NCAA Basketball: Biggest x-factor for each top-25 team for 2022-23 season

22. Florida State Seminoles – Jalen Warley

Last season, the “point guard position” was done via committee, with no one averaging more than 3.2 apg. With senior guards, Anthony Polite and RayQuan Evans gone, that clears up the backcourt for Warley, a former top-100 prospect to potentially take the lead. He’s the one non-freshman point guard on the roster and averaged 3.7 ppg and 2.5 apg in fewer than 20 mpg off the bench.

Florida State’s issues largely were due to the inconsistencies in the backcourt. Even if Matthew Cleveland does indeed have a breakout sophomore campaign, they’ll need Warley to be the clear starting point guard in order to reach their potential as a team.

21. Michigan Wolverines – Jett Howard

It’s clear that All-American center Hunter Dickinson will again be the star and focal point of the offense, while Princeton transfer guard Jaelin Llewellyn will be the No. 2… or at least he needed to be. But outside of Duke transfer wing Joey Baker, the rest of the roster is filled with underclassmen that have yet to prove themselves in extended minutes. Multiple guys will have to step up and have a big impact, with the most promising being top-50 wing Jett Howard.

Jett, son of head coach Juwan Howard, has a ready-made game offensively. He’s a three-level scorer and can be a double-digit scorer out the gate. Howard has the best chance to be the third option in this option and Michigan will need a capable wing to break out and balance the lineup.