One big thing to watch in every Division I conference in 2024-25

October 30, 2024 admin

Credit to Author: Myron Medcalf| Date: Tue, 29 Oct 2024 11:41:57 EST

Jonathan Givony breaks down the expectations for Cooper Flagg’s freshman season at Duke. (1:09)

There are 364 men’s basketball teams in Division I entering the 2024-25 season. That’s almost one team for every day of the year. It’s also thousands of players, coaches and staffers and hundreds of storylines across the landscape.

Even the most passionate college basketball fan will admit it takes a lot of energy to know what’s happening in a sport with that much going on.

That’s why we’re here. You want to impress your friends and colleagues with your college basketball knowledge as the season approaches? We’ve got you, with our list of key storylines from all 31 conferences.

Mention these and people will think you’re a genius and a legit college basketball expert. Maybe.

You’re welcome.

Who could dethrone Vermont?

The Catamounts have secured five of the league’s past seven automatic berths. The only outliers were the UMBC team that ended up upsetting Virginia in the first round of the 2018 NCAA tournament, and fourth-place Hartford in 2021, which upset the field and won the league’s tournament. This season, it’s UMass-Lowell, led by 6-foot-7 forward Max Brooks (12.6 PPG, 2.1 BPG) that will try to ruin Vermont’s NCAA tournament dreams.

Penny Hardaway and the drama at Memphis

Hardaway is a hometown hero in Memphis, but his coaching tenure at his alma mater has been littered with disappointments and controversies, including in the offseason. Two months before the start of this season, Hardaway announced he had dismissed four assistant coaches. Last season, he was suspended three games for recruiting violations, and standout Malcolm Dandridge missed five games amid an investigation about his eligibility.

Hardaway, who returns just one player from last season’s squad, has reached the NCAA tournament twice in six years and secured only one win. This season he adds new stars like transfers Tyrese Hunter and PJ Haggerty, but he needs a successful year — without any additional drama — to bolster his job security.

Of course it’s Cooper Flagg

Maybe you’re already over the Cooper Flagg buzz. We understand; we’ve been talking about him a lot, after all. But this is only the beginning. He can legitimately do everything. He can handle the ball, and he can be effective as a post presence or outside threat. He’s a high-level defender. He plays at 150 miles per hour every time he touches the ball (slight exaggeration). Oh, and he’s going to dunk. A lot.

Cooper Flagg skies to dunk an alley-oop jam for Duke.

Combine all of this with the NBA buzz he’s getting, and the projected No. 1 pick in next summer’s draft could help Duke break TV ratings records this year. Every time Flagg steps onto a basketball court, you will want to watch. Trust us. You don’t want to miss the greatest show this sport has seen since Zion Williamson in 2018-19.

North Alabama is ready to win in Division I

The former Division II team has finished with a winning record just once (2022-23) since making the jump up in 2018. But the Lions are projected to finish third in the ASUN’s preseason coaches poll and fifth in the media poll. Can they bring their winning track record in D-II and win their first ASUN title? Jacari Lane (14.7 PPG last season) and transfer Daniel Ortiz (6.6 PPG at UAB last season) will look to make that happen.

‘Cream Abdul-Jabbar’ has arrived in the A-10

Robbie Avila, who was a viral storyline throughout the 2023-24 season, is back. He followed his Indiana State coach Josh Schertz to Saint Louis — which was picked to finish fourth in the league’s preseason poll. Avila (17.4 PPG, 40% from beyond the arc last season) has to prove he can put up similar numbers against better competition.

Arizona is the new party crasher

There’s a strong contingent of teams vying for the league title, as always: Kansas is the AP preseason No. 1; Houston, Iowa State, Baylor are all projected to be as competitive as they were last season. But now they have to contend with league newcomer Arizona (No. 10 in the AP preseason poll). At Big 12 media day, Caleb Love (18.2 PPG, 33.2% from 3) said he’s a better leader and a more balanced player this season. If he can play with more poise and efficiency, Arizona could end the season as the new king of the best conference in America.

Does UConn have enough to threepeat?

The last time a team won at least three consecutive national championships, disco music topped the charts (UCLA from 1967 to 1973). Which makes UConn’s journey toward a possible third consecutive national title the first in the sport’s modern era. Dan Hurley has projected lottery pick Liam McNeeley and veteran star Alex Karaban, but he lost serious talent from last year’s championship team. A third ring will probably be the most difficult for Hurley to capture. But the program’s shot at history is real.

