Big East

After going over the teams expected to win their regular season titles, we move on to talking about the top freshmen in each conference. Will all automatically take over and become the stars of their respective teams and leagues? It's tough to say at this point in the season, but that doesn't mean that we can't discuss it. Below are the picks for each of the 32 conferences.

America East: James Kennedy (Boston University)

With the college basketball season finally on the horizon, the game that's been overlooked by many in conference realignment will once again have the center stage. Perennial contenders will once again make a run at a national title while some new faces will pop up as well. The first four-part preview will focus on the conferences, and more specifically who will win each of the 32 leagues.

America East: Albany

In the latest installment in his "Coaching Greats" interview series CHN writer discussed the career of the late Ray Meyer with his son Joey. In 42 seasons at DePaul Meyer won 724 games and coached legendary players such as George Mikan and Mark Aguirre. 

The final region is the West, which is where Connecticut began their run to the national title. While some of the departures in this region will steal the majority of the ink there are a number of teams who should feel good about their prospects in 2011-12. Below is a quick breakdown of each of the 16 teams.

(1) Duke: lost to Arizona in the Sweet 16

Next up in the short series of looking ahead to next season is the Southwest region, where things essentially went haywire the first weekend. Advancing to San Antonio was the top seed Kansas and seeds 10 through 12, and when the dust settled VCU won the region. A number of teams have some important personnel issues to address, but the Jayhawks won't be the lone team expected to contend for their league title out of this region in 2011-12.

Next up is the Southeast region, which contributed to the craziness of the NCAA Tournament beginning with Butler knocking off top-seed Pittsburgh in the third round. The question now is what's next for the entire region beginning with the Panthers, who welcome a solid recruiting class while also waiting to see what Ashton Gibbs' decision in regards to staying in the NBA Draft will be.  

With the NCAA Tournament now over and many resting up for a couple days before hitting the spring recruiting circuit (the Nike EYBL Boo Williams Invitational is this weekend), why not take a look at all 68 teams in this year's field and their early prospects for next season? With the NBA Draft deadline (May 8th) still a month away, here's a look at each of the teams in the East Region and what they'll likely have in 2011-12.

(1) Ohio State: lost in Sweet 16 to Kentucky

Given the defensive numbers that both Butler and Connecticut boasted going into Monday night's matchup for the national title few expected a high-scoring contest. But what ensued at Reliant Stadium was stunning, as a game that featured just 17 turnovers combined (11 for the Huskies) looked far uglier than anyone expected. Thanks to their dominance scoring inside and a good job of challenging shots, Jim Calhoun's team won the school's third national title by the final score of 53-41.

9:23 PM (CBS) (8) Butler (28-9) vs. (3) Connecticut (31-9)

The end of the college basketball season is here, for better or worse, and the national title game matches a pair of teams few expected to get to this point on Selection Sunday much less at any point during the regular season. The Butler Bulldogs are back where they saw their season end a year ago, and if Gordon Hayward's half-court shot were a few centimeters to the left we're talking about a possible repeat.

On March 19th two teams advanced out of the Washington, D.C. subregional, making their way to the Sweet 16. And on Monday night those two teams, Butler and Connecticut, will play for the national title.

In the first game of the night in Houston, Butler was able to withstand an early barrage of VCU three pointers to take a six-point lead into the intermission. After an even start the Bulldogs allowed themselves to be drawn into the Rams' hectic style of play, breaking the pressure for three pointers instead of attacking the rim.