After one of the most unique editions of March Madness we have ever seen, men’s hoops is back to a seemingly normal schedule. The start of the season brings high hopes, high expectations and questions that can only be answered in one place, on the court. Here are the players and teams to watch for in the ACC Big East, Big 10, PAC 12, Big 12, and the SEC.

ACC

Ones to watch

– Pablo Banchero – Duke

– RayQuan Evans – Florida State

– Samuel Williamson – Louisville

Favorite: Duke – Coach K’s finale season begins as Duke looks to reclaim dominance on the national stage. They got off to a great start in the recruiting sphere landing a top three prospect Pablo Banchero. A full season of Trevor Keels will be a welcome sight as the Blue Devils will be eyeing a run deep into March to end to end Coach K’s career on a high note.

Dark Horse squad: Syracuse – The Buddy Boheim era continues for the Orange and he will have to lead the charge in his final campaign. The Orange are always dangerous when they’re underrated and have the squad to challenge the top of the conference. Cole Swider is a talented transfer from Villanova and Syracuse always steps up the most when counted out, so expect some New York magic this year. 

Big East

Ones to watch

– Collin Gillespie – Villinova

– Aminu Mohammed – Georgetown

– Julian Champagnie – St. John’s

– RJ Cole – UCONN

Favorite Villanova – The main concern for the Wildcats is replacing departed Jeremiah Robinson-Earl as the Cats don’t seem to have a clear cut big man behind him. I’m not as confident in Collin Gillespie reaching the same levels after such a bad injury but if he can return he’s a player of the year contender. Nova still has an abundance of talent and if there’s a coach that can put it all together and make a deep tournament run, it’s Jay Wright.

Dark Horse squad: Xavier – The Musketeers return seven key players including Paul Scruggs, their leading scorer last season. Jack Nunge and Jerome Hunter join from B1G schools Iowa and Indiana respectively and with UConn seemingly a bit weaker Xavier should look to contend in the conference this season and make a push as a dark horse squad at the Big Dance.

B1G

Ones to watch

– Kofi Cockburn – Illinois 

– Alonzo Verge Jr. – Nebraska 

– Caleb Houstan – Michigan 

– Jaden Ivey – Purdue

Favorite: Michigan – Moussa Diabate and Hunter Dickinson will be a menacing front court and the Wolverines only weakness is youth. Caleb Houstan is just a freshman but is also likely a top 10 pick, tremendously talented, and should have no issues adjusting to the college level. Juwan Howard should appropriately lead one of the most talented squads since his own playing days to a deep tournament run.

Dark Horse squad: Indiana – The Hoosiers are under new leadership with Mike Woodson who previously worked in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks. Woodson convinced star Trayce Jackson-Davis (19 PPG, 9 RPG last year) to stay and he also brought in Xavier Johnson and Miller Kopp from the transfer portal. On paper this should be a team that can end their unprecedented streak of missing the NCAA Tournament, but it will be no small task in a Big 10 where truly any team can win on any given night no matter where they are in the standings.

PAC 12

Ones to watch

– Johnny Juzang – UCLA

– Marreon Jackson – Arizona State

– Noah Williams – Washington State

Favorite: UCLA – It’s the Bruin’s conference to lose. They pushed an incredibly talented Gonzaga team to the brink and beat a Michigan team that was no joke. I don’t think that represents a blip, the Bruins were also very much contenders for the PAC-12 title before they were bitten by the injury bug. This team is really good and brought virtually everyone back while adding a five star recruit in Peyton Watson. They should put the nation on blast and not have to worry about being a low tourney seed this time around

Dark Horse squad: Washington State – The Cougars saw their first above .500 season since 2012 last year. They were among the best team defenses in the country last season and sophomore Noah Williams is due for a big leap. Another key player to watch is forward Efe Abogidi, who was a dominant interior presence for the Cougars last year. Wazzu should continue to rise and should be firmly on the bubble line all season. With some magic, they have a great chance to make some noise in March and make alum Klay Thompson proud.

Big 12

Ones to watch

– Marcus Carr – Texas

– Kendall Brown – Baylor

– Kevin Obanor – Texas Tech

Favorite: Texas – Chris Beard is an excellent coach, he knows the conference, and has a player of the year candidate in Marcus Carr joining his roster. In addition to Carr, Beard brings in a lot of additional transfers exploring a unique tactic of building a roster through the transfer portal. They returned a few veteran players as well including Andrew Jones (14.6 PPG) who can provide some leadership for the new faces.

Dark Horse squad: Texas Tech – Despite losing a bunch of talent and of course their coach to an in-state and in conference rival Texas Tech could still work some magic. New coach Mark Adams was an assistant for a long time under Chris Beard and should employ a similar scheme. Oral Roberts transfer Kevin Obanor will be a huge edition and Texas Tech should be in the thick of it and could be a sleeper team once March rolls around.

SEC

Ones to watch

– Scottie Pippen Jr. – Vanderbilt 

– Jabari Smith – Auburn

– Kennedy Chandler – Tennessee

– TyTy Washington – Kentucky

Favorite: Kentucky – In typical fashion John Calipari added a bunch of top recruits including TyTy Washington and Daimion Collins. But Calipari also dipped into the transfer portal adding CJ Frederick from Iowa and dime dropping guard Sahvir Wheeler from Georgia. If Calipari can bring all of this talent together we may be looking at a Final Four contender in Lexington.

Dark Horse squad: Auburn – After a self imposed postseason ban last year Bruce Pearl’s squad reloaded with a 5 star recruit in Jabari Smith, added Walker Kessler from North Carolina and should be posted to go dancing and will expect much more this year. Allen Flanigan’s successful return from injury (he will likely miss the first month of the season) adds one of the most high flying players in the conference to a still loaded roster which should compete in a top heavy SEC this year.