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1 week ago | 
bustingbrackets.com | Tristan Freeman
The Nebraska Cornhuskers were one of a few teams to finish the season with a victory, winning the inaugural Crown Invitational Tournament. They missed out on the NCAA Tournament, thanks to a six-game losing skid late in the season and a lack of big-time wins. One victory they did have was over Creighton in the non-con, where the Huskers went 10-1 overall. They lost to Saint Mary’s and did not get any other quality wins.
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1 week ago | 
bustingbrackets.com | Tristan Freeman
For the past year, there’s been some debate about who the top class of 2025 college basketball prospects are. However, there has been no debate on who the top player in 2026 is, with Tyran Stokes leading the way. He’s a 6’7 forward from the state of California. Stokes is an elite athlete with tremendous handles and can score anywhere on the court. His shot creation is second-to-none, and he is also a good defender.
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1 week ago | 
bustingbrackets.com | Tristan Freeman
In the past few years, Iowa State hasn’t typically played a ton of great non-con opponents. The metrics look good by beating mid-majors, and the overall record allows them to get a high seed still, but the Cyclones’ lack of non-con marquee foes prevents them from being in the 1-2 seed line come Selection Sunday. The good news for Iowa State is that they’ll be participating in the Players Era Tournament, which should feature three quality opponents, no matter what.
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1 week ago | 
bustingbrackets.com | Tristan Freeman
DJ Smith was an impact transfer at Robert Morris last season, averaging 9.1 ppg and 3.2 apg in 32 starts, shooting 39% from three-point range. Smith, a 6’0 ball-handler from Little Rock, Arkansas, had originally committed to Mercer this offseason. However, he opted to de-commit and re-enter the transfer portal, where a new batch of teams are showing interest. Which of the programs makes the most sense for Smith on paper?
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1 week ago | 
bustingbrackets.com | Tristan Freeman
After making the Final Four this past season, Auburn Basketball’s roster underwent plenty of changes. Many of the team were seniors with no eligibility, including Johni Broome, Dylan Cardwell, Miles Kelly, and Chaney Johnson. Plus, forward Chad Baker-Mazara elected to use his last year with the USC Trojans. The Tigers did have one key piece who could return: Tahaad Pettiford. He was third in scoring with 11.6 ppg and led them with 3.0 apg.
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1 week ago | 
bustingbrackets.com | Tristan Freeman
The SEC had several teams dealing with late NBA Draft decisions. Almost all of them got good news, with their key players set to come back for next season. Arkansas was also waiting on decisions, but the difference with them is that they had two players going through the process late. One was Adou Thiero, a 6’6 forward who was the team’s best player for most of last season. He had an offensive breakout campaign, averaging 15.2 ppg and 5.8 rpg.
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1 week ago | 
bustingbrackets.com | Tristan Freeman
The deadline for college basketball players to withdraw from the NBA was midnight on Wednesday night, and the SEC was easily the biggest winner from a conference perspective. Among those who opted to come back later were Otega Oweh (Kentucky), Tahaad Pettiford (Auburn), Mackenzie Mgbako (Texas A&M), and Alex Condon (Florida). The Alabama Crimson Tide wasn’t supposed to get any news, as we had already known the fate of the one NBA Draft prospect on the team.
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1 week ago | 
bustingbrackets.com | Tristan Freeman
After adding four programs from the West Coast, Big Ten Basketball once again had another strong campaign, sending eight teams to the NCAA Tournament this past season. The transfer portal proved to be a positive deciding factor for many of them, as it got huge contributions from the newcomers. Some of the best examples include All-American John Tonje (Wisconsin), Danny Wolf (Michigan), and Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Maryland).
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1 week ago | 
bustingbrackets.com | Tristan Freeman
The transfer portal has been both a gift and a curse for many mid-major college basketball teams. Many stars with eligibility tend to leave small schools for the high-major ranks. On the other hand, those schools benefit from players transferring down and having a massive impact on their respective teams. Some examples from this past season include Kam Woods (Robert Morris), Jahvon Garcia (McNeese State), and Barry Evans (Bryant), among many others from last and previous years.
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1 week ago | 
bustingbrackets.com | Tristan Freeman
In the past few years, the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Saint Mary’s Gaels haven’t been the only teams that have made news nationally out of the WCC. Thanks to some quality transfers, a few others have gotten themselves into the top-50 range and even onto the bubble of the NCAA Tournament. Once again, the other teams in the WCC have landed some key pieces from the portal this offseason. Here are three early winners to watch to this point.
