College Basketball

College basketball preview: Our Final Four picks, All-Americans and more

Updated Nov. 3, 2022 5:31 p.m. ET

College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter

The college basketball season is fast-approaching, with all 25 teams in the AP Top 25 preseason poll scheduled to take the court on Monday.

Our college basketball reporters Andy Katz and John Fanta took on some burning questions ahead of the season in our first edition of our college basketball roundtable.

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Mark Titus and Tate Frazier are joined by Andy Katz to talk about exciting storylines ahead of the season.

Who are your preseason All-Americans? And who will be Player of the Year?

Fanta:

In a season where the return of big men dominates college basketball, size is the theme on my All-American preseason team. But it’s a guard’s game, and I believe Houston can win it all in April. This means I’m going all in on Cougars senior Marcus Sasser. Had he not been limited to 12 games due to a foot injury, we can only wonder what Sasser could have done last season. Even without him and Tramon Mark, who both suffered season-ending setbacks last December, the Cougars still reached the Elite Eight. Now both players are back, along with a rich core of talent. Sasser averaged 17.7 points on a whopping 44% from beyond the arc. He has a real shot to be the best guard in the country, and Houston has a chance to be the top team in the land. I’ll side with Sasser.

Katz: I'm going with the same five. And at this juncture, my pick for Player of the Year is actually Gonzaga's Drew Timme. Tshiebwe will have to produce similar monster numbers to win it in back-to-back seasons. Timme is going to have to carry the Zags to a conference title and high seed more than any other player on this list. Sure, Sasser and TJD will bear heavy burdens as well. But the load management on Timme is immense, and he's up to the challenge. If there are a few candidates who could easily crash this All-America party, they are: UCLA's Jaime Jaquez Jr., TCU's Mike Miles Jr. and Arkansas' Nick Smith Jr. The Bruins are the pick in the Pac-12 and have the goods to be a top seed. If that happens, expect Jaquez to produce. Miles is the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, and if the Horned Frogs win the conference, then keeping him off the first team will be difficult. Smith could be the best freshman in the country, is an SEC Player of the Year candidate and a reason the Hogs compete for the SEC title.

Who are your Final Four picks? And who will win the national championship?

Katz: North Carolina, Kentucky, UCLA, TCU. National champion: UCLA.

The Bruins are on quite a run over the past three seasons and two of their key players are back — Jaquez and Tyger Campbell. Campbell is a money playmaker, and guards win titles. If Jaquez had been healthy, the Bruins could have definitely taken out Carolina in the Sweet 16 and then faced Saint Peter's for a second straight Final Four appearance. I love the 1-2 punch of these two. But they are hardly alone. Freshman star Amari Bailey could have an all-American season. Jaylen Clark and Adem Bona are primed to have breakout seasons. The Bruins defend. And they've got experience and an edge. So why not?

Fanta: Houston, Baylor, Kentucky, Virginia. My national champion: Baylor.

The Bears will cut down the nets for the second time in three years. Last season, this team was snake-bitten by injuries. A first-weekend exit to North Carolina is the type of thing that Scott Drew can use as fuel for the campaign ahead. Adam Flagler and LJ Cryer will charge one of the best backcourts in America, and highly-touted freshman Keyonte George is one of the players I’m looking forward to seeing this season the most. With West Virginia transfer Jalen Bridges in the fold and Flo Thamba at the center slot, the Bears are well-rounded and will once again be one of the nation’s top defensive teams. Add in a five-star talent in George to what the Bears' other guards are doing, and the offensive possibilities can be scary. It will be interesting to see how the bench develops for this team, but their makeup is really strong.

Which coaches are you buying stock in?

Fanta: I’ll buy stock in a trio of first-year coaches, plus two coaches who did not make the NCAA Tournament last season, but should return to the dance floor this season.

First-year coaches: Florida’s Todd Golden, Xavier’s Sean Miller and UMass’ Frank Martin.

Two coaches who didn’t reach the NCAA Tournament but will this season: Oregon’s Dana Altman and Oklahoma State’s Mike Boynton.

I’ll elaborate on these: Miller’s won more than 73% of the games he’s coached. He’s a winner and has one of the best rosters in the Big East. Talent hasn’t been the issue at Xavier. Coaching was the issue. Not anymore. As for Florida, Golden hit it big in the transfer portal with Kyle Lofton, Will Richard and Alex Fudge. He kept Kowacie Reeves, too, and I think he’s the right fit for the Gators.

