averaged 10.5 points per game, as well as Caleb Foster, who averaged 7.7 points per game and is an excellent three-point shooter.

It will be interesting to see how Tulane transfer Sion James will fit into this rotation after averaging 14.0 PPG for the Green Wave last year, as well as Syracuse transfer Maliq Brown, who averaged 9.5 PPG. Mason Gillis, who played 132 games for Purdue over four season, is sure to provide veteran leadership even if he doesn’t have much of a role on the court.

Virginia Cavaliers

2023-24: 22-9 (13-7 ACC), lost in First Four

It was a rough season for Virginia and it barely snuck into the NCAA tournament, only to get the doors blown off by Colorado State in Dayton in one of the worst tournament performances in recent memory.

This season, it could be in for a tough battle. It will have to heavily rely on returner Isaac McKneely, who averaged 12.3 points per game last season, as well as freshman Jacob Cofie for offense. Florida State transfer Jalen Warley, who averaged 7.5 points per game for the Seminoles in 2023-24.

After that, there is nobody on the roster who averaged more than 6.2 points per game, and that was San Diego State transfer Elijah Saunders. Kansas State transfer Dai Dai Ames averaged 5.2 PPG last year.

The defense should still be there, so Virginia will win some games on that alone, but it may be tough sledding in Charlottesville this season.

Pittsburgh Panthers

2023-24: 21-10 (12-8 ACC), no postseason

After a solid 2023-24 season just saw Pitt just miss the NCAA tournament, the Panthers re-tooled for this season.

Ishmael Leggett, who averaged 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, will have to step into the role of the go-to guy. He is one of five returners for the season. Jaland Lowe, who averaged 9.5 points per game, will be the best option, while Guillermo Diaz Graham (6.7 PPG) and Zack Austin (6.5 PPG), should also have roles.

Florida State transfer Cam Corhen (9.4 PPG) and Houston transfer Damian Dunn (6.4 PPG), should also have roles. Dunn, in the opinion of the writer of this piece, is one of the best role players in the nation.

An intriguing freshman is four-star prospect Brandin Cummings, which it remains to be seen how much of a role he will have, especially in the first portions of the year. Six-foot-eight Amsal Delalic, six-foot-nine Liam Mignogna and six-foot-ten Amdy Ndiaye are all interesting projects.

SMU Mustangs

2023-24: 20-13 (11-7 American Athletic), lost in NIT first round

SMU did have a 20-win season in 2023-24, but not a lot of them were meaningful. Of the 20 wins, 17 of them were either Quad 3 or Quad 4.

There is a change on the bench, as former USC coach Andy Enfield takes the reigns in Dallas after 11 seasons in Los Angeles. He replaces Rob Lanier, who was fired after two seasons and a record of 30-35.

Enfield was able to retain second-leading scorer Chuck Harris, who averaged 13.5 points per game, as well as 3.5 assists. Keon-Ambrose Hilton, who averaged 6.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, is back as well.

Enfield did bring in some intriguing transfers, including Wake Forest’s Kevin Miller (15.3 PPG), UMass’ Matt Cross (15.3 PPG), UC Santa Barbara’s Yohan Traore (14.5 PPG), San Jose State’s Tibet Gorener (11.4 PPG), Long Beach State’s AJ George (10.6 PPG) and Oregon’s Kario Oquendo (7.2 PPG). Miller is the best of these options as he has proven he can play well at the ACC level, but many of them are guys who scored a lot at the mid-major level and may need a learning curve.

The only noteworthy freshman is six-foot-seven forward Chance Puryear, a three-star prospect.

This is SMU’s first season in the ACC, and it will be interesting to see how this cast of players does in a higher-level league.

Clemson Tigers

2023-24: 24-12 (11-9 ACC), lost in Elite Eight

It was a surprisingly good season for Clemson in 2023-24, reaching the second weekend of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018 and going to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1980.

