It’s still early in the college basketball season, but several teams expected to make the NCAA Tournament are running out of chances to prove themselves in the nonconference. How much trouble are they in, looking all the way ahead to March?

We’ve got one full month of results, which means it’s time to overreact and predict the NCAA Tournament field!

Can we find any edge betting totals on teams playing significantly faster or slower than last year? The obvious answer is yes, but how do we identify those teams early? The answer is on the sidelines…

Oregon was supposed to be the Pac-12’s best chance at a Final Four contender. Instead, they’ve already lost to a middling Big Ten team and at home to a SWAC team. So what’s wrong? How easily can the Ducks be fixed?

Welcome to Root’s Ramblings, where Jim lazily makes up a gimmicky column name to give him an excuse to discuss multiple teams/games in brief (and in his briefs)…

Can you appreciate the subtleties that make a player like Ethan Happ elite? Although he lacks the “en vogue” skills of superior athleticism and a silky jump shot, he is undeniably a star in college hoops, making his game an interesting gauge for the casual fan…

An experienced conference graduated many of its best players - and perhaps its best team, as Hampton sailed off to the Big South. That leaves a wide open league for the remaining 12, with (probably) four main contenders for the top spot.

The clear favorite here is Rob Krimmel’s Red Flash, as St. Francis returns a plethora of offensive weapons. The tier behind them offers some challengers, but the NEC will likely be “seeing red” this year…

Jim’s annual preseason dive into the NCAA futures market is here! Will he find the next Villanova (a 20:1 winner last year) among this season’s odds? He thinks he has…

The Big West had a Big Bounceback in 2017-18, improving to 19th in Ken Pomeroy’s conference rankings after finishing a dismal 29th in 2016-17. With a ton of returning AND new talent, as many as six teams look like real contenders this year…

Radford is the odds-on favorite after winning the Big South Tourney last year, but a deep tier lurks dangerously right behind them in the standings. Who will emerge from that group?

The top two squads (Belmont and Murray St.) both return a bona fide star, but outside of that, the league has plenty of attrition and uncertainty. They’ll still likely duel at the top, but a few newer threats are looking to emerge…

Iona remains a threat, but the usual contenders (Siena, Monmouth) have fallen off slightly - opening the door for Rider, Quinnipiac, and others to stake a claim as the MAAAAAAAAC’s best team…

The Ivy is getting deeper and deeper, as more schools pick up talented young recruits with bright futures. Tommy Amaker’s Crimson seem to be the pick of the litter at first glance, but Penn is still lurking, and other contenders are lining up for a shot as well…

Jim is bursting at the seams to finally preview the Colonial after three years of being shut out. It’s no coincidence that the league name has two “O’s” and zero “D” (yes that joke is horrendous, but it’s true)…

The A-10 promises to be an extremely deep and challenging-to-predict league, but a few programs stand out to us as the most notable contenders…

Likely the weakest of the so-called Power 6 leagues, the Pac 12 will have to deal with being a kind of “little brother” to Gonzaga and Nevada on the west coast. The league is relatively wide open (not always a compliment), but the traditional powers will probably make up the upper tiers…

Xavier ended Villanova’s reign of terror last year, but despite a plethora of pro defections, Jay Wright’s Wildcats appear to once again be the class of the league. Who else will emerge from a crowd of possible contenders?

After one of the best three-year runs in NCAA history, Villanova faces a tall task replacing four key players from its dominant national title team. Jay Wright remains, as does a very talented roster - will the Wildcats continue to be among the nation’s elite?

After an underwhelming 2017-18, Dana Altman has once again assembled an extremely talented roster boosted by one of the nation’s best freshman classes. Can he build a contender out of the intriguing pieces?

Mike Hopkins’s squad brings back every significant contributor from a year ago. With the Pac 12 as open as ever, how high can the more experienced Huskies climb in this year’s standings?

Known for the last two years as a prolific three-point shooting offense but a sieve defense, can Marquette find a little more balance this year? And is Wojo’s seat sneaky-warm?

For a coach who has made three Sweet 16s in the past five years, Steve Alford’s seat appears to be heating up. Will a roster rife with talented underclassmen be enough to earn Mr. Alford some job security?

A great deal of change is afoot in Northeast Cincinnati, as the Musketeers wave goodbye to Chris Mack and Xavier legends Trevon Bluiett and JP Macura (among others). New coach Travis Steele hopes, Quentin Goodin, a promising group of sophomores, and a few grad transfers can maintain X’s streak of 6 straight tournaments…

With Kelan Martin’s departure, Butler is now officially Kamar Baldwin’s team. Is he ready for that responsibility? And who will emerge as his key sidekicks?

Three pillars of the Providence program depart (Kyron Cartwright, Rodney Bullock, Jalen Lindsey), but the Friars still have Ed Cooley and a bevy of young talent with which to work. The biggest question: how big of an impact can Emmitt Holt have in his return from injury?

Despite dealing with a mass exodus of his entire starting 5, Sean Miller has cobbled together enough talent to maintain respectability in Tucson. Will he be able to piece it all together in time to make a run in the vulnerable Pac 12?

Sneaking in the remainder of my Big Board before Thursday night’s draft, here’s prospects 17-50…

Jim’s annual stab at an NBA Draft board kicks off with his lottery rankings. The only non-NCAA player resides atop the board, but how to rank everyone else was a massive headache…

A Top 25 simply wasn't enough - I needed to go through the entire bracket to fill the sad, dark chasm in my heart now that the college hoops offseason has overtaken us…