The “Unsportsmanlike” Crew debate whether Dan Hurley and UConn can win a third consecutive NCAA championship after the coach spurned the Lakers to remain in Storrs.

The title runs through Montana

Rivals Montana and Montana State are set to battle again for the Big Sky title and automatic NCAA tournament berth. Montana State, led by forward Brian Goracke (13.5 PPG), beat Montana in the final to win the Big Sky tournament last season, which has amplified preseason expectations. The Bobcats were picked to win the conference in the preseason media poll. Montana meanwhile, got the nod in the preseason coaches poll. Grizzlies standout Brandon Whitney (10.3 PPG) & Co. could have another showdown with their rivals in March.

High Point chases history

High Point led Longwood by 15 points entering the second half of their Big South tournament semifinal — but lost by one point in OT. Kezza Giffa (16.2 PPG), the league’s preseason player of the year, and his fellow Panthers hope to finish what they started a year ago and reach the NCAA tournament for the first time as a Division I team.

Rutgers enjoys its biggest spotlight in half a century

In 1975, Rutgers legend Phil Sellers led the program to its first NCAA tournament appearance. A year later, he carried the team to its first (and only) Final Four. Fifty years later, five-star freshmen Airious “Ace” Bailey and Dylan Harper, a pair of projected top-five NBA draft picks, could help the Knights make history again in attempting to elevate them into the national championship conversation.

Their presence at Rutgers — which hasn’t won a conference title since 1981 — is also a sign of NIL’s influence on the sport. This new era has allowed teams that were once afterthoughts to add star power and compete with the best teams in the country. Bailey, a 6-10 guard, and Harper, a 6-6 guard and the son of former NBA standout Ron Harper Sr., could join Sellers as heroes for a program that’s chasing a trip to the Final Four.

A new era at Long Beach State

Last season was messy for LBSU. Dan Monson was the head coach for 17 seasons before he was fired by athletic director Bobby Smitheran prior to the 2024 postseason — but still allowed to coach until his team was knocked out. Well, that included leading the Beach to the Big West tournament title and stealing an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. He’s now coaching at Eastern Washington. LBSU, meanwhile, is led by Chris Acker, a longtime assistant at San Diego State who had nothing to do with how everything unfolded with his predecessor.

Long Beach State coach Dan Monson reflects on his coaching career and the Dirtbags’ NCAA tournament bid after being fired earlier in the week.

Chris Mack is back

The last time we saw Mack, he was fired by Louisville midway through the 2021-22 season after he was suspended six games because of alleged NCAA violations and then went 1-5. It was the culmination of a turbulent year for the head coach, his players and the program. A negotiated $4.8 million settlement meant he didn’t have to rush back to the sport — and now he has returned to the sidelines at Charleston, to follow up on a 27-win season and NCAA tournament appearance. The good news: He has Ante Brzovic, the league’s preseason player of the year, on his roster. It might not be long before Mack is a winner again.

Can a former JUCO coach win the league in Year 1?

Hank Plona, 39, spent eight years at Indian Hills Community College, a junior college in Iowa, before he left to join Steve Lutz’s staff at Western Kentucky. When Lutz left for Oklahoma State this spring, after WKU won the CUSA tournament title to earn an NCAA berth, Plona was elevated to head coach. With Tyrone Marshall Jr. (8.8 PPG, 37% from the 3-point line) back, the Hilltoppers are projected to finish second behind Louisiana Tech in the league’s preseason poll. A strong run for another first-year coach is possible at WKU.

Greg Kampe keeps going … and going … and going

Oakland was the most surprising spoiler in the NCAA tournament seven months ago, when it KO’d Kentucky in the first round. The Golden Grizzlies are projected to finish top-five in the Horizon this season, despite losing key players to the transfer portal. But the bigger story here is that Kampe — the 68-year-old who has held his job since 1984, making him the longest-tenured head coach in Division I — told reporters this offseason that retirement wasn’t something he was thinking about at all. The legend of Greg Kampe will continue, most likely long beyond the 2024-25 season.

Can Princeton run the table in the Ivy League?