It won’t be the best roster in the league in 2024-25, but it has talent on it. PJ Hall and Joseph Girard III are gone, but Chase Hunter (12.9 PPG) and Ian Schieffelin (10.1 PPG) are both back and should be the two go-to scorers for the Tigers.

The rest of the key parts of the roster come via transfer, headlined by Jake Heidbreder, who did not play college basketball last season due to a redshirt, but averaged 15.1 PPG at Air Force in 2022-23. Jaeden Zackery, who averaged 11.3 PPG at Boston College, and Myles Foster, who averaged 12.4 PPG and 8.1 rebounds per game at Illinois State, also arrive. Viktor Lakhin, who averaged 9.2 PPG at Cincinnati, has high-major experience.

Dallas Thomas is a top-100 freshman, and Del Jones and Ace Buckner are both solid freshman who may see some playing time this season.

The confidence within the program is sky-high after a deep postseason run. We will see how they can follow it up.

Syracuse Orange

2023-24: 20-12 (11-9 ACC), no postseason

It was a solid first season with Adrian Autry at the helm after taking over for Jim Boeheim, but it was still not enough to find a spot in the NCAA tournament.

The Orange will look to change that in 2023-24. It’s hard to believe Syracuse has missed the tournament three years in a row, the program’s longest drought in half a century.

The losses of Judah Mintz and Quadir Copeland definitely hurt, but the Orange bring back JJ Starling, who averaged 13.3 PPG, as well as Chris Bell, who averaged 12.0 PPG.

As for newcomers, the Orange bring in five-star prospect Donnie Freeman, a six-foot-nine forward who will be relied on for production on both sides of the floor as well as grabbing rebounds. Eddie Lampkin Jr., who averaged 10.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game at Colorado last season, will be relied upon too.

Jyare Davis, who put up big numbers at Delaware last year, is here. Lucas Taylor averaged 14.5 PPG at Georgia State, and Jaquan Carlos averaged 10.4 PPG at Hofstra. Former top-50 prospect Chance Westry played 11 games for Auburn in 2022-23 before a knee injury.

Syracuse plays a ton of marquee non-conference games. It will have to rack wins to get back to the postseason.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons

2023-24: 21-14 (11-9 ACC), lost in NIT second round

Wake Forest was certainly on track to make the NCAA tournament, sitting at 18-9 and 10-6 in ACC play before a late-season collapse that saw it lost four of its last six regular season and conference tournament games, settling for the NIT.

The aforementioned Kevin Miller as well as Andrew Carr are gone, but Steve Forbes’ squad returns a solid core. That includes Hunter Sallis, who tested the NBA waters before opting to return to school, and Cameron Hildreth, who averaged 13.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Efton Reid III averaged 9.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest. He is back too.

Two interesting transfers come in: TreVon Spillers, who averaged 12.8 points an 8.9 rebounds per game at Appalachian State, as well as Ty-Laur Johnson, who averaged 8.7 PPG at Louisville.

Juke Harris is a top-100 prospect coming to Winston-Salem.

If the Demon Deacons can remain in the top five of the ACC and avoid another late-season slide, the NCAA tournament should be a realistic goal.

Virginia Tech Hokies

2023-24: 19-15 (10-10 ACC), lost in NIT second round

Virginia Tech is losing a ton of talent from the 2023-24 squad, including stalart point guard Sean Pedulla, Hunter Cattoor and Lynn Kidd, so there are question marks as to where the production will come from.

Mylyjael Poteat, who averaged 6.4 points per game in Blacksburg last season, will surely be asked to take a step up. Other than that, it will have to be newcomers.

Hysier Miller, who averaged 15.9 PPG at Temple last season, should have an immediate starting role. Ben Burnham averaged 11.9 PPG on a Charleston team that won 27 games, and Toibu Lawal averaged 7.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game at VCU. Top-100 freshman Ryan Jones, who stands at six-foot-eight, should likely have something of a role from the jump.

Coach Mike Young likely enters this season on the hot seat. Virginia Tech will probably need to have a good season for him to stick around. The pressure is on.

