20 points about the college basketball season

2. The same guy's preseason all-Americans. Cole Aldrich, Kansas; Luke Harangody, Notre Dame; Kyle Singler, Duke; Kalin Lucas, Michigan State; Willie Warren, Oklahoma.

3. Top freshmen. John Wall, Kentucky; Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech; Xavier Henry, Kansas; Avery Bradley, Texas; Mouphtaou Yarou, Villanova.

4. Faces in new places (coaches). John Calipari, Kentucky; Anthony Grant, Alabama; Sean Miller, Arizona; Tony Bennett, Virginia; Isiah Thomas, Florida International; Josh Pastner, Memphis; Patrick Chambers, Boston University.

5. Faces in new places (players). Malcolm Grant, Miami (from Villanova); C.J. Henry, Kansas (from Memphis); Vernon Macklin, Florida (from Georgetown); Taylor King, Villanova (from Duke); Alex Stepheson, Southern Cal (from North Carolina).

6. Coaches on the hot seat. Jeff Bzdelik, Colorado; Jeff Lebo, Auburn; Todd Lickliter, Iowa; Sidney Lowe, North Carolina State; Jerry Wainwright, DePaul.

7. Crowded at the top. North Carolina won the 2009 national championship after being a near-unanimous selection in the preseason, but the choice over which team will cut down the nets in Indianapolis isn't as certain. Kansas, Michigan State, and Texas are considered the front-runners for the title, but anyone currently in the top eight - yes, even Villanova - has a legitimate shot to make the Final Four, and anything can happen once you get there.

8. Got any long shots? This year's Gonzaga is Butler, which returns all five starters in seeking its fourth straight Horizon League title. The Bulldogs will scare bigger foes, and will have plenty of chances to do so in a nonconference schedule that includes Minnesota, Ohio State and Georgetown. Also watch out for Ohio State, Connecticut and Washington as teams that could surprise.

9. Toughest nonconference schedules. Texas travels to Connecticut and hosts North Carolina and Michigan State. Kansas hosts Michigan and California hits the road for games at Tennessee and UCLA. North Carolina goes to Texas and plays Ohio State and Michigan.

10. Holding its turf. If Kansas can show the same fight (figuratively) on the basketball court that it showed in three fights (literally) against the Jayhawks' football team, it should be a good season. Sophomore guard Tyshawn Taylor suffered a dislocated thumb in one of the incidents but is back at practice. As for the basketball court, the Jayhawks are loaded, led by guard Sherron Collins and center Cole Aldrich, their two top scorers last season.

11. The toast of the Bluegrass State. The basketball-crazy state of Kentucky is all gaga over John Calipari, the new coach of the Wildcats. Fans of Big Blue feel that with Calipari at the helm, the Wildcats can overtake Louisville for wins and, more important, attention. Of course, they ignore the fact that Calipari left Memphis under a cloud of suspicion after the NCAA vacated the Tigers' runner-up finish in the 2008 tournament, ruling Derrick Rose's SAT scores invalid.

12. . . . and in this corner of Kentucky . . . It was a tumultuous off-season for Rick Pitino, who admitted having consensual sex with a woman accused of trying to extort $10 million from him. The Louisville coach said his focus is on his players and his team. "There will be no more distractions," he said. "I owe it to my team." The Cardinals lost first-round NBA draft choices Terrence Williams and Earl Clark but have an experienced guard corps back.

13. Mountaineers moving up. The prognosticators who don't have Villanova winning the Big East think West Virginia will be at the top by season's end. The Mountaineers have two excellent forwards in Da'Sean Butler, who lit up 'Nova for 43 last season, and Devin Ebanks. The 6-foot-9 Ebanks, the Big East rookie of the year last season, has added weight and strength. WVU also has good depth in the backcourt.

14. Thomas back to school. One of the more surprising coach hirings in the off-season was that of Isiah Thomas, the former New York Knicks coach and a member of the basketball Hall of Fame, at Florida International. Thomas, who never has coached at the collegiate level, is entrusted with the task of snapping FIU's streak of nine consecutive losing seasons. One of Thomas' advisers in his new job is former Villanova coach Rollie Massimino. "Isiah will get the kids," said Massimino, now head coach at Norwood. "He'll do a great job."

15. Here comes the Big Ten. If you guessed that the Big East or the Atlantic Coast Conference has the most teams in the preseason top 25, guess again. The Big Ten is the king of the preseason with six ranked teams, headed by No. 2 Michigan State and No. 7 Purdue. And that list doesn't include Penn State, the reigning NIT champion. The conference could be so tough that the Nittany Lions, picked to finish in the bottom half of the standings, could still merit an NCAA bid.

16. North Carolina rebuilding? Hah! North Carolina won the national championship with guys like Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington, all of whom are gone. But the Tar Heels expect to go far in the NCAA tournament nonetheless, thanks to talent that includes solid inside play from 6-foot-10 Ed Davis and 6-8 Deon Thompson. The key is sophomore guard Larry Drew II, who is not Lawson but who will be expected to play like him at the point.

17. Four for four. Arizona's Nic Wise is doing something that possibly no other player has done - playing for his fourth coach in four seasons at the same school. Wise gets Sean Miller this season, after Lute Olson, Kevin O'Neill and Russ Pennell in his first three. Wise considered the NBA draft before deciding to come back. "I think it just made me stronger," Wise said of the changes. "I want to be a coach when I finish playing, so having four different perspectives might end up helping me."

18. Must be the shoes. Freshman Marcus Jordan wants to wear the Air Jordan shoes made famous by his legendary dad, but his decision has cost Central Florida any future sponsorship with Adidas. The son of Michael Jordan says he will wear Nike Air Jordan shoes because they hold special meaning to his family. But Adidas, which is in the final year of a five-year contract with UCF to use the company's apparel and equipment, said it will discontinue its relationship with the school.

19. Rule changes. Probably the most notable rule change for the 2009-10 season is that officials will now call a defensive foul, and not a charge, if the defender is standing under the basket between the backboard and the front of the rim. The rule is enforced in NBA games, but unlike the NBA, college courts will not have the restricted area painted. Another change allows officials to look at instant replay to determine if a foul is hard or flagrant.

20. And the Final Four is . . . Kansas, Michigan State, Texas and Purdue. The winner? As much as we love Kansas' talent, we love Tom Izzo's coaching better, so let's hear it for Michigan State.