It is the best time of the year for sports fans, as the World Series is in full swing, the NBA is underway, college football and the NFL are starting to heat up. But there is still a missing piece to the puzzle: college basketball. A long season that culminates with the beloved March Madness begins on Monday, Nov. 4, and fans across the country are licking their chops to get a first look at their squads in action. 

With all the commotion from the other leagues, it can be hard to stay updated with everything happening on the college basketball front, but luckily for you, I’ve taken it upon myself to do just that. This article is a speedrun for all fans looking to catch up on all things college basketball, and what to look forward to this season. If you are as excited as I am to devote your evenings to watching perennial mid-majors face off on the hardwood, this article is for you. 

In the offseason, legendary coach John Calipari shocked the sporting world by announcing he was leaving the University of Kentucky for the University of Arkansas for in-conference play. This was a result of Arkansas coach Eric Musselman leaving for the University of Southern California. Kentucky tagged former Kentucky player and Brigham Young University coach Mark Pope to take over for Calipari. 

University of Connecticut, the reigning champions, retooled their roster after losing NBA lottery picks Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle, and now look to three-peat after dominating March Madness the past two seasons. Head coach Danny Hurley has a talented squad, but it will be an uphill battle as championship number three appears to be the hardest yet. 

Name, image and likeness licensing and the transfer portal have increasingly impacted college sports, but arguably, no sport has changed its entire landscape more than college basketball. It feels like every team in the country has at least one new starter they got through the transfer portal, and prices for top college basketball players continue to skyrocket. 

If you are already looking forward to the 2025 NBA Draft, this year’s class is poised to blow the 2024 draft class out of the water. The class is headlined by Duke University‘s freshman Cooper Flagg, who currently is the favorite to go first overall. With his long 6-foot-9 frame, he can shoot and pass and is already considered one of the best defenders in college basketball, even though he hasn’t played a single minute yet for the Blue Devils. He is truly a must-see, as fans can expect electrifying dunks and emphatic blocked shots throughout the season that will make you want to jump out of your seat. 

While Flagg has gotten the majority of the media attention, there are some other fantastic candidates to overtake him as the number one overall pick in next year’s draft. Rutgers University’s duo with wing Ace Bailey and guard Dylan Harper, Baylor University guard VJ Edgecombe, French guard Nolan Traore and BYU’s Russian guard Egor Demin — my dark horse candidate — will all likely be lottery picks and can make a case for going first overall. 

Simply put, this might be the most competitive season ever for getting into the NCAA Tournament. The Southeastern Conference, Big 12, Big 10 and Athletic Coast Conference all boast more than 10 schools that have a legitimate chance of making the tournament, and each conference will be a gauntlet when conference play arrives. 

With so many talented teams this year, I decided to do some research and share my bold predictions for this season. If I am right on these, I will probably not stop talking about it, and if I am wrong on all these, well, this article was hacked. 

Which ranked team entering the season will not make the tournament? 

No. 12 University of Tennessee at Knoxville— After earning a No. 2 seed in March Madness and falling just short of the program’s first Final Four appearance in a loss to Purdue University in the Elite Eight, Tennessee returns this season with high expectations. However, I think these expectations are a bit too high for a team that lost last year’s Southeastern Conference player of the year, Dalton Knecht, to the Los Angeles Lakers, and no longer has three of their top four scorers from last season. Big man Jonas Aidoo transferred to another SEC contender in Arkansas and Josiah-Jordan James is now in the NBA G League. The only returner in their top four scorers is 5-foot-9 point guard Zakai Zeigler, who is an outstanding player but will need to take on a much larger role as a scorer this season. Tennessee hopes to replace some of Dalton Knecht’s production with transfer guard Chaz Lanier, who averaged nearly 20 points per game at the University of North Florida last season. However, it is a near impossible task to ask anybody to play at the level Knecht did a year ago, and with the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Oklahoma joining the SEC this year, I don’t think it’s as crazy as it sounds to think Tennessee is a bubble team and possibly on their couches for March Madness this year. 

Which team that is not ranked entering the season will become a Top-10 team? 

University of Georgia — I am staying in the SEC for this prediction because I can’t figure out why everyone is sleeping on Georgia this year. They just annihilated a talented University of Central Florida team in the Big 12 in an exhibition this week 114-76. While I know it is an exhibition for a reason, my point still stands that Georgia is super talented this year. They brought in a high school five-star forward, Asa Newell, and returned star sophomores Silas Demary Jr and Blue Cain, who averaged 10 points and 7 points per game as freshmen. Georgia also added four-star Somto Cyril and Mount St. Mary’s University transfers Dakota Leffew and De’Shayne Montgomery who were productive guards at the mid-major level last year. The big X-factor for this team, though, is Clemson University transfer RJ Godfrey, a 6-foot-eight forward who was a key contributor to a Clemson team that made a run to the Elite Eight last year. If Godfrey can take another jump in his junior season with Georgia, I believe this team can match up with any team in the country and very well could end up ranked in the top ten at some point this season.  

Which team is most likely to have a Cinderella run in March Madness? 

Arkansas State University — The preseason favorite to win the Sun Belt Conference this season, Arkansas State is a veteran team with tons of talent. James Madison University, the Sun Belt representative in the tournament last year, knocked off No. 5 seed University of Wisconsin at Madison in the first round before losing to Duke in the round of 32, so there is already a recent track record of Sun Belt teams succeeding in the tournament. I believe this Arkansas State team can do even better. Arkansas State fell in the conference championship game to James Madison a year ago but returns five players who started at least half of their games last season and added even more talent. University of Louisiana at Lafayette transfer Kobe Julien is Sun Belt preseason player of the year, and Arkansas State also added two SEC transfers in former University of Mississippi forward Rashaud Marshall and Arkansas guard Joseph Pinion. James Madison lost their best player, Terrence Edwards Jr, to the University of Louisville and head coach Mark Byington, who took the head coaching job at Vanderbilt University, leaving this conference wide open for Arkansas State University. While they might be ranked as a No. 12 seed in March Madness, which wouldn’t constitute a massive Cinderella upset, this team is too good to overlook this season.