Tulsa and Oregon State could use a fresh start.

They’ll get it Monday night when they open the season in Corvallis, Ore.

The host Beavers, who made a run to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight in March 2021, went 3-28 overall last season and lost their final 18 games.

“We’ve just gotta make sure we get back to that type of culture again and learn and grow through all the tough times we had (last) year, and I know we’ll be stronger for it,” Beavers coach Wayne Tinkle said.

The Beavers return just four players from last season’s squad, led by forward Glenn Taylor Jr., who averaged 6.9 points as a freshman. OSU already had a setback as projected backcourt starter Christian Wright, a transfer from Georgia, suffered a knee injury and is out indefinitely. The Beavers also added forward Dzmitry Ryuny, who transferred from San Francisco, to go with nine freshmen.

The Beavers bonded over an 11-day summer exhibition tour of Italy.

“We’re going to be really young, but the experiences we had over the summer were incredible in building our chemistry and getting our culture back,” Tinkle said.

Tulsa, which went 11-20 last season, has a new coach in Eric Konkol, who spent the previous seven seasons at Louisiana Tech.

The Golden Hurricane have eight returners, including starters Sam Griffin and Anthony Pritchard.

Griffin was second on the team with 14.6 points per game and Pritchard started at the point as a freshman before being sidelined by a foot injury.

Tulsa added transfer Brandon Betson, who averaged 14.2 points and 2.8 assists a season ago at Chicago State.

“Their intentions have been great and their effort has been really good,” Konkol said. “Of course, the execution piece is the one that you keep working on, and that process is going to be ongoing. There are some staples that we’ve implemented, there are some things that we absolutely want to be great at, there are statistical measures that we’re making every day in practice and in the two scrimmages that we’ve had, and we’ve been inconsistent. We’re searching for that consistency.”

–Field Level Media

California looks forward to introducing two impressive transfers and two talented freshmen when it opens its season Monday night against Northern California rival UC Davis in a nonconference affair in Berkeley, Calif.

Coming off five consecutive losing seasons and six straight campaigns without an NCAA Tournament bid, the Golden Bears felt disrespected when the Pacific-12 Conference media voted them 11th out of 12 in their annual preseason poll.

The ranking would appear to be justified by 3-17 and 5-15 marks in the Pac-12 the last two seasons, but the Bears insist this year’s edition is new and vastly improved.

Much of the optimism revolves around transfers DeJuan Clayton from Coppin State via Hartford and Devin Askew from Kentucky via Texas.

Clayton, a 6-foot-2 guard, had a 1,518-point, five-year career at Coppin State before playing just two games for Hartford last season.

Askew, a 6-3 guard who is a Sacramento native, started 20 games for Kentucky as a freshman in 2020-21, averaging 6.5 points. He made three starts for Texas last season, averaging 2.1 points per game.

The Bears’ regular rotation is also expected to feature freshman big men ND Okafor and Grant Newell.

“No disrespect to the media, but not any of you have seen our team, not one practice,” Cal coach Mark Fox said at Pac-12 media day. “This is the first group since I came to Cal that has the length and athleticism across the lineup to give us favorable matchups.”

Cal has faced UC Davis, which is located about 65 miles up the road near Sacramento, 33 times and won each meeting. The most recent was a 72-66 triumph in November of 2019.

Davis’ Elijah Pepper contributed seven points to the losing cause in his fourth college game in that 2019 meeting, but has since blossomed into the Aggies’ leading scorer at 15.1 points per game last season. He has been named to the All-Big West Conference preseason first team.

The senior hopes to use his final college season as a springboard to the NBA. The 6-foot-4 swingman doesn’t know at what position.

“I’m working on my playmaking a lot more,” he said of a career that’s seen him average 1.6 assists per game. “Just being able to make the right decision (is a focus).”

The Aggies finished 13-11 overall last season. Their last trip to the NCAA Tournament came in 2017.

–Field Level Media

When it lost 20 games last season, Utah struggled to make shots or shut down the opposition from scoring, particularly in Pac-12 Conference play.

