When Florida was scouting the portal final spring, it knew that its perimeter protection was not adequate. It wanted an alpha guard stopper, so it went out and landed a defensive menace in Alijah Martin, who helped change the tenor for the eventual nationwide champions. Texas Tech would not erupt into an Elite Eight crew and one of many Huge 12’s finest golf equipment with out understanding that it wanted to hit huge at level guard and massive man in roster-building. All of the complementary items made far more sense once they have been settling in subsequent to Elijah Hawkins and JT Toppin.
Self-scouting has develop into important. Weaknesses can develop into strengths with the appropriate switch portal addition or sensible participant growth. The opposite is feasible, too. Now greater than ever, strengths can develop into weaknesses in a heartbeat, simply as a result of avalanche of roster adjustments.
Let’s dive into 5 positional teams (one from every of the 5 greatest conferences in faculty basketball) that can look vastly totally different in 2025-26.
Trending up: USC’s rim protection
Huge Ten foes shot a horrifying 70% on the rim in opposition to USC final season. That rated within the third percentile nationally, per CBB Analytics. It was a significant stumbling block for a Trojan membership that completed 5-17 in opposition to top-100 groups final season.
Eric Musselman did one thing about it in free company. USC has bolstered its inside protection considerably with a wave of newcomers. Musselman has just a little little bit of all the pieces at his disposal. Virginia switch Jacob Cofie is a 6-foot-10, 230-pound huge man who’s cell, athletic and a stout on-ball defender. Cofie has an opportunity to be one of many Huge Ten’s finest defenders subsequent yr. Amarion Dickerson, the reigning Horizon League Defensive Participant of the Yr, may solely be 6-7, however the long-armed, fiery ahead is a menacing weak-side rim protector who notched a block proportion that ranked among the many top-35 nationally, per KenPom.com.
Utah switch Ezra Ausar is not a lot of a shot-blocker, however he is bodily right down to tango with the brutal 4s which can be littered throughout the Huge Ten. USC’s protection will want that oomph. Oh, and the Trojans have a 7-5 (!) weapon in Youngstown State switch Gabe Dynes, who ranked third in Division I with an eye-popping 14.4% block charge. Dynes has heaps to enhance on, however blocking photographs is his specialty. His go-go gadget arms assist eradicate wide-open layups.
Some mixture of Cofie, Dickerson, Ausar or Dynes might be on the ground always. It is a polar-opposite actuality for Musselman this yr to go together with the perimeter positional dimension that he craves, because of huge portal splashes like Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara and Maryland’s Rodney Rice. Baker-Mazara’s defensive impression might be noticeable, too. The previous Auburn wing has some completely disrespectful chasedown blocks in his portfolio, and he owns terrific defensive instincts each on and off the ball. Baker-Mazara even defended Purdue’s Braden Smith very effectively for stretches and will unlock the flexibility for USC to trot out some hellacious defensive lineups with Baker-Mazara (6-7), Rice (6-5), Dickerson (6-7), Ausar (6-9) and Cofie (6-11) on the ground on the similar crew. That is a switchable five-man group with good-to-great defenders in any respect three ranges off the ground.
USC’s protection completed 88th nationally and 14th in Huge Ten play in effectivity final season, in line with KenPom. It is primed to go from a weak point to a significant power in 2025-26. A top-25 protection is firmly in play as a result of the inside protection now not resembles a sieve.
USC PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
- G Jordan Marsh
- G Rodney Rice
- G Chad Baker-Mazara
- F Ezra Ausar
- F Jacob Cofie
Trending up: Virginia’s offensive ethos
The decline of Virginia basketball has centered round an offense that has fallen off a cliff from the glory days. This is the place UVa’s offense has completed in ACC play within the final seven seasons:
- 2019: First
- 2020: 14th
- 2021: Third
- 2022: Eighth
- 2023: Ninth
- 2024: thirteenth
- 2025: Eighth
Fortunately, the times of scoring 52 factors at house in opposition to SMU are very seemingly over.
New UVa coach Ryan Odom has constructed a roster from scratch that has critical efficiency offensively, and the strategy behind the insanity is not onerous to identify with every addition.
- Level guards: BYU veteran Dallin Corridor and incoming top-60 freshman Likelihood Mallory will deal with a lot of the conventional level guard duties. Corridor is a profession 35% 3-point shooter who could be a little bit of a gunslinger in pick-and-rolls. The turnovers might be there, however the threat is often definitely worth the reward. Mallory is an undersized, extremely expert 5-9 firecracker who can fill it up from downtown or the midrange, all whereas working a crew adeptly. He’ll match like a glove.
- The dude: San Francisco switch Malik Thomas is a confirmed bucket. He is the perfect guess to guide this crew in scoring along with his barrage of 3s and a knack for attending to the charity stripe. Thomas, a fifth-year senior, might be one of many oldest gamers within the ACC. He will not be overwhelmed by something he sees, and Thomas has so many outs. He hunts buckets in transition. He is a wonderful slasher, particularly attacking lengthy closeouts, and he is drained over 39% of his triples in back-to-back years whereas exhibiting the flexibility to attain in any respect three ranges.
