Texas - San Antonio

Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun knew heading into Wednesday's game that his struggling team, losers of three straight, needed some kind of spark to get things going. That meant shuffling the lineup, with Shabazz Napier and Alex Oriakhi being replaced as starters by Ryan Boatright and Roscoe Smith, and for a short time on Wednesday night the move paid off. UConn got out to a 13-7 lead at the first media timeout and generally played better basketball on the offensive end, which was likely the desired effect of the move. 

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 final part of this series, the final eight conference champions are selected. 

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

6:40 PM Texas-San Antonio vs. Alabama State (TruTV)

(1) Ohio State vs. (16) Texas-San Antonio/Alabama State

East Region - Cleveland

March 18 - 4:40 TNT
 

As part of his "Big Dance" interview series CHN writer Jon Teitel spent some time with Texas-San Antonio head coach Brooks Thompson, whose Roadrunners will make their first NCAA appearance since 2004 when they lost to top-seeded Stanford in the first round. UTSA takes on Alabama State on Wednesday night in the "First Four", with the winner advancing to take on East top-seed Ohio State on Friday in Cleveland.

Jon Teitel: You started your college career at Texas A&M before transferring to Oklahoma State, where you later became a grad assistant under Eddie Sutton.