4. Michigan Wolverines at St. John’s Red Storm
These have been two of the more talked-about programs in the NCAA Basketball offseason, though for different reasons. St. John’s hired Rick Pitino and has a rebuilt roster ready for success, including adding Jordan Dingle, who averaged 23 ppg at Penn. On the opposite end is Michigan, who not only lost star big man Hunter Dickinson but also landed, and then lost Caleb Love via the portal.
So there’s going to be lots of eyes on head coach Juwan Howard at Michigan, who may not have a very good roster. And it’ll be a good test to see how good the Red Storm is and whether or not they’ll be good enough to compete in the Big East.
3. Maryland Terrapins at Villanova Wildcats
Speaking of Dickinson, these two teams missed out on him in the offseason sweepstakes. But both programs have a really good roster regardless. Maryland has star guard Jahmir Young back, along with the frontcourt duo of Julian Reese and Donta Scott.
Villanova’s frontcourt got a boost with Eric Dixon coming back, along with the addition of Kentucky transfer, Lance Ware. This is also going to be a “revenge game” for Hakim Hart, the former Maryland guard that now plays for the Wildcats. This has the potential to be a top-25 matchup when the time comes.