While it’s going to be about a month before the Utes get an idea if they’ll compete better with conference foes, second-year coach Craig Smith believes they’ll be able to win more games than the 11 they managed in 2021-22.

Smith will get his first test of that theory Monday night when Utah opens its season in Salt Lake City against Long Island.

“I think our team is built with a lot of versatility,” he said. “We can play big-big and we can play small. We can play fast. We can have more of a knock-you-down-drag-out kind of lineup. I think that’s what the best teams have — they can play a lot of different ways.”

The Utes should certainly be able to play faster with the addition of Cincinnati transfer Mike Saunders, one of the quickest players in Division I. Saunders, who averaged 7.3 points and made 35.9 percent of his 3-pointers last year, should provide a nice complement to 7-0 senior center Branden Carlson (13.6 ppg, 6.0 rebounds).

As for LIU, it starts a new chapter. Former NBA All-Star Rod Strickland took the program over in late June after Derek Kellogg was fired following a five-year stint. Strickland has worked as an assistant at South Florida and with John Calipari at Kentucky.

The Sharks went 16-14 last year and 12-6 in the Northeast Conference, but lost three key players to the transfer portal, including Eral Penn, who averaged 17.1 points. Their top returning player is point guard Tre Wood (6.5 ppg, 3.9 assists).

“I got to figure out my team, figure out who’s who,” Strickland said. “We’ve been working hard, the guys have been focused and it will be exciting to see what product we put on the court.”

Utah won the lone previous meeting, 65-42 on Feb. 2, 1949 in Salt Lake City. It’s the start of a four-game homestand for the Utes.

–Field Level Media

Andy Enfield’s 10th season as head coach of Southern California tips off Monday in Los Angeles against his former program, Florida Gulf Coast.

USC embarks on the 2022-23 campaign in the familiar spot of replacing key talent from the prior season: After losing one-and-done standouts-turned-NBA lottery picks Onyeka Okongwu and Evan Mobley in 2019-20 and 2020-21, respectively, the Trojans replace three-year key contributor Isaiah Mobley heading into this year.

However, a veteran backcourt provides a foundation for USC to reach a third consecutive NCAA Tournament and potentially contend for a Pac-12 title. Versatile wing Drew Peterson (12.4 points per game) and defensive stopper Boogie Ellis (12.5) finished as two of the team’s top three scorers a season ago, and Peterson finished third in rebounds (6.2) and tied for first in assists (3.3).

“They’ve had outstanding careers so far,” Enfield said of Peterson and Ellis during Pac-12 media day in October. “We’re looking forward to them leading our group of sophomores and freshmen.”

The incoming corps of freshmen made up a highly rated signing class, which has become the standard for USC in recent years. Ranked No. 9 nationally by 247Sports, the group includes 5-star center and 7-foot-1 pro prospect Vince Iwuchukwu.

As for the sophomores, the group includes Reese Dixon-Waters, a primary contributor off the bench a season ago, and Kobe Johnson, who was voted a team captain.

Before his tenure at USC, Enfield led Florida Gulf Coast to national prominence in 2013 as the first-ever No. 15 seed to reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The team earned the moniker of “Dunk City” for its entertaining style of play.

The Eagles proved not to be one-year wonders, reaching the NCAA Tournament twice more after Enfield’s departure. They welcome a new head coach this season in Pat Chambers, formerly of Penn State and a longtime assistant to Jay Wright at Villanova.

Chambers inherits a trio of capable shooters from a team that won 22 games a season ago: Cyrus Largie, who knocked down almost 51.8 percent of his shots from the floor in 2021-22, while Caleb Catto (54) and Austin Richie (56) combined to make 110 3-pointers.

Chambers praised Catto as “the glue” speaking the Naples Daily News in the fall.

“Everybody respects him, everybody trusts him, everybody loves him,” Chambers said. “To have somebody like that as a new coach to lean on, to be able to ask questions, that’s really vital as we transition here headed into the season.”

–Field Level Media

Kentucky coach John Calipari is trying to hold down early-season expectations for his No. 4 Wildcats.

They will open the season Monday night by hosting Howard, and Calipari posted a video on Twitter in which he cautioned that the team might not be on schedule right out of the gate.

