College basketball: Kansas at No. 1? Can UConn do it again? Shouldn't Illinois be ranked?
The start of the 2024-25 college basketball season is here at last.
OK, fine, it’s true — games have been taking place for more than a week now.
But what is November even for if not shaking off the rust of a long offseason? That goes for both the lithe athletes on the court and the blithe know-it-all writing this preview column.
Assuming you’ve been too busy barking at the moon about the imploding Bears and the invisible Bulls and Blackhawks (an antenna? seriously?) to tune into college hoops, what have you missed so far? Not a lot. Preseason No. 6 Gonzaga destroyed No. 8 Baylor 101-63. Baylor then handed John Calipari his first loss at Arkansas, beating the No. 16 Razorbacks 72-67. No. 1 Kansas held off No. 9 North Carolina in a 92-89 thriller, and No. 11 Auburn outfought No. 4 Houston 74-69. That was the meat of it heading into a big Tuesday night, which brought a Kansas-Michigan State and Duke-Kentucky doubleheader in Atlanta.
As an AP Top 25 voter, I’ve already bumped up Gonzaga and Auburn on — and dumped Baylor and Arkansas from — my second ballot. But let’s not get too hung up on the early-season comings and goings because it’s a mighty long road from now to the Final Four in San Antonio. Instead, let’s get you prepped:
Rock Chalk, real talk: For the second straight season, Kansas was ranked No. 1 going in. But what’s going to stop this Jayhawks team from being a total flop like the last version, which sunk to the middle of the Big 12 pack and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament? Returnees Dajuan Harris Jr., KJ Adams Jr. and Hunter Dickinson provide a strong foundation, but the rest will depend on how the transfer pieces fit. Did Bill Self hit a home run in the portal with Zeke Mayo from South Dakota State, Rylan Griffen from Alabama and AJ Storr from Wisconsin or didn’t he?
UConn shoots for three: College basketball hasn’t seen a championship three-peat since John Wooden-led UCLA won seven straight titles from 1967 through 1973. After winning back-to-back titles in sensational fashion, the Dan Hurley-led Huskies are aiming to keep it going. Hurley’s roster has changed so much, though, that buying into this team’s elite-ness requires something of a leap of faith. Then again, the exact same thing could’ve been said a year ago.
Life after Zach Edey: The two-time national player of the year is in the NBA, but Purdue is the favorite in the Big Ten even without him. Why? Don’t think of it as being because the Boilermakers are expected to remain in tip-top form. Think of it as being because the Big Ten is down, and maybe way down. The Boilers are ranked 13th, Indiana 16th, Ohio State 21st and Rutgers 24th. Illinois, coming off an Elite Eight run, is unranked. Outside of the Rutgers one-and-done duo of Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, there isn’t much glitz in this 18-team conference.
The real big leagues: The Big 12 has five teams — Kansas, Iowa State, Houston, Arizona and Baylor — ranked ahead of Purdue. The SEC has three teams — Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee — closer to the top. Early-season rankings are nothing if not unreliable, but they’re painting one hell of a picture about a Big Ten that, by the way, hasn’t produced a national champ since Michigan State in 2000. Next time you hear a Big Ten coach bloviating about his league being the best in the country, try not to laugh.
About the Illini: Brad Underwood rebuilt essentially an entire roster since the Elite Eight loss to UConn, as only one current Illini player, Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, saw the floor (for all of nine minutes) in that game. There are so many newcomers, so many three-point shooters and, Underwood promises, so much potential. How many Illini teams have had multiple freshmen being talked about as potential one-and-done first-round picks? That’s the case with both Will Riley and Kasparas Jakucionis now. Perhaps this group will sneak to the top of the Big Ten. Wouldn’t that be fun?
No love for Northwestern: Is anyone else out there old enough to remember when the Wildcats went to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in 2023 and 2024? Because the Big Ten media — which pegged the Cats to finish 16th in the league standings — clearly has forgotten all about those golden years. No longer is Boo Buie around to take all the big shots, but Nick Martinelli erupted for 32- and 26-point games right out of the chute last week. He’s one to watch.
Chris Holtmann’s maiden DePaul voyage: The Blue Demons are off to a 3-0 start under Holtmann, a former coach of the year in both the Big East and the Big Ten. After the Tony Stubblefield era — not to mention the Dave Leitao, Oliver Purnell and Jerry Wainwright eras — the bar is incredibly low, not that Holtmann is trying merely to clear the bar. There’s no higher mountain to climb for any coach in the major-college ranks.
My AP Top 25 preseason ballot: 1. Kansas, 2. Alabama, 3. Houston, 4. UConn, 5. Purdue,
6. North Carolina, 7. Iowa State, 8. Gonzaga, 9. Duke, 10. Auburn, 11. Arizona, 12. Baylor, 13. Texas A&M, 14. Indiana, 15. Creighton, 16. Tennessee, 17. Michigan State, 18. Arkansas, 19. Marquette,
20. Illinois, 21. Cincinnati, 22. Texas, 23. Ole Miss, 24. Rutgers, 25. Clemson.