After eight months the wait is over for the UConn men. The Huskies were able to successfully start up practice after a 14-day pause because of a positive COVID-19 test and will begin the season on Wednesday against Donyell Marshall's Central Connecticut State squad.
Expectations are starting to climb in Storrs, after a strong finish to 2019-20, a return to the Big East and a good recruiting class. Still, UConn is still a ways off from where it used to be: truly competing for national championships. With much of the country tipping off this week, who are the true contenders to cut down the nets at the Final Four in Indianapolis?
5) Virginia: As good as the Cavaliers' defense was last year, leading the country in scoring defense (52.4 points per game), the offense was horrific. Their 57 points per game was third-worst in the nation, but even with the near-unwatchable games UVA still managed to finish 23-7. We all know the defense is going to be as good as ever, even if it doesn't quite lead the nation without Mamadi Diakite and Braxton Key. But there's reason for hope that the offense will at least be respectable, which is all Tony Bennett needs.
And all the pressure lies in the right arm of transfer Sam Hauser. At Marquette he took a backseat to Markus Howard, but Hauser was one of the country's best shooters in Milwaukee, converting 44 percent of the time from deep in his career. He instantly improves a team that shot just 30 percent from beyond the arc. Inside, if Jay Huff can take steps offensively, the Wahoos will be a threat to win a second straight (kind of) national title.
4) Iowa: The Hawkeyes haven't been to the Final Four since 1980, and odds are excellent that the wait ends in 2021. All of Iowa probably had the longest wait of anyone in the summer as Luka Garza weighed his NBA future. Alas, the consensus first-team All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year chose to return to school for his senior year. The big man can score (23.9 PPG), rebound (9.8), shoot threes (39 made last year) and take over games (five games of 30+ points).
Considering there are three Big Ten teams ranked inside the top-10, and seven in the top-25, Iowa's record may not be as good as the others on this list. Even as the conference eats itself alive, remember that come March, there might not be a time when Iowa doesn't have the best player on the court.
3) Gonzaga: The preseason No. 1 team in the nation, at least according to the Associated Press, the Bulldogs are the "can they break through?" team for what seems like the 15th year in a row. Even with a couple of key losses, Mark Few has proven time and again that he can re-load and have the Zags as good as ever. Killian Tillie and Filip Petrusev are gone, but it's next man up now with Drew Timmie. The 6-10 forward only started four games a season ago, averaging 9.8 points and 5.4 rebounds, but he's a popular pick to become an All-American.
Then there's wing Corey Kispert, a 44 percent three-point shooter who can play defense and makes everyone around him better. He's like a glue guy on steroids, and another All-American candidate.
2) Villanova: After two "down" years (aka, they were a five-seed in 2019 and would have been in a similar position last season), the Wildcats are firmly in the hunt for a third national championship since 2016. Though they have to replace do-it-all Saddiq Bey, the team's leading scorer a year ago, the other four starters are back.
In the backcourt, Collin Gillespie is an All-American candidate after a breakout junior season, and the offense will entirely run through him. Down low both Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Jermaine Samuels return, with the former capable of turning into a double-double machine. They will still bombard you with lethal three-point ability, and it could easily be enough to get back to the Final Four.
1) Baylor: Experience usually matters in March, and the Bears have a ton of it. Four of the team's five starters from a year ago are back from a team that went 26-4 and was on track to be a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament. The bulk of the damage is done in the backcourt, where the three-headed monster of Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell and MaCio Teague brings scoring (Butler), defense (Mitchell) and distribution (Teague). Then off the bench the Big 12's Sixth Man of the Year Devante Bandoo is now a senior.
They aren't as deep in the frontcourt, where Freddie Gillespie graduated and Tristan Clark had to retire from basketball because of a lingering knee issue. Still, Mark Vital could win National Defensive Player of the Year honors and is a classic college big man. This is easily Scott Drew's best team, and they're not only a favorite to go to their first Final Four since 1950, but Baylor is likeliest to cut down the nets in April.