Key players, including center and reigning National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe and preseason All-SEC guard Sahvir Wheeler, have missed time in preseason practice with injuries, perhaps slowing the team’s efforts to build early-chemistry.

“We’ve got the player of the year and another first-team all-conference (player),” Calipari said. “We’ve got good young guys, but let me explain to you and you know I’m honest about stuff. We’re not where we need to be right now and I’m looking at November and December saying, ‘We could be a little shaky.'”

Kentucky is excited about the return of guard CJ Fredrick, who missed all of last season after transferring from Iowa because of hamstring surgery.

“I tell people that this year off actually kind of was like a blessing in disguise,” Fredrick said. “I was able to get my body in much better shape. The Big Ten and SEC are way different, so I was able to get in shape for what this kind of style of play was going to be like.”

Calipari praised Fredrick for his hard work and leadership.

“He moves his team, he plays so hard, he talks on defense,” Calipari said. “It’s nice when you have older guys that really know what they’re doing out there.”

Forward Jacob Toppin, like his coach, cautioned that Kentucky has “a long ways to go.”

But, he added, “Once we click fully, I think we’re going be one of the best defensive teams in the nation.”

They’ll be facing a Bisons team that last season led the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in scoring (76.4 points per game), 3-point shooting percentage (35.9) and free-throw shooting percentage (74.5).

Howard (16-13, 9-5 MEAC last season) was picked to finish third in the MEAC.

Sophomore guard Elijah Hawkins was named to the All-MEAC Preseason First Team and junior forward Steve Settle III was named to the second team.

Hawkins was named MEAC Rookie of the Year last season after he led the conference in assists per game (5.6). He was 15th in the country in steals per game (2.21). Settle started 28 of 29 games last season and was named to the All-MEAC second team.

Junior forward Jordan Wood who stood out the most in exhibitions wins against Bowie State (114-77) and Multnomah (81-69). Wood led the team in scoring in both games, averaging 21 points.

“We’ve talked to him about taking strides and having a breakthrough with his training,” coach Kenneth Blakeney said. “He’s achieved every benchmark that we’ve set for him and I see him growing with his confidence daily.”

Blakeney said his team benefited from facing Multnomah’s zone defense for the entire 40 minutes.

“For the first time we had a chance to play against a zone,” Blakeney said. “It was great for us to take a step in our development and growth.”

–Field Level Media

Kansas State plays its first game under the leadership of coach Jerome Tang on Monday as the Wildcats welcome Texas-Rio Grande Valley to Manhattan, Kan.

Tang, a longtime assistant at Baylor where he was part of the 2021 national championship run, brings a load of enthusiasm to the program.

“It’s the best league in America,” Tang said. “The predictor of future success is past success. … We have great history and arguably the best fan base in the country. I mean, they are so passionate about K-State and K-State athletics and K-State basketball. It’s just a blast to be around.”

Tang will need more than enthusiasm, however, as he molds a team with 11 new faces into a cohesive unit with the assistance of an entirely new staff. Figuring out roles for everyone will be key.

One of two returning players, point guard Markquis Nowell, should run the show. One of the newcomers, Keyontae Johnson, likely will be another focus of the offense. Johnson was the 2020-21 preseason SEC Player of the Year at Florida before health issues took him off the court for nearly two years.

The Wildcats were picked to finish last in the Big 12 this season, something that provides motivation.

“It’s a motivating factor for all of us just knowing how we’ve all been doubted all our lives,” Johnson said. “Just seeing (the poll) motivates us to practice even harder knowing that teams expect us to be the bottom of the conference.”

Head coach Matt Figger, who was on Frank Martin’s staff at Kansas State from 2007-12, returns for his second season at Texas-Rio Grande Valley.

“(We are) miles ahead (of last season),” Figger responded when asked on the WAC Hoops Digest podcast about where his team stands. “I really like the group of guys we’ve got. Now, where does that put us? I won’t know until we play a game.”

The team finished 8-23 last season, including 3-15 in the WAC.

The Vaqueros return Justin Johnson, who averaged 17.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game last season, but he’s the only significant contributor who is back.

–Field Level Media