Arizona State University
Nickname: Sun Devils
Conference: Pac-10
Location: Tempe, AZ

Herb Sendek’s Sun Devils posted 21 wins in 2007-08, tied for the best turnaround in the nation, and return their top seven scorers. Led by All-Pac-10 performers James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph, ASU is coming off its fourth 20-win season in 27 years. Picked to finish ninth in the Pac-10 preseason poll, Sendek’s squad, with a Pac-10-leading 96 starts by freshmen, managed wins over NCAA teams Xavier, Stanford, Arizona (twice), USC, Oregon and Coppin State. Harden, the youngest player in the Pac-10 last season (he turns 19 in August), had 16 20-point games (an ASU freshman record), and a Pac-10 best 73 steals. ASU also returns two-year starter Derek Glasser at the point, along with sophomores Rihards Kuksiks and Ty Abbott.

Baylor University
Nickname: Bears
Conference: Big 12
Location: Waco, TX

Baylor finished fourth in the Big 12 in 2007-08 and played in its first NCAA Tournament in 20 years. Coming off the school’s most successful season in decades, Coach Scott Drew will unveil an experienced squad in 2008-09 — with eight of Baylor’s top nine players and its top five scorers returning to pick up where last season’s club left off. In November, Baylor won its last in-season tournament, defeating Winthrop 62-54 to claim the 2007 Paradise Jam Championship. Expected to lead the Bears in 2008-09 are three All-Big 12 returnees: senior guards Henry Dugat and Curtis Jerrells and senior forward Kevin Rogers.

Cal State Fullerton
Nickname: Titans
Conference: Big West
Location: Fullerton, CA

At 24-9 the Titans posted their best record in school history (since 1975) and have won 20 or more games in three of the last four seasons. Following their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 30 years, in which they lost to Wisconsin in the first round, the Titans are poised to continue their good fortune. But 2008-09 will have its trials. Seven players from last year's roster have graduated. Senior guard Josh Akognon, a prolific three-point shooter who was third in the Big West in scoring at 19.9 points per game, is expected to carry the load, and sixth-year coach Bob Burton also expects big things from red-shirt wing man Gerard Anderson.

Charlotte
Nickname: 49ers
Conference: Atlantic 10
Location: Charlotte, NC

The Charlotte 49ers are hot off head coach Bobby Lutz’s eighth post-season tournament appearance and fifth 20-win season (20-14). Lutz, who has been at the 49ers’ helm for 10 years, returns nine of the team’s top 10 players from last season. Coming off last year’s bid to the NIT, Lutz became the 49ers’ all-time winningest coach. The 49ers are built around four returning starters: senior forwards Lamont Mack and Charlie Coley, sophomore wing An’Juan Wilderness and junior point guard DiJuan Harris. Last season, Mack was the 49ers’ second leading scorer (12.8 ppg) and rebounder (5.1 rpg) while Coley averaged 8.7 points and a team-high 46 blocks. Wilderness was an A-10 all-Rookie choice while Harris led the A-10 with a 2.77 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Providence College
Nickname: Friars
Conference: BIG EAST
Location: Providence, RI

Providence College posted a 15-16 mark in 2007-08, including a 6-12 record in BIG EAST play. The team returns nine of its top 10 scorers and all five starters. Senior guard Jeff Xavier led the team in scoring (12.4) and three-pointers (76) while leading the BIG EAST in steals per game (2.26). Senior Geoff McDermott led the Friars in rebounding (8.1 rpg) and assists (4.8 apg) last season, marking his third consecutive season as the team’s top rebounder. Keno Davis was named the Friars’ 14th head coach in April, and the 2008 Associated Press National Coach of the Year will lead Providence into its 53rd appearance in an in-season tournament. Davis knows there is a rich basketball tradition in Providence; the Friars have made 15 NCAA appearances and have reached the Final Four twice (1973 and ’87).

St. Mary’s College
Nickname: Gaels
Conference: West Coast
Location: Northern California

Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s all-time winningest coach (127-90), enters his eighth season with nine returning letterman and four starters from last season’s NCAA Tournament team. The 2007-08 squad tied a school record with a 25-7 ledger and were ranked in the Top 25 for nine weeks. The Gaels return a talented frontcourt, including 2008 WCC Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-WCC forward Diamon Simpson and Honorable Mention All-WCC center Omar Samhan. Simpson, who averaged 13.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, became the school’s all-time leader in blocks (182) and is second all-time with 753 rebounds. Samhan (10.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg) was solid in his second season as a Gael, and should continue to grow with the continued play of WCC Freshman of the Year and First Team All-WCC selection Patty Mills at point. Mills scored an SMC freshman record 472 points, averaging a team-high 14.8 points per game, and led the squad with 111 assists and 57 steals. 

University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP)
Nickname: Miners
Conference: USA
Location: El Paso, TX

In its second season under coach Tony Barbee, UTEP improved from 14-17 to 19-14. With the former Memphis assistant at the helm, the Miners were 8-8 in Conference USA, reached the semifinals of the league tournament and earned a bid to the inaugural College Basketball Invitational. Six of the top eight scorers return for the 2008-09 campaign, including senior guard Stefon Jackson, who led Conference USA and ranked seventh nationally in scoring with 23.6 points per game last year. UTEP boasts a storied basketball tradition with 26 postseason tournament appearances (16 NCAA, nine NIT, one CBI). UTEP remains the only Division I-A school in the state of Texas to win a national title in men’s basketball. 

Wake Forest University
Nickname: Demon Deacons
Conference: ACC
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Wake Forest overcame the tragic death of head coach Skip Prosser to post a record of 17-13 overall and 7-9 in the ACC in 2007-08. Led by first-year head coach Dino Gaudio, the Deacons exceeded all expectations for a team picked in the preseason conference poll to finish next to last. Led by two freshmen, James Johnson and Jeff Teague, Wake Forest’s 86-73 defeat of No. 2-ranked Duke on Feb. 17 proved to be one of the biggest upsets in Deacons history. Johnson was named third team All-ACC and a freshman All-American, in addition to finishing runner-up in the ACC Rookie-of-the-Year balloting. Teague led the ACC with four Rookie of the Week awards. Wake Forest returns all five starters and each of its top nine contributors from a year ago, as well as the third-ranked recruiting class in the country, according to Rivals.com.