Florida State Seminoles

2023-24: 17-16 (10-10 ACC), no postseason

It was a very disappointing season in Tallahassee in 2023-24, with the Seminoles missing the postseason for a third consecutive season.

It must take a step up in 2024-25. However, most of the production has to come from new faces.

Getting back Jamir Watkins, who averaged 15.6 points per game in 2023-24, is a huge piece for Leonard Hamilton’s team. Chandler Jackson, who averaged 4.9 points per game, returns as well and should be thrust into a larger role.

The most notable transfers include Bostyn Holt, who averaged 12.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game at South Dakota, and Jerry Deng, who averaged 10.1 points per game and Hampton.

There are five freshman on the roster, headlined by six-foot-nine top-100 prospect Alier Maluk and a pair of four-star guys in DaQuan Davis and A.J. Swinton.

It is a young team in Tallahassee, that is the storyline.

Cal Golden Bears

2023-24: 13-19 (9-11 Pac-12), no postseason

The second of three additions to the ACC for 2024-25. Cal’s record wasn’t pretty in Mark Madsen’s first season at the helm, but it was serious progress: it was the program’s most league wins since 2016-17.

But it may be a serious challenge for the Golden Bears in 2024-25 as it makes a jump to a more competitive league.

However, Madsen seemed to realize this and brought in 10 transfers. The best of them are B.J. Omot, who averaged 16.7 PPG at North Dakota, Rytis Petraitis, who had 15.7 points and 6.3 points per game at Air Force and UTSA transfer Christian Tucker (11.3 PPG). A most intriguing one is Andrej Stojakovic, who averaged 7.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game as a freshman.

In addition, Mady Sissoko (Michigan State), Lee Dort (Vanderbilt) and Spencer Mahoney (Washington State) all have high-major experience.

It might be a small rebuild in year one in the ACC, but it’s easy to believe in Madsen and what he can build in Berkeley.

Stanford Cardinal

2023-24: 14-18, (8-12 Pac-12), no postseason

There will be low expectations for Stanford in 2024-25. It leaves the Pac-12 having not won the league since 2004, has not made the NCAA tournament since 2014 and has not had a 20-win season since 2019-20.

Jerod Haase was fired minutes after the season ended last year after eight seasons. Enter former Washington State head coach Kyle Smith, at the helm after he got the Cougars to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008.

It will be an almost entire new team. Smith was able to retain leading scorer Maxime Raynaud, but that is it for go-to guys. Benny Gealer returns after averaging 4.2 points per game, but the rest of the returners are guys on the end of the bench.

As for newcomers, Chisom Okpara averaged 16.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game at Harvard in 2023-24. Derin Saran averaged 10.1 PPG at UC Irvine. Oziyah Sellers (USC) and Jaylen Blakes (Duke) have high-major experience. Stanford also brought in Cole Kastner, a former All-American lacrosse player at Virginia.

As previously noted, expectations will be low for Smith’s first season. Don’t expect the Cardinal to compete for much.

NC State Wolfpack

2023-24: 26-15 (9-11 ACC), lost in Final Four

A miracle run for the Wolfpack ended all the way in the Final Four last spring. NC State was not in the conversation for an at-large bid, won five games in five days to win the ACC tournament, and then advanced to the national semifinals as a No. 11 seed.

Many of the key pieces from that run, including DJ Horne, DJ Burns Jr. and Casey Morsell are gone.

The key returning piece is Jayden Taylor, the guard who averaged 11.2 points per game in 2023-24. Role players Ben Middlebrooks, Michael O’Connell and Dennis Parker Jr. are all back as well.

It does bring in one of the best players in the MAC last season in Marcus Hill, who averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for Bowling Green. Brandon Huntley-Hatfield is also a solid add after he averaged 12.9 PPG at Louisville. Coming with him is Cardinal teammate Mike James, who averaged 12.6 PPG. Dontrez Styles did well on a bad Georgetown team. Finally, French-Canadian forward Ismael Diouf joins the team after averaging 10.1 PPG at Laval University in Quebec.

