Overview
Redemption. This is what defines the Huskies this season. After being knocked out in the first round last March and not making the tournament in 2007, the Huskies are looking to rebound strongly this season, and, given their preseason ranking of two, the rest of the basketball world is expecting it too. The Huskies have four of their five starters returning at the beginning of the season from last year, with sophomore Stanley Robinson supposedly returning before the calendar turns.

The Good
The Huskies Senior leader A.J. Price returns after tearing his ACL in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last March (which many considered the reason for the Huskies losing in the first round). Big man Hasheem Thabeet returns this season after averaging 10.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 4.5 blocks per game last season. His numbers drastically improved from his Freshman year and they should continue to do so over the course of his Junior season.

Junior shooting guard Jerome Dyson returns as well after averaging 12.5 ppg and 3.6 rpg. The only issue is that Dyson was one of two players to be suspended for part of last season for breaking team rules, but he will hopefully return to his All-Big East Rookie form this season.

Senior Jeff Adrien returns after averaging 14.8 points per game, 9.1 rebounds per game, and 1.2 blocks per game last season. Freshman prospects Nate Miles and Kemba Walker join the mix after having standout high school careers.

The Bad
There is not a lot that can go in this section for the Huskies. The only bad news is that they don't have Robinson for the beginning of the season due to academic reasons, but he should be back relatively quickly.

The Bottom Line
If the Huskies can keep their focus while in the spotlight, they stand a legitimate chance at taking the Big East and National Championship titles. They have a lot of weapons while still maintaining a balanced team, and with Tyler Hansbrough recovering from an injury right now, the Huskies stand a very good chance at overtaking UNC as the No.1 team in the country.

DePaul Blue Demons

Coach: Jerry Wainwright
2007-2008 Record: 6-12 (11-19)
AP Rank: NR
Coaches: NR

Overview
The Blue Demons are still a very young team, so the good news is that they can learn from last year's mistakes. The bad news, though, is that there were a lot of mistakes last year. They finished the season on a 2-10 run after starting Big East play 4-2. They lost close games and blew a couple of leads unnecessarily.

This year will hopefully be different, and Wainwright's 43-48 record as DePaul head coach will hopefully take a step over .500.

The Good
Big-East All Rookie's Dar Tucker and Mac Koshwal return after accounting for over 24 points and 13 rebounds per game between the two of them, and Senior Matija Poscic will hopefully be a factor this year after not being 100 percent for most of last season.

The Bad
The Blue Demons currently have ten games lined up against ranked teams, and while nine of them come from within the Big East, their first game against a ranked team comes Dec. 13 against No.4 UCLA.

The Bottom Line

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