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With the college basketball season finally on the horizon, the game that's been overlooked by many in conference realignment will once again have the center stage. Perennial contenders will once again make a run at a national title while some new faces will pop up as well. The first four-part preview will focus on the conferences, and more specifically who will win each of the 32 leagues.

In the latest installment in his "Coaching Greats" interview series CHN writer Jon Teitel spent some time with former UCF head coach Kirk Speraw, who led the Knights to four NCAA Tournament appearances and helped shepherd the program from the Atlantic Sun to Conference USA. Coach Speraw is now an assistant at his alma mater (Iowa) under Fran McCaffery, where he was also a graduate assistant on the 1980 team that reached the Final Four.

1980 NCAA Tournament (as a graduate assistant at Iowa for former coach Lute Olson)

In the latest installment in his "Coaching Greats" interview series CHN writer Jon Teitel spent some time talking about the career of late SMU head coach E.O. "Doc" Hayes with Gerry York, head of the SMU Heritage Hall Museum. In twenty seasons at SMU Coach Hayes won 299 games and led the Mustangs to eight conference titles and six NCAA Tournament appearances.

Jon Teitel: Elmore Onslow Hayes went by the nickname "Doc" or "Little Doc". How did he get the nickname, and how did he like it? 

The final region is the West, which is where Connecticut began their run to the national title. While some of the departures in this region will steal the majority of the ink there are a number of teams who should feel good about their prospects in 2011-12. Below is a quick breakdown of each of the 16 teams.

(1) Duke: lost to Arizona in the Sweet 16

With the NCAA Tournament now over and many resting up for a couple days before hitting the spring recruiting circuit (the Nike EYBL Boo Williams Invitational is this weekend), why not take a look at all 68 teams in this year's field and their early prospects for next season? With the NBA Draft deadline (May 8th) still a month away, here's a look at each of the teams in the East Region and what they'll likely have in 2011-12.

(1) Ohio State: lost in Sweet 16 to Kentucky

East Region
Cleveland, OH
2:10 PM (8) George Mason vs. (9) Villanova (TNT)

Tuesday marked the beginning of the NCAA Tournament, although it's tough for most people to consider anything earlier than Thursday being the starting point. The first game of the "First Four" matched Big South champion UNC Asheville and Sun Belt winner Arkansas-Little Rock and the game did not disappoint, requiring an extra five minutes to determine the winner. A Matt Dickey three pointer from the left corner with 11 seconds remaining pushed the game into overtime, where the Bulldogs took the lead for good on a pair of J.P. Primm free throws with 1:11 remaining.

(5) West Virginia vs. (12) UAB/Clemson

East Region - Tampa

March 17 - 12:15 CBS
 

6:40 PM UNC-Asheville vs. Arkansas-Little Rock (TruTV)

Charlotte (March 18)
(1) Duke vs. Hampton

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