Last year, the Tigers lost two conference games and then were upset by Brown in the Ivy League tournament. But this season’s group — led by Xavian Lee (17.1 PPG) and Caden Pierce (16.6 PPG, 9.2 RPG) — is supposed to be stronger. As a result, Princeton received 15 of 16 first-place votes in the preseason poll. It could very well win the league’s regular-season title, its conference tournament championship and play the role of spoiler, as it did two years ago on its Sweet 16 run. An unblemished record, though? Princeton last achieved that during the 2016-17 season; it’s possible again in 2024-25.

Quinnipiac has what it takes to make historic run

Last season, Quinnipiac won its first regular-season title in 14 years, then lost to Saint Peter’s in the second round of the MAAC tournament. Amarri Monroe (12.9 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.8 SPG), the league’s preseason player of the year, has returned, and the preseason polls project the Bobcats will win the regular-season conference title again. They are determined to make this the year they get to their first NCAA tournament as a Division I team.

Last year at Toledo for Tod Kowalczyk?

In May, Toledo announced a contract extension for its longtime men’s basketball coach after he led the program to its fourth consecutive outright MAC championship. He’s the only coach in America who has four outright league titles in a row. He lost three of his best players to the transfer portal this offseason, however. This upcoming offseason could feature a multitude of coaching changes, and the 58-year-old Kowalczyk could get an offer that would be difficult to refuse. The portal has affected every level of college basketball, but the MAC has consistently lost its top players to major schools in recent years. Maybe Kowalczyk decides that he’d rather be the hunter than the hunted in this chaotic landscape, if the right opportunity arises.

What’s going on at Howard?

The reigning MEAC tournament winner was picked to win the league championship again this season — not surprising for a squad led by Bryce Harris, the conference’s preseason player of the year. Yet that has been overshadowed by offseason developments. This summer, coach Kenny Blakeney told reporters he wanted to offer a stake in Howard men’s basketball to private investors for $100 million. Just one problem: Howard’s leadership said the coach had not “vetted” the proposal with them. How will this play out this season? Things might get awkward off the court.

Murray State, Steve Prohm seek redemption

Prohm hasn’t led a team to the NCAA tournament since 2019, one of his final years at Iowa State. At Murray State, he’s coming off one of the worst seasons in school history (12-20). Luckily, he retooled by surrounding returning veteran JaCobi Wood (12.5 PPG) with a collection of impressive transfers. The Racers, projected to finish third in the league’s standings per the preseason poll, could reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2022.

The end of the (current) MWC is near

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Over the past three years, the Mountain West has secured 14 NCAA tournament berths. That’s more bids than the Pac-12, and just one fewer than the ACC in the same span. Don’t expect this to continue next season, once Boise State, Fresno State, Utah State and Colorado State all join the new Pac-12 in 2026. Because that’s all we’ll be talking about for the next few years: the departing powerhouses — including Boise State, which could win the league’s tournament this season and spoil someone’s March — and the possible newcomers. What remains to be seen is whether the Mountain West can attract the kinds of teams that will allow it to remain an influential league in men’s basketball.

Intraconference transfer could shake up the conference race

For the past two years, R.J. Greene — a 6-5 standout who averaged 8.2 PPG last season — has played at Long Island University. During the offseason, however, he transferred to Wagner, just a 30-minute drive from LIU. Now he could be the difference-maker in the conference race. Wagner and Central Connecticut were projected to win the league in the conference’s preseason poll, while LIU was picked to finish fifth.

Morehead State‘s next act

During his reign at Morehead State, former coach Preston Spradlin reached the NCAA tournament twice in the past four years and won at least 22 games in four consecutive seasons. That’s a high mark for any successor to follow, after Spradlin left his old gig to become the head coach at James Madison. But 35-year-old Jonathan Mattox, a former Murray State assistant, will try to lead 7-footer Dieonte Miles and a rebuilt roster that returns just one starter into the league’s top tier during his first season.

Matt Langel is … still here?

Colgate coach Matt Langel’s recent résumé is as impressive as that of any mid-major coach in the country. He has reached the past five NCAA tournaments after winning the past five Patriot League tournament championships. He has also won six consecutive Patriot League regular-season championships. He’s 46 years old, and he clearly loves his life at Colgate. But how long will that run last in a disruptive era that has created more challenges for the non-power schools? Langel is another successful coach who might be tempted to consider offers from more prominent schools during this upcoming coaching cycle.