- Candy-shootin’ position gamers: Sam Lewis (from Toledo) and Jacari White (from North Dakota State) are projected to be primarily off-ball spacers. Lewis shot over 52% on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers final yr, and White was over 41% on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers on absurd quantity (162 makes an attempt, 89th percentile nationally). Whereas they challenge to play off the ball, White and Lewis each notched over 100 ball-screen reps final yr. Odom loves having a steady of succesful guards who can run pick-and-rolls and make choices. He has 5 (!) totally different guards who’ve confirmed they’ll deal with the rock. That is invaluable on this guard-friendly scheme.
- Fearsome Fours: Expert 4s are important for a number of the finest offenses, and Virginia has two of them. Thijs de Ridder is a 22-year-old Belgian who could make 3s and punish switches inside. Tillis is one other fifth-year senior who was a key weapon of UC Irvine’s 32-win membership. The 6-7 ahead is a bootyball risk who can each invert the ground and function as a spacer (39% from 3-point vary on 3.3 makes an attempt).
- Complementary facilities: Johann Grünloh and Ugonna Onyenso construct a middle platoon that does reverse issues effectively. Grunloh is a real stretch 5 who shot 34% from downtown on over 2.5 makes an attempt (in simply 22 minutes) in Germany final season. When he is on the ground, Grunloh will pull would-be shot-blockers away from the rim. Onyenso is the other as a long-armed 7-footer who can function as a rim-running, lob risk. Virginia can have two totally different seems relying on which heart is on the ground. These complementary talent units are very important.
The decision: Virginia ought to have 4 or 5 reliable shooters on the ground always with a sterling mixture of creators, slashers, rim-runners and post-up threats. Virginia ought to be a top-five offense within the ACC for the primary time since 2021, and it additionally has the upside to flirt with a top-10 offense nationally.
VIRGINIA PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
- G Dallin Corridor
- G Malik Thomas
- G Jacari White
- F Thijs de Ridder
- C Johann Grünloh
Trending down: Auburn’s inside fortress
Auburn’s defensive method centered across the trio of Dylan Cardwell, Johni Broome and Chaney Johnson, who constructed an “enter at your individual threat” barricade across the rim. Auburn was probably the greatest shot-blocking groups in America, and it seeped into all the pieces in regards to the Tigers’ defensive id. Perimeter defenders like Chad Baker-Mazara, Denver Jones and Miles Kelly have been weaponized to warmth up the basketball much more and blanket 3-point shooters. Auburn not often gave up treys and funneled everybody into the paint, the place Cardwell or Broome would often swallow ’em up.
Elite shot-blocking has been a staple of Bruce Pearl-coached groups for the higher a part of a decade, but it surely seems poised to come back again right down to earth just a little bit in 2025-26 now that Cardwell, Broome and Johnson are off to chase their skilled goals.
As regular, the Tigers have a bevy of choices. Emeka Opurum, a 7-footer from the junior faculty ranks armed with a 7-6 wingspan, has the instruments to be SEC rim protector. He may help Auburn straight away, however he is anticipated to be extra of a second-unit piece. Auburn appears headed to go all-in on the Keyshawn Corridor-KeShawn Murphy, 1-2 punch because the featured frontcourt. They each have the same-sounding first identify and glorious offensive video games. Corridor is a strolling bucket, and Murphy’s slick deal with and behind-the-back passes kind a tantalizing mixture. Even with so many new faces, Auburn has an opportunity to be glorious offensively with Tahaad Pettiford on the reins, paired with the Corridor-Murphy duo.
It is clear that Auburn has prioritized offensive talent with its highest-paid offseason additions, however defensively, the personnel simply just isn’t the identical. Cardwell and Broome have been glorious shot-blockers who have been huge, thick and unattainable to maneuver. Murphy is an efficient rim protector, not a nice one. Corridor has not been a very impactful defender all through his faculty profession. Murphy will redirect some photographs within the paint, however his switchability on the perimeter is his superpower defensively.
Auburn went all-in with final yr’s group and was rewarded with a Ultimate 4 look and probably the greatest seasons in program historical past. Some pure regression is predicted when seven of the highest eight gamers from a 32-win superteam depart, however the inside protection is the place it may present up probably the most.
Auburn’s protection can nonetheless be strong with Kevin Overton hounding lead guards and Murphy being that switchable, cell huge fella, however the ground is considerably decrease this yr. Bart Torvik’s early 2025-26 projections have Auburn pegged round a top-25 protection. That’d be an enormous win for this new-look group.
AUBURN PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Trending up: UConn’s level guard play
UConn’s assortment of major ball-handlers, specifically Hassan Diarra, Aidan Mahaney and Liam McNeeley, mixed to submit the very best turnover charge in pick-and-rolls final yr of any crew within the Dan Hurley-UConn period.