At UMass, Martin is taking the bull by the horns, and I’ll buy any bit of stock being sold. Before last year, Altman had reached seven of the previous eight NCAA Tournaments. With Will Richardson leading the way, the Ducks will not stay down. They will be back and will challenge at the top of the Pac-12. As for Boynton, the Cowboys weren’t allowed in the NCAA Tournament last year due to a harsh set of penalties. I think that’s only fueled the fire for what this year’s team will be. Moussa Cisse is an elite rim protector. If the Pokes’ backcourt is in sync, they can be a Big 12 dark horse.

Katz: Jon Scheyer, Duke; Hubert Davis, North Carolina; Todd Golden, Florida; Jeff Linder, Wyoming; Micah Shrewsberry, Penn State; Shaheen Holloway, Seton Hall; Darren DeVries, Drake; Shantay Legans, Portland.

Scheyer and Davis are going to have the Duke-Carolina rivalry strong for years to come. They are still going to corral some of the best talent in the country. Golden can work the analytics to his advantage by getting the right fits. He will win in Gainesville. Linder could have the Pokes in the Sweet 16 and be on his way to another job. Shrewsberry could be the next Matt Painter in the Big Ten. He will build a winning program and could have the Nittany Lions in position for a bid. Holloway will have his alma mater in the thick of the Big East bid contention. DeVries has a winner at Drake and will be a hot commodity. Legans, like Golden last season, could get the third bid out of the WCC and will be highly coveted.

Who are your picks to win each conference?

Katz: Big Ten: Indiana; Big East: Xavier; ACC: North Carolina; Big 12: Kansas; SEC: Kentucky; Pac-12: UCLA.

I'm not going against my preseason picks here. The Hoosiers return the best player and the most talent. They also may have the top freshmen. They have to be the preseason pick. The same is true in the ACC with all that is returning for the Tar Heels. The addition of Pete Nance is a solid replacement for Brady Manek. I'm not going to go against the reigning champs in the Big 12, even though I could definitely see TCU, Baylor or Texas winning the league. Kansas is Kansas. And there is enough returning to warrant a pick. Kentucky is primed to avenge last season's first-round shocker to St. Peter's. The 1-2 punch of Sahvir Wheeler and Oscar Tshiebwe along with a host of newcomers should put the Wildcats in a position to stave off Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and Auburn. UCLA is the clear front-runner in the Pac-12. See above.

Fanta: Big Ten: Illinois; Big East: Creighton; ACC: Virginia; Big 12: Baylor; SEC: Tennessee; Pac-12: UCLA.

I’ll go "off the map" with the Southeastern Conference, but the Volunteers are a top-15 team. Having Santiago Vescovi back is invaluable, and returnees Josiah Jordan-James and Olivier Nkamhoua give Tennessee experience and length. I am very intrigued to see what highly-touted freshman Julian Phillips brings to the table from the wing position. He is really dynamic and should play well off Vescovi. Rick Barnes’ teams always defend. If they find enough offense, watch out for the Vols.

As for Virginia, Tony Bennett brings back all of his major contributors and I think the Hoos are every bit as good as North Carolina and Duke, if not better. They’re just not necessarily receiving the national attention, but that’s exactly what Bennett would prefer. Look for 6-foot-6 wing Jayden Gardner to have a big fifth season after he averaged over 15 points last season.

As for the Big Ten, Brad Underwood’s team has tons of versatility, big-time transfers in Terrence Shannon Jr. and Matthew Mayer, and a loaded recruiting class. I also expect RJ Melendez and Coleman Hawkins to make big leaps.

Which conference will be the toughest from top to bottom?

Fanta: To me, it’s the Big 12. Baylor and Kansas could end up being top-five teams in the country, while TCU is poised for a potentially historic year for the program and Texas is stacked with Marcus Carr and Tyrese Hunter charging the Longhorns. Texas Tech could be a top-20 team if it figures certain things out, and Oklahoma State is a team that defends at a high level. When Oklahoma, Iowa State, West Virginia and Kansas State are at the bottom of your league, that’s ridiculous. The Big 12 has the last two national champions and the league has been represented in the last four Final Fours. It’s also the only conference to have three different teams play in three consecutive national championship games.

Not only is this league deep, but it’s racking up hardware.

Katz: Big 12.

Have to agree with John here. The Big 12 is still the league to beat. There is competition with the SEC and Big Ten, but the depth from 1-to-10 in the Big 12 is hard to beat. I fully expect eight of the 10 to be in contention for bids, with Kansas State and West Virginia probably the odd teams out. But Kansas, TCU, Texas and Baylor are all legit Final Four contenders and hence title possibilities. Texas Tech is right behind, but not by much. Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Iowa State are all talented enough to make another run toward a bid.

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Andy Katz is a longtime college basketball writer, analyst and host. He can be seen on the Big Ten Network, as well as March Madness and NCAA.com, and he hosts the podcast "March Madness 365." Katz worked at ESPN for nearly two decades and, prior to that, in newspapers for nine years.

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.