Hoops Preview: Firing Up the Fanaticism

Up here in the Twin Cities, autumn doesn't seem to want to settle in. Two early snow events are reminding us that the dead of winter is knocking on the door. It's creeping up too quickly for my taste, just like the world of college basketball. Maybe I just need another week to acknowledge that we've already had Midnight Madness, but I don't seem quite as excited for the upcoming season. A shame, too. There's quite a bit of intrigue to settle on the hardwood.

While we follow our own interests, the nation will always have one eye on Lexington. John Calipari has the game's ultimate job, head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats. And, same as before, he's not gliding in quietly. The quick exit from Memphis, the recruits following suit, the allegations (past and present) bubbling up, the hype of the return to UK glory. Even with all of the hoopla, the man does produce. He wins, plain and simple. And he'll have to do that on the highest plain to avoid failure at one of the bluebloods.

Out west, Sean Miller will try to return Arizona to recent success that has kept sending them invitations to the NCAA tournament for the past 25 years. He'll have to do it without Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill, who have moved on to the pros. Nic Wise and Kyle Fogg now must carry the Wildcats. I like Miller as a coach and think he'll be a force in the desert. But will it be an instant success, or take a bit of time?

Let's start looking a little bit smaller. With Miller's exit from the Cincinnati metro area, the Atlantic 10 door may be open a tad more for someone to overtake Xavier. The front-runner is Dayton, with four starters coming back to hopefully make a deeper postseason run. Out of 10 players that averaged 10 minutes a game last season, nine return. Problem for the Flyers, though, is that they're in the A-10. Over the last few years, this conference has provided some of the best races and surprises around the entire nation.

Staying with the mids, Gonzaga might have to take a year off from being the hot prospect for postseason depth and disappointment. For this year, your money has to be on Butler. Coach Brad Stevens has a completely stacked cupboard this season, with all five starters returning from their 2009 tourney squad. Conference star Matt Howard (still just a junior) is sure to be a stud once again, and, barring injury, this team should stay in the top 20 all year.

Let's return to the bluebloods. Roy Williams won't sit on his national title laurels. Just isn't him. He'll have the defending national champs ready to take on all challengers. But that might be difficult with Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Danny Green, and Wayne Ellington in the NBA. The Tar Heels will go the way of their lovable rivals from Duke, with this season being one of the "reload" status. This team belongs to Marcus Ginyard, Deon Thompson, Ed Davis, and Tyler Zeller. Very talented ... but very green compared to their predecessors.

Closer to my hometown (Kansas City), there's probably quite a bit of buzz. On one side of the state line is the big gun. Kansas is the early favorite to raise its second banner in three years. Sherron Collins is looking to end his career with the same confetti party he experienced in San Antonio. Cole Aldrich has all of the accolades from the Big 12 (and quite a few nationwide). Tyshawn Taylor now has a year of college under his belt (the first year provided a few highlights of its own). Former Memphis commit Xavier Henry fell back into Bill Self's lap after Calipari made his own transfer (and he's part of two sets of brothers on this team). Now, if the players can stay from the DUIs and fights with the football team, the party could return to Lawrence in early April.

Now to the other side of the state line for a team that captures the majority of my rooting interest. Last season, Missouri came out of nowhere to capture a Big 12 Tourney title, a three-seed in the NCAAs, and an Elite Eight run. Behind DeMarre Carroll, Leo Lyons, and Matt Lawrence, the Tigers matched their best finish in program history. Those three are gone now, taking away most of the frontline scoring and the team's sharpest shooter. The main question will concern whether coach Mike Anderson can keep the conference on edge with his "Fastest 40 Minutes" philosophy. It'll be tough with the likes of KU, Texas, and Oklahoma State.

Continuing through the middle of the country, the feel-good story of the year for me is in Chicago ... well, Evanston, to be exact. I didn't realize until this past February that Northwestern had never made it to the tourney. I think that they are the only program out of the big six conferences (ACC, SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, Big East, and Pac-10) to never have that feeling of going to the Dance. Other teams have had doormat status forever and still played past mid-March. Heck, Baylor was near the point of basketball's Death Penalty and made it all the way back. This is the last shot for seniors Kevin Coble, Jeremy Nash, Matt Steger, and Jeff Ryan. A last shot I'll be following through the winter.

You know what? Maybe I didn't need another week to turn on the intrigue switch. I guess I just needed to share my thoughts with you fellow college basketball fanatics. That's it. I'm ready now. Bring on the tip, the dunks, the stuffs, the long bombs, and the atmosphere. It's go time ... almost.

By the way, I might as well give some parting predictions for the upcoming season.

Teams I Talked About

Kentucky — NCAA second round
Arizona — Runs their NCAA streak to 26 (second round)
Dayton — Sweet 16
Butler — Elite Eight (one step from playing in their home city of Indianapolis)
North Carolina — Sweet 16
Missouri — Deep NIT run (sorry, fellow Tigers fans)
Northwestern — An 11-seed in their first NCAA bid

And For the Big Ones

Final Four — Kansas, Villanova, Purdue, Duke
Championship — Kansas def. Purdue

*Subject to change until April 6th