As for freshman, Paul McNeil is a top-50 prospect, while four-star combo guard Bryce Heard projects as a solid prospect. NC State also brought in three-star Atlanta guard Tremayne Parker.

It will be tough to recreate last year’s magic. But the Wolfpack can certainly have success this season.

Boston College Eagles

2023-24: 20-16 (8-12 ACC), lost in NIT second round

The 2023-24 season was the best in over a decade on Chestnut Hill, winning 20 games for the first time since the 2010-11 season and playing in the postseason for the first time since 2018. It won a postseason game for the first time since 2007.

Unfortunately for Earl Grant and BC, it has to start from square one after losing just about every piece from that team. The only noteworthy returners are Donald Hand Jr., who averaged 5.0 PPG as a freshman, and Chas Kelly III, who will likely be forced into the starting point guard role.

From there, it’s all new faces. Dion Brown is the biggest one, who averaged 19.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game for UMBC, he will likely be thrust into a large role. Roger McFarlane was a do-it-all guard for Southeast Louisiana, averaging 14.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Chad Venning averaged 13.4 points per game at St. Bonaventure.

The only notable freshman is four-star, six-foot-nine forward Kany Tchanda.

It’s an interesting mix of talent, we will have to see if they can get any sort of results.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

2023-24: 14-18 (7-13 ACC), no postseason

After an 8-3 start to Damon Stoudamire’s first season at the helm in Atlanta, things took a nosedive and the Yellow Jackets went 6-15 the rest of the way.

Georgia Tech does return some solid pieces, including Baye Ndongo, who averaged 12.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. Lance Terry missed all of the 2023-24 season due to injury, but averaged 10.6 points per game here in 2022-23. Naithan George had a great freshman year, starting 28 games and averaging 9.8 PPG. Kowacie Reeves Jr. also averaged 9.8 PPG and started all 32 games.

Highly coveted transfer Javian McCollum arrives in Atlanta after averaging 13.3 PPG at Oklahoma. He also finished second in the country in free throw percentage at 94.3%. Duncan Powell averaged 12.1 PPG at Sacramento State, and Luke O’Brien was a solid role guy at Colorado.

As for freshman, Jaeden Mustaf is a top-70 prospect, while Stoudamire also brings in a pair of four-stars in Darrion Sutton and Doryan Onwuchekwa.

The Yellow Jackets will be looking for a rebound. We’ll see how it goes.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

2023-24: 13-20 (7-13 ACC), no postseason

The rebuild of the program continues under Micah Shrewsberry, entering his second season in South Bend.

Continuity is the name of the game here. Notre Dame will return seven players from last year’s team, including all of the top four leading scorers in Markus Burton (17.5 PPG), Braeden Shrewsberry (10.2 PPG), Tae Davis (9.2 PPG) and J.R. Konieczny (7.7 PPG).

It also brings in a few solid pieces, including Matt Allocco, who averaged 12.7 PPG at Princeton, and Nikita Konstantynovskyi, who averaged 9.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game at Monmouth.

Two top-100 prospects, Nasir Mohammed and Cole Certa, arrive in South Bend, as does four-star Garrett Sundra.

With many key pieces returning, a next step should be expected to be taken, that being at least in the conversation for the NCAA tournament. Shrewsberry is a great coach, and people should be confident he can get it done.

Miami Hurricanes

2023-24: 15-17 (6-14 ACC), no postseason

It was a very disappointing season for Miami. It was as high as No. 8 in the nation at the beginning of the year, was 15-7 and 6-5 in the ACC on Feb. 3, and then did not win a game the rest of the season.

It forced Miami coach Jim Larrañaga to do a major roster overhaul. Only three players will return, but Matthew Cleveland (13.7 PPG, 6.1 RPG), and Nijel Pack (13.3 PPG) are major guys to keep around. Norchad Omier, Wooga Poplar, Bensley Joseph and Kyshawn George all depart.

