Key Storylines to Watch for the 2020-21 College Basketball Season
College Basketball expert Jon Rothstein gives you five key storylines to keep an eye on for the 2020-21 college basketball season.
Video Transcript
JON ROTHSTEIN: Hi, this is Jon Rothstein for Yahoo Sports, and here are five key storylines to monitor for the 2020-21 college basketball season. The first one, the ACC will definitely bounce back. This past year, the ACC was in position only of four teams in the NCAA tournament in 2020. That number will be certain to go up next season. In addition to the stalwart teams that should be returning at Florida State, Duke, Virginia, and Louisville, many teams in the ACC should show vast improvement.
Georgia Tech has the potential of a top 40 team under Josh Pastner, thanks to the perimeter of Jose Alvarado and Michael Devoe. Plus, Miami should have its best team in quite a long time under Jim Larranaga, thanks to the back court of Chris Lykes and Kameron McGusty and the addition of Cincinnati transfer Nysier Brooks. North Carolina as well, despite the probable loss of Cole Anthony, should be in position thanks to an elite recruiting class to finally return to the top 25 poll and be a consistent thread in the top third of the ACC.
Another big storyline to keep an eye on in 2021, UConn's return to the Big East Conference. The Big East Conference will go from 18 to 20 league games with the addition of the Huskies next season, and UConn freshman James Bouknight just shined towards the last two months of the year in the American Conference. He will be a name to watch in the big east along with another incoming freshman for UConn, dynamite wing Andre Jackson.
Another big storyline to monitor in 2021, Gonzaga will wear the target as long as Filip Petrusev returns to Spokane for next season. Gonzaga, to me, is the team to beat in college basketball. Mark Few has dynamite wings with Corey Kispert and Joel Ayayi, plus the addition of a top flight point guard in five star prospect Jalen Suggs. Again, as long as Filip Petrusev is back in Spokane next year, Gonzaga, to me, looks like the team to beat in college basketball entering 2021.
Two other key storylines to monitor in 2021 entering next season. Life will again continue to be difficult in non-power conferences. With the Big East joining the Big Ten in the ACC and going to 20 league games, it's going to be less non-conference opportunities for non-power conference teams to get marquee games in November and December. Remember, last season towards the end of the year, even though Dayton was shining in the Atlantic 10 going into the Atlantic 10 tournament, the Flyers were the only lot from the Atlantic 10 for the field of 68. Expect power conference teams to continue to swallow up most of the bids for the 2021 NCAA tournament.
And lastly, another storyline to monitor, experience will again dominate youth in college basketball. We're all at one time or another dazzled by recruiting rankings and think that incoming talent will usurp returning talent. That's not the way the sport works. Unless you're Duke or Kentucky, all incoming freshmen, regardless of their rank, regardless of their class ranking, are going to have their struggles. And the perfect example this is what happened at Washington last year. Mike Hopkins brought in two top flight talents in Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels, but Washington could not dig its way out of the [? Bagwell ?] basement. Those are there five key storylines to watch entering the 2021 college basketball season. I'm John Rothstein. This is Yahoo Sports.
