25 storylines to watch for the 2024-2025 college hoops season

College hoops begins on Monday with a slew of games across the country, with the marquee event happening in Spokane, Washington as Gonzaga hosts Baylor in a rematch of the 2021 national championship game.

This should be a fantastic season as usual. There are so many changes the sports went through in the offseason that it’s going to take a while to get used to certain schools in new conferences, certain coaches on new sidelines, and the usual freshmen and transfers settling into the new environments. Realignment and the transfer portal have made this a season filled with so much newness, and that was before a coaching carousel hit some of the biggest programs in the sport and one of the most sought-after freshmen in years stepped onto a college court.

On the women’s side, two of the biggest stars in the sport have taken their talents to the WNBA and continue their rivalry in the pros. The winningest coach in history steps away and we have a new era in Tennessee.

For all the new, we still have a lot of old. Super seniors dominate the preseason All-American teams, blue bloods fill the polls, and a school tucked in New England is trying to become the first three-peat champion since the 1970s. In the women’s game, the powers that have been dominating for years are back for another grab at the crown. That’s how college basketball goes.

So as the season begins, let’s look at the storylines to follow as we navigate towards cutting the nets in San Antonio and Tampa.