A whopping 19.9% of UConn’s pick-and-roll possessions final season ended with a giveaway. That may’t occur anymore.
The turnovers have been simply a part of the issue for UConn’s level guards. Diarra was glorious as a high-energy sixth man, however he wasn’t at his finest as a late-clock, bucket-getter who may bail out possessions gone awry. Diarra’s lack of ability to develop into a knockdown shooter made UConn just a little simpler to protect, too. Mahaney’s lack of ability to defend exacerbated all the pieces and bled into his confidence offensively. McNeeley, best-suited to be an off-ball wing, was thrust into much more of the ball-handling work out of pure necessity due to the opposite choices.
Strive as they may, UConn’s workers was rotating via a solid of level guards who all had one or two main weaknesses of their portfolios.
That ought to be a lot totally different in 2025-26. Georgia switch Silas Demary Jr. was probably the most well-rounded lead guards within the portal. At 6-5 and a well-built 195 kilos, Demary has the positional dimension that UConn craves. He is a wonderful defender who well oscillates between scorer and distributor. Demary averaged practically 5.0 free-throw makes an attempt per recreation at Georgia, and he’ll give UConn’s offense a get out of jail free card that it desperately wants.
It isn’t all on Demary’s plate, both. Dayton switch Malachi Smith is a high-risk, high-reward playmaker who can shoot and in addition generates a great deal of paint touches. He is a bit undersized (6-foot, 175 kilos), however Smith can warmth up opposing ball-handlers for all 94 toes. He could be one of many elite backup level guards in faculty basketball, who can simply carve out 20+ minutes an evening because of Demary’s versatility.
We’ll see how the remainder of the preseason exercises shake out, however UConn ought to have 4 glorious choices to play with on the three backcourt spots. Lineups that includes Smith (a high-feel initiator level guard), Demary (a scoring combo guard) and Solo Ball (a net-shredding sharpshooter) make loads of sense. Hurley may additionally pair Demary with Ball and five-star freshman Braylon Mullins, who’s one other plus shooter. If Demary wants a blow, Smith-Mullins-Ball is a possible trio as effectively.
UCONN PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
- G Silas Demary Jr.
- G Braylon Mullins
- G Solo Ball
- F Alex Karaban
- C Tarris Reed
Trending up: BYU’s level of assault protection
BYU’s protection was blowtorched by lead guards all yr lengthy. BYU’s pick-and-roll protection in opposition to lead guards rated 353rd nationally in effectivity, solely forward of the likes of Chicago State, Gardner-Webb, Syracuse, Pepperdine and Central Arkansas.
It simply was not a power, and that confirmed up within the NCAA Match when Alabama’s Mark Sears and Aden Holloway mixed for 16 triples and 57 factors.
In an effort to maintain his finest offensive lineups on the ground, BYU coach Kevin Younger did not have a ton of flexibility defensively. BYU was largely passive, selecting to go underneath screens at any time when doable. Alabama made Younger pay like no different within the Candy 16, however there wasn’t some simple adjustment BYU may have made. The personnel was what it was. It did not have that fleet-footed guard who may mirror these lightning-quick lead guards. It did not have nice rim safety at any time when Keba Keita wanted a blow. Finally, it is why BYU’s lightning-strike offense did not advance additional within the Huge Dance.
Total, BYU’s protection allowed 118.0 factors per 100 possessions within the 13 video games in opposition to top-50 competitors. Woooooof.
BYU wasn’t athletic sufficient. It did not have sufficient chew or defensive optionality.
Younger, armed with one of many elite budgets in faculty basketball, has the roster to do issues just a little bit in another way this yr defensively. Make no mistake, BYU’s finest protection might be an offense that forces opponents to take it out of the web, however Southern Illinois switch Kennard Davis and five-star freshman AJ Dybantsa present some semblance of athleticism and ground protection that BYU simply did not have final yr. Baylor switch Rob Wright was not an ideal defender as a freshman within the Huge 12, however he is extraordinarily quick and may get skinny to dodge screens. With the appropriate growth, Wright ought to take one other step in the appropriate path on that finish.
Dybantsa’s defensive manufacturing tends to ebb and move, relying on the night time, however the instruments are unquestionably noticeable. Dybantsa bounds throughout the ground and may plug gaps and supply a splash of secondary rim safety. Davis could be probably the most impactful addition for this protection. The 6-6, Southern Illinois product has critical potential as a lead guard stopper. When he is dialed in, Davis mirrors drivers extraordinarily effectively. With a smaller offensive burden at BYU, Davis ought to be unleashed to deliver it much more defensively at BYU.
This crew ought to merely be capable to scramble, rotate, peel-switch and canopy up sizzling spots method simpler due to the boosted athleticism and pace that this roster has. Even a 6-8 athlete like Dominique Diomande cannot be missed on this equation.
The times of BYU score 353rd in opposition to lead guards are over.
BYU PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
- G Rob Wright
- G Kennard Davis
- G Richie Saunders
- G/F AJ Dybantsa
- F Keba Keita