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

14. Alabama Crimson Tide – Mark Sears

With Jahvon Quinerly out until around SEC play, the ball-handling duties will be up to Ohio transfer Mark Sears and five-star freshman point guard Jaden Bradley. Neither are proven at the SEC level but the veteran will have more expectations to produce on a preseason top-25 team. Sears averaged nearly 20 ppg and over four assists a game in the MAC and shot over 40% from three-point range.

Of course, there’s a long history of star mid-major point guards transferring up to the power conferences and struggling. Alabama has enough talent to make up for any potential issues from Sears in the non-conference until Quinerly returns. But if the former Ohio star does play well, the Tide will have a top-tier backcourt when fully healthy.

13. TCU Horned Frogs – Micah Peavy

The Frogs return just about everyone from last year’s team and they all play their positions well. One player that could be a breakout candidate is center Eddie Lampkin but as long as he defends and rebounds, will be fine. But one other guy that may still have room to grow is Micah Peavy, a 6’7 wing that originally came from Texas Tech. He averaged 6.1 ppg in 19 minutes off the bench on 44% shooting.

Peavy is a versatile player that can play and guard three different positions. He’s an asset for TCU but could do more on offense, coming off a year where he shot just 5/30 from three-point range. If he can become a threat and potentially average double figures off the bench, that’ll boost the offensive potential.