ESPN Men's Basketball

What concerns us: Losing the leadership of Mike Hall, Omar Williams, Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Danilo Pinnock (who left early for the NBA draft) will hurt. Experience will be a factor early as the Colonials figure out who can be counted on up front and in the locker room, outside of Elliott and Rice.

Power-rating push: GW will get a good taste of where it stands by playing a depleted USC in the John Wooden Classic in Anaheim in early December.

What concerns us: Losing Jeff Horner, Erek Hansen and Greg Brunner will be tough to overcome and the Hawkeyes will need to develop a different identity. It might take this squad some time to find itself.

Power-rating push: The Hawkeyes will be tested early when they play at Virginia Tech in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

What concerns us: The Falcons will always have issues athletically on the defensive end. They've handled being the front-runners in the Mountain West Conference rather well the past couple of seasons, but that's another possible concern.

Power-rating push: Air Force had a hard time getting games but did manage to get into the CBE (formerly the Guardians Classic) and will draw Stanford. Beat the Cardinal and the Falcons could face Duke, Texas Tech or Marquette.

What concerns us: The Bears will miss Powe's prowess in the post. There are questions about Hardin's consistency. The Bears also need to be as tough as they were with Powe. Toughness and avoiding scoring droughts are a must.

Power-rating push: Cal will play DePaul and Nevada, which should do wonders for the Bears' self-esteem (or crush it) early enough.

What concerns us: Why this team folds is a puzzling question. Also, the lack of consistent inside presence can be an issue. Reestablishing home-court dominance is a must, too.

Power-rating push: The Ducks will have shots to pump up their profile at Georgetown and Rice.

What concerns us: The lack of a go-to scorer, the uncertainty surrounding Marquise Gray's foot injury, and the overall inexperience.

Power-rating push: The Spartans will, as usual, play a big-time schedule. There are possible games with Maryland, Texas or St. John's in New York in the CVC and then a road game at Boston College in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

What concerns us: The Wolverines should be fine, but they have found ways to fade in February. We know injuries have been a factor, but the fact is they haven't closed out recent seasons well enough to earn NCAA bids.

Power-rating push: We'll know a lot about the Wolverines if they can go into N.C. State and win in the opener of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

What concerns us: The frontcourt will be green and the Pride will rely too much on their backcourt.

Power-rating push: Hofstra has a shot to make a name for itself early in the Great Alaska Shootout. The slate isn't that daunting, with Cal and Hawaii as the most likely roadblocks to the title.

What concerns us: The Salukis did win the conference tournament, but Wichita State has more experience, especially in the NCAAs (having reached the Sweet 16). The talent is there but SIU has to do a better job against the top tier of the league on the road.

Power-rating push: SIU doesn't have many opportunities, so it has to make the most of the Old Spice Classic against Arkansas and possibly Virginia Tech.

What concerns us: The Musketeers can't afford too many missteps early if they want to be an at-large candidate. After a midseason swoon (and losing star big man Brian Thornton) last year, they had no shot at the NCAAs without winning the conference tournament.

Power-rating push: Xavier will have plenty of chances with the Paradise Jam field. Kansas State and Cincinnati are on the schedule.