NCAA Basketball: Biggest storylines for each current top-25 team for rest of 2023-24

6. Arizona Wildcats - Potential overreliance on Caleb Love to win

Arizona still finds itself in first place in the Pac-12, a 2-3 bid league at best. But getting swept by Washington State showed warning signs of some offensive concerns against good teams. Caleb Love leads them in scoring at 19.4 ppg and has been as efficient from the field as he’s ever been. However, he’s still prone to go 8/22 from the field. The Wildcats have lost those games, as Kylan Boswell has struggled at times in the backcourt. They’ll need a consistent second option to emerge to avoid another early March exit.

5. Marquette Golden Eagles - Consistency of David Joplin

The Eagles have an All-American star (Tyler Kolek) and a two-way All-Big East star (Oso Ighodaro) to lead them to another big season, currently second in the conference. The key to them is Joplin, the one new starter this season, replacing Olivier Maxence-Prosper. On the season, the stretch four is averaging 10.5 ppg on 39% shooting from deep. But he’s had 12 games of single-digit scoring and if he doesn’t make shots, the pressure all comes on Kolek for them to win. How Joplin plays will be key to a potential run for Marquette.

4. Tennessee Volunteers - Who is the second-best player after Dalton Knecht?

The senior transfer wing has been excellent for the Vols, leading the team with 21.1 ppg. When he goes off, Tennessee can beat anyone. At the same time, there have been times when Knecht has big games and they’re in danger of losing. The supporting cast needs to step up, including Santiago Vescovi, who led them in scoring last year but is now averaging just 7.3 ppg on 40% shooting from the field. They’ll need more from him going forward.