As for additions, Miami grabbed one of the best mid-major players on the portal market in Jalen Blackmon, who averaged 21.3 PPG at Stetson and dropped 43 in the ASUN conference title game. It also added Brandon Johnson from East Carolina, Lynn Kidd from Virginia Tech, A.J. Stanton-McCray from Samford and Kiree Huie from Idaho State.

It also got one top-1o freshman Jalil Bethea, a guard who should have an immediate role. Miami also brings in top-50 prospect Austin Schwartz.

With this talent, Miami should be able to rebound from a tough second half. There will be some expectations.

Louisville Cardinals

2023-24: 8-24 (3-17 ACC), no postseason

After a second straight disastrous season, Louisville fired Kenny Payne. Payne went a horrid 12-52 in two seasons in a tenure that is sure to go down as one of the worst in recent memory.

Former Charleston head coach Pat Kelsey is now here, a high-energy coach who is already on track to bring Louisville back to its proud status.

That does mean a major overhaul. Louisville does not return a single player from last year’s team.

Kelsey had three players, Reyne Smith, Kobe Rogers and James Scott, follow him from Charleston. They all had varying levels of production.

The notable players on the roster include Terrence Edwards Jr. (James Madison), Kasean Pryor (South Florida), Aboubacar Traore (Long Beach State), J’Vonne Hadley (Colorado), Koren Johnson (Washington), Noah Waterman (BYU), and Chucky Hepburn (Wisconsin). All of them produced at their previous stops, and all will have roles as Louisville looks to turn things around.

NCAA tournament could be a solid goal in year one of the Pat Kelsey era.

By Aidan Joly

The Pac-12 has a new life and a new look.

On Thursday it was announced that the Pac-12 would officially make a return, announcing the addition of Mountain West schools San Diego State, Colorado State, Fresno State and Boise State in 2026. They will join the two schools left out of the shuffle during the last conference realignment, Oregon State and Washington State.

The moves create a large shift in the makeup of college sports on the west coast.

Six months ago the Mountain West was on a high note as it sent six of its teams to the NCAA tournament, more than the ACC, Big East and the on-its-deathbed Pac-12.

Sure, the Mountain West is a flawed conference. It doesn’t have the type of media rights contract that the new Pac-12 will likely end up having, and didn’t quite get to the point where it could be considered the west coast’s version of the Big East.

Still, it was a highly competitive conference that boasted some great atmospheres: The Pit at New Mexico, Viejas Arena at San Diego State and The Spectrum at Utah State. San Diego State and Boise State have always been in the top half of the standings and have been hunting for a power conference home for years. San Jose State and Air Force have been at the bottom of the league for the most part over the years, but just about every other team in the league has had success in recent years, save for Fresno State – mostly due to a lack of resources.

It is also worth noting that the new Pac-12 isn’t done. It must add two more teams by ’26 to be considered an FBS conference. UNLV, Utah State, Nevada and New Mexico are all good programs with resources. UNLV seems like it would be a likely target to pick up the Las Vegas market. It would be wise for Cal and Stanford to bite the bullet of ACC exit fees to re-join the league to limit travel.

The thing that gets tricky is deciding where the Mountain West goes from here. It has lost four of its 11 programs and could very well lose more. It could go after some in Conference USA, a league at this point that is filled with nomads stretching from Florida to New Mexico. New Mexico State, Sam Houston State and UTEP are the most obvious fits there. Perhaps Hawaii, already in the league for football, will become a full member.

It could also dip into smaller conferences and try to add the likes of North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Montana, Montana State, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho and the like, but the wrinkle there is that these are all schools that dominate at the FCS level of football. All seven of those schools I mentioned are all currently ranked in the top 10 in the country at the FCS level. North Dakota State has won nine FCS national championships since 2011 and South Dakota State is the current back-to-back defending champs. Five of those seven made the quarterfinals of the FCS playoff last season. It would have to convince schools that dominate FCS to make the move up to FBS, where success isn’t guaranteed. Football is king when it comes to college athletics, but would those schools be willing to give that up? That’s a question only they can answer.

