The Blue Devils have been a huge surprise all season, and would get better by inserting Livingston and Randolph in the starting lineup and relegating freshmen Greg Paulus and Josh McRoberts to the bench. Deng likes to do the dirty work and can score without demanding too many touches. Shelden Williams (18 points, 10 rebounds) is one of the nation's top big men. Duke's success will depend on JJ Redick. If he plays as brilliantly, the Blue Devils will be unbeatable. If he struggles, it may force role players such as Lee Melchionni (6 points) and Sean Dockery (8) to pick up the slack, which could result in a surprise exit for the Dookies.

With Nate Robinson, the NBA's slam dunk champ, the Huskies become one of the favorites. A year after nabbing the Pac-10 title and a No.1 seed, they are still a force, thanks to seniors Brandon Roy, Jamaal Williams and Bobby Jones. Roy blossomed into the most versatile player in the conference, ranking first in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.82-to-1), second in scoring (19.6), fourth in assists (4.14) and field goal percentage (50.9), fifth in free throw shooting (81.9), eighth in steals (1.34), 10th in blocks (0.83) and 11th in rebounding (5.8). The Huskies used their up-tempo game to put up 82.7 points per game, third best in the country, and won by an average of 13.8.

The Wildcats boast the best guards in the country and are led by seniors Randy Foye (20.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists), the Big East Player of the Year, and Allan Ray (19.1, 4.0, 1.5) who were among the Big East leaders in scoring, three-point field goals per game, and free throw percentage. The only problem with coach Jay Wright's squad is that they are fairly small. The tallest guy in his main rotation is 6-9 forward Jason Frasier. That didn't slow the Cats (24-3), who won a share of the Big East Championship.

Can we start salivating at how sick this team will be next season with King James and high school phenom Greg Oden? For now, we'll just shake our heads at what the seventh-ranked Buckeyes would have with Bron-Bron and Big Ten Player of the Year Terence Dials (15.4 points, 8 rebounds). Despite their lack of size – no player is taller than 6-foot 9-inches – the Buckeyes ran teams off the court with the best guard quartet in the nation. Je'Kel Foster, Ron Lewis, Jamar Butler and J.J. Sulinger combined for 44.5 points, 17.5 rebounds and 10.8 assists per game as OSU outscored opponents by an average margin of 12.4 points.

Just plain scary. That's the Huskies with Charlie Villaneuva and Andrew Bynum. A front line? How about 6-10 Josh Boone, 6-11 Hilton Armstrong and 7-0 Bynum. Athletic wing men? How about Villanueuva and Rudy Gay? Scorers off the bench? Denham Brown and Rashad Anderson are capable of 30-point games. Point guard? Marcus Williams is among the nation's best. Coaching? Jim Calhoun's bust is on display at the Basketball Hall of Fame. Just plain scary.

They've been solidly mediocre, but Iguodala would go a long way toward making them a serious threat. What they lack is a superstar they can rely on for offense in crunch time. Hassan Adams is a solid second option, but only if Lute Olsen lets him play after off the court troubles. Mustafa Shakur is too inconsistent and Marcus Williams is a freshman. Enter Iguadala, a lock down defender with a variety of ways to score. With an experienced coach like Olsen, the Wildats would be poised to make a deep run in the tournament.

The Longhorns won 25 games by coming at you in waves on both ends of the court. They led the nation in scoring margin (17.7 points), and ranked second in rebound margin (10.0), while holding opponents to a .376 field goal percentage (third best in the country). The imposing frontline is PJ Tucker (team-best 16.1 points, 9.0 rebounds) and LaMarcus Aldridge, who led the Big 12 in field-goal percentage (.605) and ranked in the top two in rebounds (8.9) and blocks (2.0). Their strong bench would get a boost from CJ Miles, whom the Utah Jazz are grooming as the backcourt running mate of Deron Williams.

Despite boasting one of the nation's better starting fives -- senior guard Gerry McNamara ranks among the top players in the country in three-pointers, free throws and assists per game -- Syracuse has lived on the bubble all season. The addition of 'Melo, who currently ranks in the NBA's top 10 in twelve statistical categories including points (26.2), and Andray Blatche, whom the Wizards project as another Rasheed Wallace sans the mental breakdowns, gives the Orange the best front line in the country.

Coach Calipari's gotta be salivating about a pick-your-poison starting lineup of Darius Washington, Kendrick Perkins, Sean Banks, Rodney Carney and Amare Stoudamire. Without the rigors of an 82-game season, Amare's knee never blew and the possibility of the possibility of a national championship means Banks got his act together last year.

It didn't take Ben Howland long to bring the Bruins their first Pac-10 title since 1997. Led by sophomores Aaron Afflalo (17.1 points, 4.5 rebounds), Jordan Farmar (14.0 points, 5.5 assists) and Josh Shipp (11.3 points, 4.8 rebounds), the Bruins topped the conference in field-goal percentage (47.5) and were second in field-goal defense (42.5). The only thing the Bruins lack is senior leadership and that would have been addressed by Trevor Ariza. The explosive small forward would have teamed with Cedric Bozeman and Ryan Hollins to form a senior backbone on a roster stocked with 12 underclassmen.

The Gators came out of their mid-season swoon and play their best ball of the season. Sophomores Joakim Noah, Al Horford, and Corey Brewer have been giving SEC opponents fits. Walsh and Roberson would provide veteran leadership, which is just about the only thing missing. The key is sophomore point guard Taurean Green, who could boost his NBA stock with a strong tournament.

With their appearance in the Final Four last season, the Illini proved that they can hang with the big boys. Combine James Augustine, Deron Williams and Dee Brown with freshman guard Jamar Smith and the Illini may just be a big boy. Augustine is an absolute beast in the paint, averaging 14 points and 9 rebounds, but Williams' high basketball IQ is the X-Factor that make the Illini a team to beat.

The What-If Heels are as good as some NBA teams. In fact, with five first-round picks and another future lottery choice in Tyler Hansborough, there is no Achilles Tar Heel. UNC likes to get out and run with Felton and Smith and McCants on the wing, but if opponents take the air out of the ball, UNC can also pound the post with twin bulldozers May and Howard.

Just the return of all-world point guard Chris Paul helped transform the Deacons from a 17-16 disappointment into a serious contender. Paul's bowling partner Justin Gray thrived without having to switch positions and shoulder the load. Paul's unparalleled penetrating ability also freed up Eric Williams, once considered a firs- round draft pick, for the easy buckets he was used to.

Losing no key players to NBA riches, the Wildcats never had a down year in the SEC. Kelenna Azubuike (who wasn't drafted) returned with an increased shooting range to complement his slashing prowess, while Randolph Morris never had to sit out 14 games for contact with an agent. Having these two horses for a full season freed PG Rajon Rando (4.9 assists) from the burden of carrying the offensive load.

Louisville's first season in the Big East may not have been a cake walk with UConn and Villanova on the schedule, but the Cardinals would've at least improved their 6-10 conference record with none-and-done stars such as Smith, Johnson and Telfair, who Rick Pitino has gone on record as saying would've been the best point guard he ever coached. Add seniors Garcia and Taquan Dean (16 points) to the stable and Telfair picks teams apart with his 20/20 court vision.