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Top 10 Storylines Entering the 2014-15 College Basketball Season

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Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Top Storylines Entering the 2014-15 College Basketball Season

Frank Kaminsky — Much of last year’s celebrated freshmen class has moved on to the NBA, along with veteran stars like Shabazz Napier and Cleanthony Early. Kentucky appears to be the most talented team (again) on paper, but the landscape is pretty open for challengers. Here are some of the top storylines of the upcoming college basketball season.

Much of last year’s celebrated freshmen class has moved on to the NBA, along with veteran stars like Shabazz Napier and Cleanthony Early. Kentucky appears to be the most talented team (again) on paper, but the landscape is pretty open for challengers. Here are some of the top storylines of the upcoming college basketball season.

10. Can Wichita State Maintain Last Season’s Momentum?

10. Can Wichita State Maintain Last Season’s Momentum?

Gregg Marshall’s team finished a perfect 31-0 during the regular season last year before losing in an all-time classic to Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament. Many forget that the Shockers also played Cinderella the previous year, losing to eventual champion Louisville in the Final Four. With star F Cleanthony Early now in the NBA, guards Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet must shoulder more to keep Wichita State nationally elite.

9. How Bad Is the SEC After Kentucky And Florida?

9. How Bad Is the SEC After Kentucky And Florida?

Tennessee came on late with a veteran team a season ago, but no other SEC teams sniffed the field. The media picked Arkansas, LSU and Georgia as the next tier, yet none of them are locks to reach March Madness. The league must prove that teams other than just the Wildcats and Gators can compete nationally by winning major non-conference games.

8. How Will UConn Defend Its Title?

8. How Will UConn Defend Its Title?

Kevin Ollie oversaw the Huskies win a National Championship in just his second season as head coach. With Most Outstanding Player Shabazz Napier in the NBA, UConn will look to G Ryan Boatright to run the show. It wouldn’t be a surprise for the Huskies to win the American this season and earn a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament. A repeat run to the Final Four seems unlikely, but so were their two championships in the last four years.

7. Will Tom Crean Survive The Season?

7. Will Tom Crean Survive The Season?

Ever since Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo left Bloomington for the NBA, Indiana has been a mess. The Hoosiers struggled on the court to surround Noah Vonleh and Yogi Ferrell with talent, and after Vonleh’s departure, Tom Crean’s team is littered with disciplinary issues and injuries. With his recruiting trending downward, a disaster season for Indiana is possible. Will Tom Crean survive it? It’s a make-or-break season for Indiana.

6. Who Can Be 2015’s Cinderella?

6. Who Can Be 2015’s Cinderella?

A season ago, Dayton made a stunning run to the Elite Eight and seven-seed UConn won it all. The year before, nine-seed Wichita State reached the Final Four. More and more often, a team comes out of nowhere to shock the world. This could be the season a veteran Gonzaga team makes a deep run or Steve Fisher’s San Diego State builds on two Sweet Sixteen appearances in the last four seasons.

5. Who Will Win The Loaded ACC?

5. Who Will Win The Loaded ACC?

The ACC has a clear upper crust of Duke, North Carolina, Louisville and Virginia. The battle to win the conference may be the best race in the country. Duke adds incoming top-recruit C Jahlil Okafor to an already strong team, while the rival Tar Heels have the best leader in junior PG Marcus Paige. Rick Pitino will try to win his third different conference in three years in Louisville’s debut in the ACC.

4. Who Can Challenge Wisconsin In The Big Ten?

4. Who Can Challenge Wisconsin In The Big Ten?

Wisconsin returns two potential All-Americans in C Frank Kaminsky and F Sam Dekker, along with a host of strong role players. Bo Ryan’s team is the class of the Big Ten, but a large upper-middle class will be fascinating to watch. Usual suspects Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State will contend, but several other teams can crash the top group and vie for NCAA Tournament bids.

3. Which Young, Reloading Superpower Will Gel Best?

3. Which Young, Reloading Superpower Will Gel Best?

The influx of talent to Arizona, Duke and Kansas all earned high seeds in last year’s tournament, lost lottery pick one-and-done players to the NBA, yet may return even better this season. Building a program capable of quickly meshing freshmen into an established core is tricky, but these three programs have incredible talent and coaching. Don’t be surprised if one of these powers cuts down the nets in April.

2. Who Wins The Wide Open Player Of The Year Race?

2. Who Wins The Wide Open Player Of The Year Race?

Only two freshmen have won, and with all due respect to Jahlil Okafor, no incoming players have quite the ability of Kevin Durant or Anthony Davis. The most likely candidates seem to be veteran players like Frank Kaminsky, Montrezl Harrell and Marcus Paige. This could be a season where a dark horse candidate like Trey Burke in 2013 stuns the college basketball world.

1. Will Kentucky Dominate?

1. Will Kentucky Dominate?

John Calipari reloads better than anyone, replacing Julius Randle and James Young with a typically brilliant recruiting class. The Wildcats are experimenting with two five-man units and feature as much size as anyone in the country. Kentucky could be a terror defensively and may be more balanced on offense this season with many different weapons littered throughout the roster.

Sam Mattfolk is a writer for RantSports.

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