FBS football is already bloated, too. There are currently 134 FBS teams, a few dozen of which have little to no business being there.

It’s disappointing to see what is happening to the Mountain West. That league has had the juice in basketball in recent years and showed that it could compete with some of the best leagues in the country. Some of these schools will surely be worse off in a decade.

It’s all the complications of football-driven money grabs.

By Aidan Joly

One thing you can say about the Memphis Tigers basketball program: it knows how to generate a headline.

You can say a lot of other things about the Memphis program and head coach Penny Hardaway since the program legend was hired in 2018.

The program generated another pair of headlines this week, the first being when Hardaway fired four assistant coaches, including lead assistant and former Western Kentucky head coach Rick Stansbury, two months before the season begins.

Later in the week, the program acknowledged to Sports Illustrated that it had received a letter from the NCAA alleging multiple rules violations, including improper payments to a player in 2022.

This is the latest in several issues for the program since Hardaway has been running it. That includes an 18-month investigation into the recruitment of James Wiseman, who played all of three games at Memphis, served a seven-game suspension, and then left the school in 2019-20. Hardaway was suspended for three games himself at the beginning of the 2023-24 season for recruiting and head coach responsibility violations. That came before Malcolm Dandridge was held out of the final five games of the season for academic reasons.

In the Wiseman case, Hardaway was cleared of any wrongdoing because he helped Wiseman with moving expenses before he became the head coach and did it as a philanthropist to Memphis, but the program was placed on probation (which lasts until September 2025) and fined.

More recently, the program had successfully recruited Mikey Williams, a top-ranked recruit who never played a game for Memphis after he was arrested on a gun charge. He is now a felon and will play for UCF this season.

According to The Daily Memphian, the program has churned through 41 employees, 17 of them in coaching or operations, since Hardaway was hired in 2018.

And all of this is for middling basketball. In six years with Hardaway at the helm, Memphis has only finished in the top two in the American Athletic Conference one time, has only made the NCAA tournament twice, and has only won one tournament game. He has an overall record of 133-62 and a league mark of 69-36.

He had replaced Tubby Smith, an honorable man whose integrity was never in question during his three-decade career, but who was simply not the right fit at Memphis. He was fired after two seasons and a 40-26 record (19-17 in league play).

The hiring of Hardaway, a native son and a beloved figure in the city, was supposed to generate excitement and fill the arena. At first it did, and the program had some juice for the first time since John Calipari was the head coach and Derrick Rose was the star player. The brand was nationally relevant again. But then weird thing after weird thing happened and the glamor went away as the embarrassing headlines started to take over.

That glamor on the court is still not there six years later. For Memphis, the headaches off the court should no longer be worth the mediocrity on the court.

By Aidan Joly

The college basketball coaching carousel was full speed ahead this off-season. It brought a record 68 changes across Division I.

Many struggling programs made moves, including Louisville, Washington, Michigan, Stanford and DePaul. Additionally, high profile moves occurred at Kentucky, Arkansas, USC, BYU and West Virginia. All-around, there are significant changes coming to who is patrolling the sidelines in 2024-25.

The list of coaches on the hot seat heading into the new season feels thin, probably due to the sheer number of moves made last year. However, there are still a handful of programs who may make a move if things go south. Here are seven of them.

Kyle Neptune, Villanova

Neptune was given an unenviable task of replacing Jay Wright at Villanova in 2022.

His first season was a rocky one, but with injuries to key pieces in Justin Moore and Cam Whitmore made a 17-17 season a little more forgivable.

Villanova started 6-1 and won the Battle 4 Atlantis at the beginning of last year but then things unraveled, finishing with an 18-16 record and a second straight season of 10-10 in Big East play. Needless to say, that was not good enough to make the NCAA tournament in either year. Neptune has now missed two tournaments in two years. Before that, Villanova had only missed twice in 18 years and won two national titles in that time.

