*Before we get things started, I want to extend my condolences to the entire family of Bob Knight. His angry tirades and consistent winning culture were one of the reasons I fell in love with college basketball as a kid. Knight was an absolute legend.

Now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Forget late December, early November is the most wonderful time of the year! (For me at least)

The Men’s College Basketball season has finally started, and I am having a very difficult time containing my pure joy. Between transferring players, familiar coaches in new places, and a STACKED recruiting class, the landscape of college basketball has drastically changed since UConn cut down the nets in April.

The Changes.

Nearly 2,000 players entered the transfer portal this offseason, almost a 400% increase from a decade ago.

The Big East underwent major changes, as Rick Pitino returned to a high major conference for the first time since 2017. Patino will look to bring his winning culture to a St. John’s program that has been in shambles for the past decade. It’ll be interesting to see how he will get on with the Red Storm, but based on his track record, I think he will succeed for years to come. 

Ed Cooley also moved within the conference, conjuring his inner politician and moving from Rhode Island to the nation’s capital in a controversial move. Like Pitino, Cooley hopes to revive a once great program that has struggled recently.

The favorites.

Some clear favorites this yeah include preseason top-ranked Kansas, UConn, and Duke.

Kansas is my personal favorite out of the three. They’ll be led by Michigan transfer Hunter Dickinson and a strong defensive backcourt. The super-senior Dickinson should have no problems averaging a double-double in a high scoring BIG 12 conference. 

UConn is also interesting because of the simple fact they are the defending champions. Dan Hurley’s squad did lose leading scorers Jordan Hawkins and Adama Sanogo to the NBA Draft, but they return NCAA tournament star Tristen Newton and forward Alex Karaban. Those two Huskies pair with the nation’s fourth-ranked recruiting class as they attempt a repeat.

As for Duke, they are Duke. Head coach Jon Scheyer has proved he has what it takes to recruit, and the Blue Devils once again are loaded.

High Major Longshots.

You aren’t here to read about the favorites and I am not here to write about them. It’s time to talk about the teams that make college basketball great, the “Cinderella stories”.

I believe we have a few longer-odds teams that have a real shot at not only making the dance, but climbing the ladder with some scissors on April 8 in Phoenix as well.

One team I’ve had my eye on since the middle of last season is the Florida Atlantic Owls. Last year’s Conference USA champions return every starter from the squad that made the Final Four in 2023, making me believe FAU will have no issue winning a soft American Athletic Conference. Keep an eye on guards Alijah Martin and Johnell Davis. Both may challenge for AAC player of the year honors. 

Other teams I like include Villanova, Kentucky, UNC and Texas. They were all talented enough to creep into the preseason top 25, but one of them sniffed the top 10. At least none, and possibly all, of these four could easily be a second weekend tournament team.

Mid Major Magic.

You might as well just screenshot this section of the article now, as these teams are going to bust some brackets come March.

Drake, the College of Charleston and Boise St. could all sniff the second weekend as 11 or 12 seeds in the tournament, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they all sweep their respective conference regular season and tournament championships.

Keep it locked in to Section 400 all basketball season long as myself and Brian Hauch give you are bracketology, power rankings, and more all season long. As Jon Rothstein says, WE SLEEP IN MAY!

Contact/Follow us on all socials “linktr.ee/viewsfrom400” for all our coverage, posts, and takes from the best part of the stadium. You can also follow Matt @kolenjr3