Connecticut three-peat, Cooper Flagg lead men’s basketball storylines
No matter how much things change, the same goal remains in men’s college basketball: make it to the end of the road to the Final Four.
Like college football has already seen, this year’s men’s college basketball season will be one unlike any other. The list of teams in Division I continues to grow with more than 350 programs, and there are big names in new places – schools, players and coaches – all hoping to survive and advance to San Antonio on April 5 and 7.
With the rapid change that comes in college sports nowadays, anything can happen this season. Last season’s top teams can fall flat, while those that stumbled can become contenders. To prepare for what will surely be another wild journey to March, here are some of the key storylines heading into the 2024-25 college basketball season:
Can Connecticut three-peat?
It’s been more than 50 years since the last three-peat men’s national champion, back when John Wooden dominated the sport at UCLA. Can the Huskies be the second school to ever do it?
The Huskies were undoubtedly the favorite last season to win the title, but there it doesn’t seem like a certainty this time around. Most of the starters are gone, but Alex Karaban remains, and is someone that has two championship rings already. Hassan Diarra is also back, and Samson Johnson can take the place of big man Donovan Clingan. Five-star recruit Liam McNeely can add some offensive firepower to a team that needs a knockdown shooter.
Connecticut is the favorite to win the Big East and will be well tested before the calendar flips over. It’ll play in the stacked Maui Invitational and then face Baylor, Texas and Gonzaga in an 11-day stretch. By the time Big East play begins, the country may know if the Huskies remain the top dog.
Will Cooper Flagg live up to the hype?
No men’s college basketball boosted their popularity over the summer quite like Duke freshman Cooper Flagg. He already was the top recruit in the 2024 class, but he proved he’s a star in the making when he left a great impression at the Olympic training camp against NBA stars that would go on to win a gold medal.
Flagg can do just about anything on the court, and the expectation will be for him to be in national player of the year consideration. He also leads arguably the best recruiting class at Duke that includes four five-star prospects and Purdue transfer in Mason Gillis, who played a big role in team’s Final Four run.
The Blue Devils haven’t won a national title since 2015, which is their longest drought since they won their first in 1991. At just 17-years-old, Flagg will be expected to have Duke in the championship race before his name gets called in the NBA draft next year.
Conference realignment
There will be 23 teams in new conferences, and some new additions could be making stellar debuts.
As if the Big 12 wasn’t already stacked, Arizona is among four teams joining the conference and could be a dark-horse candidate to win it. Tommy Lloyd has won 88 games in three seasons at Tucson and won the Pac-12 tournament titles the past two seasons.
Texas and Oklahoma enter another heavy conference in the SEC. Ranked No. 19 in the coaches poll, the Longhorns bring in several transfers and are expected to contend. Another team that can make some noise is UCLA. The new Big Ten team along with three other Pac-12 schools completely revamped its roster through the transfer portal and the conference looks to be wide open.
New men’s college basketball coaches in new places
Who would’ve guessed Andy Enfield leaving Southern California for Southern Methodist would set off one of the wildest coaching carousels in recent memory?
Eric Musselman is now in charge of the Trojans after departing Arkansas, but the biggest change is John Calipari leaving Kentucky to succeed Musselman with the Razorbacks. Calipari disappointed in March too often recently, leading to a decision to part ways with the Wildcats. He is hopeful of bringing Arkansas back to national relevance with a rebuilt roster. The Razorbacks haven’t appeared in a Final Four since 1995 and last won an SEC regular-season title in 1994 and the conference tournament in 2000.
Other new hires to look out for include: Pat Kelsey at Louisville, Kyle Smith at Stanford, Darian DeVries at West Virginia and Danny Sprinkle at Washington. Don’t forget about Ron Sanchez, who takes over Virginia after Tony Bennett’s sudden retirement.
Will Kansas, Bill Self shake off last season’s disappointment?
Kansas enters the season the top-ranked team in the country – just like last season – but can they live up to the hype this time around? The Jayhawks started last season 13-1, but then stumbled into a 10-10 finish that had a fortunate first-round win over Samford in the tournament and then were dominated by Gonzaga the second round.
Hunter Dickinson is back, and Kansas got some top additions in the transfer portal in guards Zeke Mayo and AJ Storr, as well as Rylan Griffen, who was a key contributor on Alabama’s Final Four team. Also coming to Lawrence is highly-touted freshman Flory Bidunga, who could bring another interior presence to help Dickinson.
Kansas has some big early tests with North Carolina, Michigan State, Duke and Creighton all in the first month, and some fans might not be feeling good after an exhibition loss to Arkansas in October. Still, at No. 1, the pressure is on to not fall apart again.
A first-time Final Four school?
Last season, Alabama reached the Final Four for the first time in school history. The Crimson Tide are one of the favorites make another appearance, but could another first appearance happen this season?
Contenders include Creighton, which is the best candidate to dethrone UConn in the Big East, Tennessee, a team that fell just short of qualifying last season, and Texas A&M, with the Aggies having a potential SEC player of the year in Wade Taylor IV.