Notes:
Led by preseason All-American Darren Collison and highly-touted freshmen Kevin Love, UCLA looks to improve on back-to-back Final Four losses to eventual champion Florida. The only way to do this is by finally getting over the hump and winning the big one. It says here Love provides 6’10" solace for the loss of Aaron Afflalo, and with every other starter returning, Ben Howland completes the program’s resurrectio

Notes:
Those of you looking for the second coming of Kevin Durant (i.e. a man-child freshmen to take college ball by storm, dominating on the way to National Player of the Year honors), Derrick Rose is your man. Leading a tremendously athletic and talented team, Rose is going to absolutely destroy all comers this year, especially in a substandard conference like C-USA.

Notes:
I’m still not convinced preseason Player of the Year "Psycho T" Hansbrough is all that big of a deal. We’ve been down this road before with Carolina. If Ty Lawson turns into a consistent, game-changing point guard, however, they should dominate, giving Roy Williams further vindication for setting fire to every bridge on his way out of Lawrence, KS, all those years ago.

Notes:
This team has more big game experience returning than every program ahead of them other than UCLA, considering they return EVERY player of note besides Jeff Green from last year’s Big East champion/Final Four team. This includes 7’2" preseason All-American Roy Hibbert, who decimated Hansbrough in the Elite 8 last year and finally seems comfortable in his gigantic frame.

Notes:
Edgar Sosa exploded down the stretch last year in what was supposed to be a down campaign for the Cardinals. Terrence Williams led this team in every major category, so with him back and Pitino’s trademark suffocating style in tact, this team figures to be pretty damn awesome this year. The Big East, once again, will show everyone how things are done.

Notes:
Julian Wright was the most talented player on the Jayhawks last year, and his absence will be felt. What’s more, Brandon Rush will be gimpy early as he recovers from off-season knee surgery. Those said, KU still has a ridiculously talented team top-to-bottom, and a #6 ranking to begin the season shouldn’t be too disappointing.

Notes:
This team does nothing without preseason All-American Chris Lofton, but with him they are among the best in the nation. Bruce Pearl has transformed UT from traditional SEC maybes to a conference powerhouse (move over, Kentucky!). Ramar and JaJuan Smith are Lofton’s brothers-in-arms (and unconscionable shot selection), and the Volunteers, who can score a lot of points in a hurry, look to be the class of the Southeastern Conference.

Notes:
The second-best high school player in the nation last year, Eric Gordon, went back on a verbal commitment to Illinois to attend conference rival Indiana (perhaps it was a convincing text message that changed his mind?). Prop him up alongside D.J. White, and IU becomes the early leader in what looks to be a two-horse race for the Big Ten crown with…

Notes:
Preseason All-American Drew Neitzel really, really hopes he doesn’t have to do everything like last year and can instead focus on getting open and draining threes, something at which he excels. Raymar Morgan and touted freshmen Kalin Lucas and Chris Allen look to give him that support.

Notes:
Has to be one homer pick in the bunch, right? For real, though, Jerel McNeal, Wes Matthews, and Dominic James make up arguably the quickest starting backcourt in the nation. The Golden Eagles will run, run, and run some more this year in an effort to wear down their opponents. Ever heard of a four-guard offense? You’ve been put on notice.

Notes:
OJ Mayo might prove to be more trouble than he’s worth in what will almost definitely be his only collegiate year. USC better do some damage while he’s there, too, before the sanctions kick in from whatever under-the-table, Reggie Bush-type deal they made to land him. The Trojans should be entertaining, though, with Taj Gibson doing the dirty work up front.

Notes:
Derrick Low looks like he should be smoking doobs on the beach before grabbing his board to catch a killer wave, but the kid can play: his sly quickness and deft handle validate those Steve Nash comparisons. Tony Bennett has a good thing going at Wazzou, spurning several Big Ten overtures this Spring to continue building the program he and his father began flipping five years ago.

Notes:
It gives me absolutely no pleasure to put the Dukies here, but this sounds about right. Not too good, not particularly threatening, but Coach K, sponsored by American Express, runs a good program and makes his teams consistently competitive. They can look forward to beating everyone they’re supposed to beat, getting stomped twice by Carolina (especially after the cheap shot on Hansbrough in last year’s ACC title game), and losing early in March. Congratulations.

Notes:
Bob Huggins left a solid team in his wake while blowing town for West Viriginia. Bill Walker is nasty and fully recovered from the knee injury that doomed the party-crashing K-State last year. Pair him with five-star recruit Michael Beasley, and you have a tandem ready to do some damage in a down Big 12.

Notes:
Aaron Brooks is gone, and so is last year’s run to the Elite 8. What remains is Ernie Kent, fresh off saving his ass, and one of his most talented teams venturing into the fray of a loaded Pac-10 short on gimmes

Notes:
As soon as Lute Olson returns, this team will be ranked higher. What they are left with in his absence is a team bubbling over with potential coached by the certifiably insane Kevin O’Neill. Chase Budinger wisely stuck around Tucson another year to dominate in his own right, and the athletic swingman should be a Sportscenter mainstay

Notes:
There’s some rule now where we have to start Gonzaga in the late teens every year, right? If someone hides Josh Heytvelt’s mushrooms and keeps him on the team the entire season, the ranking is warranted. Heytvelt and Jeremy Pargo ought to run roughshod through the WCC this year, but then there’s another early-tourney flameout to worry ab

Notes:
The Kevin Durant era came and went, and what a magical year it was…for Mr. Durant. What most people disregarded in all the commotion last year is Rick Barnes, while an excellent recruiter, is a terrible game coach, and Texas lost in the Sweet 16 as a result. This season, D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams look to show last year’s team wasn’t a one-man show, regardless of whether or not it actually was.

Notes:
The entire core of last year’s tournament team returns for another go-round. That includes six seniors and their leading scorer, sophomore Patrick Beverly. Dana Altman held the job at Arkansas for a total of 26 hours in April, but the guy who ended up actually replacing Stan Heath, John Pelphrey, has been handed a decent team and a wide-open SEC West to work with.

Notes:
This will make a lot more sense if Brook Lopez ends up playing this year. Already academically ineligible, he is now suspended indefinitely for blowing off classes. The dude is 7 feet tall and almost went pro last year, so he’s important to Trent Johnson’s Cardinal. We’ll see how things go early on, but I wouldn’t bet the house on them remaining on here.