Notre Dame’s Bonzie Colson has come a long way to be considered a national player of the year candidate and the 6-6 forward hopes to get his senior season off on the right foot when the 14th-ranked Fighting Irish visit DePaul on Saturday afternoon. Colson averaged just over 12 minutes as a freshman, almost doubled his output to 11.1 points per game as a sophomore, moved that to 17.8 last season and is the 2017-18 ACC preseason player of the year.

Facing high expectations from Day One, Marvin Bagley III and Duke lived up to the hype in their season opener. Bagley aims to lead the top-ranked Blue Devils to another victory - and coach Mike Krzyzewski to his 1,000th win at the school - when Utah Valley visits on Saturday.

Michigan looks to build on a memorable season when it opens up the new campaign at home to North Florida on Saturday in the mainland portion of the Maui Invitational. The Wolverines overcame an inconsistent regular season to win the Big Ten Conference tournament title despite arriving late in Chicago due to their plane skidding off the runway, and advanced to the Sweet 16 before dropping a 69-68 decision to Oregon.

After spending years as an understudy to national powerhouse Gonzaga, No. 22 Saint Mary’s appears ready for its own starring role. Picked to finish first in the West Coast Conference preseason coaches poll, the Gaels head into Saturday’s season opener against visiting St. Francis (Pa.) with a veteran squad primed to contend for a national title.

Nebraska is the only power-conference school without an NCAA Tournament victory in its history and is coming off its worst season in five years under Tim Miles, but an unusual influx of talent has many around Lincoln believing the 2017-18 campaign could be the kind that turns the program around. The new-look Cornhuskers take their first shot at living up to increased expectations Saturday when they host Eastern Illinois in the season opener for both schools.