A new college basketball season is upon us, with the first day of action beginning on Nov. 6. While there are over 350 colleges and universities in Division I, only a select few have a chance of lifting the National Championship come early April.
Kansas opens as the favorite to cut down the nets in Phoenix. After landing former Michigan center Hunter Dickinson through the transfer portal, the Jayhawks look like the most complete team in the country. Returning starters KJ Adams, Kevin McCullar, and Dajuan Harris will look for a bounce back after being eliminated in the second round of last year’s tournament.
College basketball is not complete without Duke, Kentucky, and North Carolina being serious threats for the title. Over the last few years, they’ve each had a down year where everything fell apart, and they couldn’t bounce back. While Duke and North Carolina at least have a Final Four appearance to show for, Kentucky is hoping to advance deep into the tournament. The Wildcats only have one tournament win since 2019, and after suffering shocking defeats in the last couple of years, pressure is mounting on head coach John Calipari.
Nevertheless, all three have reason for optimism. Duke and North Carolina’s conference, the Atlantic Coast, doesn’t have a standout team outside of the two, which gives them a possibility of finishing 1-2 in the conference standings. In Kentucky’s case, their freshman class is among the highest ranked in the country. That should allow them to compete in the Southeastern Conference along with Tennessee and Texas A&M.
In the Big Ten conference, Michigan State and Purdue are a tier above everyone else. No Big Ten team has won the championship since Michigan State accomplished that in 2000. Twenty-three years later, it is the Spartans team full of experienced upperclassmen that look to break that drought. On the other hand, Purdue suffered a historic defeat in the NCAA Tournament, when they became just the second 1-seed to lose to a 16-seed. Reigning National Player of the Year Zach Edey and Co. return on a mission to erase last year’s collapse.
A new year of college hoops has arrived, and it promises to deliver many thrills across the next couple of months!