NCAA Basketball: 5 early Bracketology storylines for 2022-23 season

NCAA Basketball season is approaching as fast as pumpkin spiced everything after September 1st. Practice has yet to begin and for some, that means talk of March and brackets is silly, but that doesn’t mean talking about some preseason storylines with an eye towards Selection Sunday and the NCAA Tournament. The 2022 tournament was the perfect way to bring the sport back to a sense of normalcy after having two years impacted by Covid.

Kansas is the defending champions, but a new season brings a new set of challenges and this year will be no different, with really good teams that will be littered about the preseason polls when they arrive. People who cover the sport often say that the seasons are better when college basketball isn’t top-heavy and there is quality depth across the country.

Obviously, a lot can and will happen between the middle of September and when the bracket is revealed, like injuries, upsets, and surprising highs and lows that will affect the final product. As we begin to hear about the results of overseas trips with secret scrimmages and exhibitions soon to follow, storylines are developing. There are the tried-and-true new faces in new places both on the floor and on the bench and the impact of all the heralded freshmen.

But, as I said, despite it being September there are some things to watch with your bracketology binoculars as the season gets going. Resumes will begin to be built as soon as the ball tips on Nov. 7 and the entire portfolio will matter when teams hand them in after conference tournaments are played. Let’s take a look at five bracketology takes as we look toward the 2022-23 season.