Utah- Craig Smith enters his second season as HC following successful stints at both Utah State and South Dakota, the Utes return 4 starters from last season including 7-foot senior center Branden Carlson (13.6 ppg, 6 rpg) who is primed for breakout season after missing 8 games a year ago due to injury
Penn- the Quakers are led by veteran HC Steven Donahue who led the team to the NCAA Tournament in 2018, junior guard Jordan Dingle, who notched six 30-point games a year ago, is one of 4 returning starters, senior 6-foot 9-inch center Max Lorca-Lloyd also returns after missing nearly all of last season with an injury
Northeastern- HC Bill Coen who has won 260 games as coach of the Huskies returns for his 17th season, he will be joined by 3 starters from last year that include junior guard Jahmyl Telfort and senior forward Chris Doherty who both average double figures in points last year, junior guard Glen McClintock will also play a key role in the rotation after starting 8 games as a sophomore
San Jose State- HC Tim Miles, who guided both Colorado State and Nebraska to the NCAA Tournament, returns for his second season coaching the Spartans, Miles will benefit from the return of 4 starters including leading scorer (13.2 ppg) junior guard Omari Moore who opted to remain in school rather than jump to the NBA
Butler- HC Thad Matta returns to Indianapolis after leading the Bulldogs to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2000-01, in 17 seasons Matta has never had a losing season which should bode well for a program that was losing ground under previous HC LaVall Jordan, junior guard Chuck Harris (11.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg) returns after leading the team in scoring in back to back seasons