John Calipari wears red now

In late October, more than 19,000 Arkansas fans cheered as John Calipari walked onto the court at Bud Walton Arena for the first time as the new men’s basketball coach. They kept cheering as five-star prospect Boogie Fland and former elite prospect D.J. Wagner led the Razorbacks to a double-digit win over AP preseason No. 1 Kansas in a charity exhibition.

To tip off Year One of the Calipari era, Razorbacks Boogie Fland and DJ Wagner combine for 46 points to help get the exhibition win against the top-ranked Jayhawks, 85-69.

Calipari’s decline at Kentucky was one of the league’s most prominent national storylines in recent years, and he will continue to attract a spotlight in his new role. Because the sight of Calipari wearing red will take some time to become familiar.

Sure, he’s not the only storyline in the SEC, which will chase the Big East’s record of 11 NCAA tournament bids in the same season (2011). Mark Sears or Wade Taylor IV could win national player of the year. Mark Pope is at Kentucky after playing there in the 1990s. Oklahoma and Texas will play their first seasons in the league.

But Calipari’s decision to switch schools in the same conference will be a talking point up to — and even beyond — his return to Lexington on Feb. 1 for what could be a significant matchup between Arkansas and Kentucky in the league’s title race.

Will Bucky McMillan build a high-powered offense again?

Samford won 29 games last season and even challenged Kansas in the first round of the NCAA tournament, roaring back from a 22-point deficit. The Bulldogs finished the 2023-24 season ranked fifth in the nation in scoring (86.1 PPG) and in the top 60 in adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom. They also lost every starter and had to rebuild. McMillan has a new cast ready to buy into his high-scoring “Bucky Ball” offense — including Tulane transfer Collin Holloway (12.8 PPG) — and ready to go after the program’s third consecutive Southern Conference regular-season title.

We’re on Will Wade watch

When the FBI investigated college basketball, a recording featuring former LSU coach Will Wade discussing a “strong ass offer” to a player derailed his career. He was fired in 2022, and he received a two-year show-cause and a 10-game suspension to start his next stint at McNeese in 2023-24. Wade won 30 games last season and reached the NCAA tournament in his first season in Lake Charles. His team is projected to win the conference title again, and the return of Christian Shumate (12.1 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 1.4 BPG) should help get the Cowboys there. If that happens, this could be Wade’s last year at a non-power-conference school.

Grambling is up

The Tigers were one of the most fascinating stories in America last year, making their first NCAA tournament appearance as a Division I team and winning their first game (88-81 in overtime against Montana State in the First Four). Top player Kintavious Dozier (13.0 PPG) has returned, ready to have more fun in March.

Preston Spradlin era begins at James Madison

Yes, Spradlin gets a second mention here. His success is what prompted James Madison to hire him to replace Mark Byington, who left for Vanderbilt following a 32-win season and NCAA tournament run. Byington set a lofty standard for James Madison basketball, which he rebuilt during his reign. Spradlin hopes to duplicate that success.

Kansas City continues to grow

Last season, the Roos won a share of second place in the league standings then lost in the conference tournament’s opening round. It was a major improvement from the previous season, when Kansas City went 11-21. Jamar Brown (15.0 PPG, 6.1 RPG) and his four fellow starters return to finish the job and take Kansas City to its first Division I NCAA tournament appearance.

What is the future of the WCC?

Over the past decade, Gonzaga has flirted with the idea of leaving the WCC. The lack of a football program always seemed to complicate those ambitions. The new Pac-12, however, doesn’t mind, and the Bulldogs are set to join the revamped league in 2026. The Zags have a few years left in the WCC, but their impending departure raises significant questions for the league, which has depended on their success. Meanwhile, this season’s iteration could — surprise, surprise — make a Final Four run with Graham Ike (16.3 PPG) & Co.

Tyon Grant-Foster goes for No. 2

With R.J. Davis battling Cooper Flagg in the ACC, Grand Canyon‘s Grant-Foster could be the only player this season to win consecutive conference player of the year honors. The 6-7 forward got last year’s nod after averaging 20.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 1.5 BPG for a Grand Canyon team that made a run to the second round of the NCAA tournament after a win over Saint Mary’s in the opening round. The Lopes are on an upward trajectory and could make a return and pull off another upset. And Grant-Foster might have another trophy to take home, too.

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