Projecting the Field
(Preseason Projections)
We made it through another offseason.
And boy, that sure was some kind of offseason.
We had Final Four coaches (Tom Crean and John Brady) change jobs, All-Americans (Michael Beasley and Kevin Love) turn pro, long-timers (Lute Olson and Dave Odom) leave the sport and at least three Division I players (Santa Clara's John Bryant, Oklahoma's Ray Willis and BYU's Chris Collinsworth) endure knife attacks.
Seriously, three players suffered stab wounds.
That might be a record.
But today is the day to put all that behind us because today is the day that the 2008-09 college basketball season officially gets under way. I would love to tell you that a killer slate of games is scheduled, but all we've got is Georgia Southern vs. Houston and Presbyterian vs. Duke.
The first interesting game will probably be UMass at Southern Illinois on Wednesday.
The first nationally relevant game is Kentucky at North Carolina on Nov. 18.
The first Projecting the Field and Projecting the Seeds are right here.
And yes, UNC is the pick to win it all, in case you hadn't heard.
Top four seeds by region
| Seed | East | Midwest | South | West |
| 1 |  |  |  |  |
| 2 |  |  |  |  |
| 3 |  |  |  |  |
| 4 |  |  |  |  |
Bubble teams
Last four in: BYU, Mississippi, Dayton, UTEP
Last four out: Minnesota, Washington, San Diego, Providence
Bids by conference
| ACC (6) | |
 | Automatic bid: North Carolina |
| At-large: Duke, Miami, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Clemson | |
| Bubble: Georgia Tech, Maryland | |
| AMERICA EAST (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Boston University |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| ATLANTIC 10 (3) | |
 | Automatic bid: Xavier |
| At-large: Temple, Dayton | |
| Bubble: UMass, Saint Joseph's, Charlotte | |
| ATLANTIC SUN (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Belmont |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| BIG 12 (5) | |
 | Automatic bid: Texas |
| At-large: Oklahoma, Baylor, Kansas, Texas A&M | |
| Bubble: Missouri, Oklahoma State, Kansas State | |
| BIG EAST (9) | |
 | Automatic bid: Louisville |
| At-large: Connecticut, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Georgetown, Villanova, Syracuse, West Virginia | |
| Bubble: Providence, Cincinnati | |
| BIG SKY (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Portland State |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| BIG SOUTH (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Winthrop |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| BIG TEN (4) | |
 | Automatic bid: Purdue |
| At-large: Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin | |
| Bubble: Minnesota, Illinois | |
| BIG WEST (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Cal State-Northridge |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| COLONIAL (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Virginia Commonwealth |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| CONFERENCE USA (3) | |
 | Automatic bid: Memphis |
| At-large: UAB, UTEP | |
| Bubble: Tulsa | |
| HORIZON (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Cleveland State |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| IVY LEAGUE (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Cornell |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| MAAC (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Siena |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| MAC (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Kent State |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| MEAC (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Morgan State |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| MISSOURI VALLEY (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Creighton |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: Southern Illinois, Illinois State | |
| MOUNTAIN WEST (2) | |
 | Automatic bid: UNLV |
| At-large: BYU | |
| Bubble: San Diego State, Utah, New Mexico | |
| NORTHEAST (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Mount Saint Mary's |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| OHIO VALLEY (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Murray State |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| PAC-10 (4) | |
 | Automatic bid: UCLA |
| At-large: Arizona State, Southern California, Arizona | |
| Bubble: Washington, Washington State, Oregon | |
| PATRIOT LEAGUE (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: American |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| SEC (6) | |
 | Automatic bid: Tennessee |
| At-large: Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Alabama, Mississippi | |
| Bubble: Vanderbilt | |
| SOUTHERN (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Davidson |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| SOUTHLAND (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Stephen F. Austin |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| SUMMIT LEAGUE (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Oral Roberts |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| SUN BELT (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Middle Tennessee State |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| SWAC (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Jackson State |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: None | |
| WAC (1) | |
 | Automatic bid: Nevada |
| At-large: None | |
| Bubble: Utah State | |
| WEST COAST (2) | |
 | Automatic bid: Gonzaga |
| At-large: Saint Mary's | |
| Bubble: San Diego | |
| 2008-09 Season Preview/Conference Countdown Schedule | |||
| Date | Feature | Date | Feature |
| Monday, Oct. 20 | Preseason Top 25 (and one) | Thursday, Oct. 30 | Ranking the best of the non-BCS |
| Tuesday, Oct. 21 | Preseason All-America Team | Friday, Oct. 31 | No. 6: Big Ten |
| Wednesday, Oct. 22 | Player rankings: Points/combos | Monday, Nov. 3 | No. 5: Pac-10 |
| Thursday, Oct. 23 | Player rankings: Wings | Tuesday, Nov. 4 | No. 4: Big 12 |
| Friday, Oct. 24 | Player rankings: Big men | Wednesday, Nov. 5 | No. 3: SEC |
| Monday, Oct. 27 | Impact Freshmen | Thursday, Nov. 6 | No. 2: ACC |
| Tuesday, Oct. 28 | Coaches on the hot seat | Friday, Nov. 7 | No. 1: Big East |
| Wednesday, Oct. 29 | Games to watch | Monday, Nov. 10 | Preseason tourney projections |
