The Big 12 Houston: The Cougars lose 5 players led by LJ Cryer, but they return 9 players, including Emanuel Sharp, Milos Uzan and Joseph Tugler. They also add the 2nd best freshmen recruiting class (behind Duke) in the nation. All-in-all, this team looks more talented than last year's NCAA tournament runner-ups. That makes them a very serious national title contender. Houston has yet to release its non-conference schedule, but it is playing in the Player Era event in Las Vegas against Syracuse, Tennessee and a 3rd opponent. The Cougars also will be playing Arkansas in Brooklyn in December. BYU: BYU loses 1st round pick, Egor Demin and some other decent players from its Sweet 16 team, but it looks like it will have a better roster this coming season and is a potential Final 4 candidate. These Cougars bring back their best player from last season and one of the best shooting guards in college basketball in Richie Saunders. They also bring back their starting center, Keba Keita, who shot 67% from the field and had 8 rpg in 21 mpg. They bring back 7 players in all, but it's the addition of the newcomers that is going to make this team elite. BYU brings in 8 new players led by Kennard Davis, a 16 ppg small forward from Southern Illinois, Robert Wright III from Baylor who projects to be an NBA point guard, and A.J Dysbanta, a 6'9" forward who is the #1-rated high school player in the country. Best non-conference games - Villanova, UConn, Wisconsin, Clemson and a tournament at Disney in which they will play 2 games against 2 of Dayton, Georgetown and Miami (FL).
