Previews and Picks from the Athlon staff
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The college basketball season starts today, so it's time for picks. Not just for the Final Four and top players and coaches, but also who we think who will thrive, flop and surprise.
Here are the picks from the Athlon editorial staff:
| PICKS | Mitch Light [17] | Braden Gall [18] | David Fox [19] | Nathan Rush | Mark Ross | Patrick Snow [20] |
| National Champ | Indiana | Louisville | Ohio State | Indiana | Indiana | Louisville |
| Final Four | Kansas | Duke | Arizona | Kentucky | Arizona | Indiana |
| Kentucky | Indiana | Indiana | Memphis | Kansas | Kansas | |
| Louisville | San Diego State | Kansas | UCLA | Louisville | Syracuse | |
| Surprise team | Colorado | Tennessee | Tennessee | Oklahoma State | Pittsburgh | West Virginia |
| Flop team | Michigan | Michigan | Syracuse | Duke | Syracuse | Duke |
| Player of the Year | Cody Zeller, Indiana | Mike Moser, UNLV | Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State | Cody Zeller, Indiana | Cody Zeller, Indiana | Cody Zeller, Indiana |
| Top Freshman | Nerlens Noel, Kentucky | Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA | Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State | Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA | Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA | Nerlens Noel, Kentucky |
| Top Transfer | Rotnei Clarke, Butler | Alex Oriakhi, Missouri | Dez Wells, Maryland | Alex Oriakhi, Missouri | Ryan Harrow, Kentucky | Aaric Murray, West Virginia |
| Coach of the Year | Sean Miller, Arizona | Tom Crean, Indiana | Jim Larranaga, Miami | John Calipari, Kentucky | Tom Crean, Indiana | John Beilein, Michigan |
| Breakout Player | James Michael McAdoo, North Carolina | Jarnell Stokes, Tennessee | Jarnell Stokes, Tennessee | Adonis Thomas, Memphis | James Michael McAdoo, North Carolina | Ben McLemore, Kansas |
| Most interesting conference | Atlantic 10 | Big Ten | ACC | SEC | Atlantic 10 | Big 12 |
| Mid-major darling | Drexel | South Dakota State | Davidson | Lehigh | Drexel | LIU-Brooklyn |
| Next major coach to retire | Jim Boeheim, Syracuse | Bob Huggins, West Virginia | Jim Boeheim, Syracuse | Larry Brown, SMU | Jim Boeheim, Syracuse | Roy Williams, North Carolina |
| New coach to thrive | Larry Eustachy, Colorado State | John Cooper, Miami (Ohio) | Jim Christian, Ohio | Larry Brown, SMU | Larry Eustachy, Colorado State | Larry Eustachy, Colorado State |
| Indiana, Louisville or Kentucky | Indiana | Louisville | Indiana | Indiana | Indiana | Louisville |
| Arizona or UCLA | Arizona | Arizona | Arizona | UCLA | Arizona | Arizona |
| Michigan or Ohio State | Michigan | Ohio State | Ohio State | Michigan | Michigan | Michigan |
| Preseason All-America Team [21] | Conference Realignment Primer [22] |
| Athlon College Basketball Top 25: | Athlon Conference Previews |
| 1. Indiana [23] | 1. Big Ten [24] |
| 2. Louisville [25] | 2. Big East [26] |
| 3. Kentucky [27] | 3. ACC [28] |
| 4. Kansas [29] | 4. Big 12 [30] |
| 5. Syracuse [31] | 5. SEC [32] |
| 6. Michigan [33] | 6. Pac-12 [34] |
| 7. Arizona [35] | 7. Mountain West [36] |
| 8. Ohio State [37] | 8. Atlantic 10 [38] |
| 9. Duke [39] | 9. West Coast [40] |
| 10. Michigan State [41] | 10. Missouri Valley [42] |
| 11. NC State [43] | 11. Conference USA [44] |
| 12. UCLA [45] | 12. Colonial [46] |
| 13. UNLV [47] | 13. Sun Belt [48] |
| 14. North Carolina [49] | 14. MAC [50] |
| 15. San Diego State [51] | 15. Horizon [52] |
| 16. Missouri [53] | |
| 17. Baylor [54] | |
| 18. Memphis [55] | |
| 19. Notre Dame [56] | |
| 20. Florida [57] |
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