Three essential story lines

1 Bob Knight's chase. He begins the season with 854 victories, 25 behind the legend, former North Carolina coach Dean Smith, who has the record. Texas Tech has some extra games in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic and a fairly comfortable nonconference schedule. Knight probably would need a 10-6 Big 12 record and nice runs in the conference and NCAA tournaments, but those are possible.

2 Duke's senior citizens. The star players for the past three NCAA champions--Syracuse, Connecticut and North Carolina--were not seniors. But with guard J.J. Redick and center Shelden Williams, the Blue Devils have talent and experience. Redick and Williams have been to the Final Four and are 16-4 in ACC and NCAA tournament games.

3 The really Big East. Having expanded to 16 teams, the Big East now stretches from Providence to Milwaukee to Tampa. It also faces an extremely competitive scramble for NCAA Tournament bids. South Florida is the only member never to have made the Final Four, and 14 of the teams have been to the NCAAs since 2000. That's a lot of great basketball to stuff into one package, even one this large.

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