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

20. San Diego State Aztecs – Micah Parrish

Rightfully so, all of the offseason noise and hype regarding San Diego State has been about Seattle transfer Darrion Trammell and his pairing with star guard Matt Bradley in the backcourt. The team has an annually top-10 defense and now a quality duo on offense on the perimeter. But can the frontcourt match it? Starting center Nathan Mensah is more about defense and rebounding, while Jaedon LeDee will be healthy and making an impact.

The Aztecs also have a 6’6 forward joining them in Parrish, who was a double-digit scorer at Oakland and a threat from three-point range. He also was a big part of their zone being effective in the last two seasons. If he can produce similar results at San Diego State and balance out the lineup, they’ll be a darkhorse Final Four contender.

19. Saint Louis Billikens – Jake Forrester

All eyes are on the backcourt for the Billikens, with the top passer in NCAA Basketball back (Yuri Collins), joined by sharpshooter Gibson Jimmerson and Javonte Perkins, who is back from injury. The perimeter is set but how is the frontcourt? Starting center Francis Okoro was solid last year but plays around 25 mpg at max.

There’s not a lot of frontcourt depth, so look for Saint Louis to use some four-guard lineups. When they do have to go big, they’ll need Forrester to have an impact at both the four and five-spots. The 6’8 forward from Temple has just a career average of 6.5 ppg and 3.9 rpg but is a veteran and capable big at the A-10 level and will need to provide meaningful minutes to avoid them getting overmatched down low.