Patience is already wearing thin on the Main Line. If Villanova misses for a third straight year, it will likely be the end of the road for Neptune. The program can’t, and shouldn’t, put up with that.

Mike Woodson, Indiana

Some thought Woodson should have gotten the axe this past spring, especially with alumnus and now-Michigan coach Dusty May ready to make the move up from Florida Atlantic.

Woodson went 21-14 in year one and made the NCAA tournament, but that was largely in part due to the presence of Trayce Jackson-Davis, who was recruited by the previous regime. The Hoosiers went 19-14 and 10-10 in Big Ten play last year and missed the tournament.

His resume is solid, with a Round of 64 win in 2023 and two NCAA appearances to boot, but this is Indiana. Expectations are sky-high. The conversations will get louder if Indiana misses again, especially with one of the top incoming transfer classes.

Dennis Gates, Missouri

Gates has had a VERY different two seasons at Missouri.

In year one, the Tigers went 25-10 and 11-7 in the SEC, spent time in the top 25 and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament as a No. 7 seed.

In year two Missouri completely bottomed out, going 0-18 in the SEC and 8-24 overall. It only won one game after Dec. 3. It was a stunning drop off after a wildly promising first season.

Which season is the outlier here? It’s tough to tell right now. Gates does bring in a great freshman class as well as some talented transfers in Mark Mitchell from Duke and Tony Perkins from Iowa.

Gates won’t have to win 25 games and appear in the top 25 to keep his job, but he certainly needs to avoid going winless in league play again.

Bobby Hurley, Arizona State

Hurley has led Arizona State to be a consistent program over the past nine years and has a record of 155-131.

However, the Sun Devils have only reached the NCAA tournament three times in those nine years, all as a No. 11 seed, and has not been to advance past the Round of 64. Last year’s mark of 14-18 was the worst season of his tenure in Tempe.

On top of that, the program will play its first season in the significantly more challenging Big 12 this year. He brought in a good recruiting class featuring Jayden Quaintance, but the pressure will be on for him to finish above .500 and reach the NCAA tournament. That feels like a tall task in year one in the Big 12.

Mike Young, Virginia Tech

Young has brought the Hokies to a pair of NCAA tournaments in five years at the helm but has not yet won a game.

Since then he has had back-t0-back 19-15 seasons after a surprising ACC title in 2022. It’s not bad, but Buzz Williams had four straight 20-win seasons in Blacksburg before departing for Texas A&M. By comparison, Young has won 20 games just once in five years.

Virginia Tech has had good guard play over the years, but the results have been pedestrian. If it’s another below-average season, it may be the end of the road.

Earl Grant, Boston College

Grant’s seat is certainly not scorching, especially after bringing Boston College to its first 20-win season since 2010-11 and its first postseason appearance of any kind since 2018.

Still, Grant is under .500 overall and in ACC play in three seasons. There has been marginal year-to-year improvement.

However, if there is a drop-off, the seat could get a little warmer.

Porter Moser, Oklahoma

You would think Moser’s record in three seasons in Oklahoma would be better, but he is 20-35 in Big 12 play across three seasons and 54-45 overall.

He has not made the NCAA tournament yet after Oklahoma only missed the tournament once between 2013 and 2021 under Lon Kruger.

Couple this with a move to the SEC this season, it feels like Moser will have to guide Oklahoma to the NCAA tournament in order to keep his job. Oklahoma fans should not tolerate a fourth straight miss.

Bonus: Tom Izzo, Michigan State

This very likely won’t be Izzo’s last season in East Lansing. But the criticisms of Izzo have started to get louder the past year or two, with some saying the game is beginning to pass him by.

There are at least a few fair criticisms in there, and it feels reminiscent of people starting to criticize Jim Boeheim towards the end of his run at Syracuse. MSU hasn’t won more than 11 Big Ten games since 2019-20, but there hasn’t been an NCAA tournament miss.

He won’t be fired. You absolutely cannot fire Tom Izzo. But could he retire? He will turn 70 years old during the 2024-25 season. That is certainly a possibility within the next couple years.