College basketball grades: Have top contenders delivered on offseason promises?

November 27, 2025 by Cnznews

Roster-building is cyclical. Teams with a lot of size and physicality always hit free agency looking to add some skills. Conversely, skilled teams are looking for the survival of a few athletes. Round and round we go on the carousel.

Often, it is just a guessing game as to whether the newcomers can fix the flaws along with the returners.

No one is expecting perfection or a finished product in November, but we’re starting to get an early look at whether the offseason buzz was real or bleak.

Offseason pitch: The point guard room has been greatly improved, so everything else will fall into place.

prompt return: UConn isn’t at full strength right now, but it’s hard not to be optimistic about where this club is trending. Georgia transfer Silas Demery Jr. (13 points, 5.6 assists, 4.0 rebounds) and Dayton transfer Malachi Smith (5.6 points, 4.0 assists in 20 minutes) have quickly learned some of the intricacies of this offense while realigning UConn’s point-of-attack defense. Get Tyrese Reed and Braylon Mullins healthy, and Dan Hurley’s club will be cooking on gas.

This is quickly going to be one of the best teams in America, and the point guard play is a big reason why. Starting Grade: A

Offseason pitch: This defense has top-10 good personnel.

prompt return: Defensive consistency takes time, and Kentucky doesn’t have it. Michigan State defeated Kentucky by 1.17 points per possession. High-powered Louisville was operating in the 1.25 range against this Kentucky defense. Sure, Kentucky is probably missing its best defender (big man Jaden Quaintance), but Denzel Aberdeen, Ortega Oweh, Mo Diaubet and Malachi Moreno are talented individual defenders in their own right. Kentucky is making too many scouting report mistakes right now, and offensive shot selection has also put this defense in bad shape. Michigan State scored 19 points in transition against the ‘Cats, and Kentucky scored only two “kills” (three straight stops) against the Spartans.

Kentucky has stuff to clean up all over the place, but finding some competitive spirit and attacking defensively would be a great start. Initial Grade: F

Offseason pitch: Now healthy, Tammin Lipsey will return to All-American status and lead this group to the top of the Big 12.

prompt return: so far so good. Iowa State upset three lower-major clubs and defeated Mississippi State 96–80. Lipsy has been important to all this. He already has two 20-point performances (two) from last year, and the way he’s working is very encouraging. His explosion is back. He looks more comfortable reaching his pull-up in the middle of the floor, which was an area defenses weren’t forced to worry about a year ago. The all-around senior guard supplies his usual Tammin Lipsey hustle, gritty, unselfish plays, this time paired with a jolt of extra shot-making. This healthy version of Lipsy is exactly what TJ Otzelbarger predicted in the preseason and makes the Cyclones a real factor in making noise at next week’s Players Era Festival Tournament. Starting Grade: A

Offseason pitch: The rebuilt frontcourt provides more stability and will help us play like North Carolina again.

prompt return: Arizona transfer Henry Vissar and five-star freshman Caleb Wilson are quickly looking like part of the ACC’s best big duo. Duke may eventually have something to say about this, but the Wilson-Weiser duo has provided everything you could ask for. North Carolina has the best two-point defense in all of college basketball through the first two weeks. Weiser and Wilson may not be brute-force, space-eaters, but they make up for it with incredible mobility, length and speed. Both have relentless motors, and great passing has been a real asset to North Carolina’s offense.

There are tough challenges along the way, but UNC’s frontcourt is a breath of fresh air. Starting Grade: A

No. 25 NC State

Offseason pitch: This is not reconstruction.

prompt return:Will Wade hasn’t wasted any time collecting dubs in Raleigh. The Wolfpack is off to a 4-0 start, including an impressive win over UAB and a tough win over the VCU club.

This roster is clearly ahead of the curve. Paying up for Darian Williams was clearly the right move. The prized Texas Tech transfer hasn’t wasted any time in dispelling any concerns about whether he can serve as the alpha of the offense. The decision to retain Paul McNeil, who was recruited by the previous regime, now seems a no-brainer. All the concerns about NC State’s interior size seem to have been heightened a bit after losing big man Paul Mbia to Kansas. 6-10 big man Moussa Saganiya is obviously going to help this club a lot with his activity on the boards and defensive dynamics. When NC State needed to stop against VCU, it turned to a hybrid zone defense with Sagniya flying on top of the pressure. He’s an asset, not some deep bench stash. This team also has speedy veterans like Trey Holloman and Quadir Copeland, who give them some dirt, and freshman Matt Able has a great shooting stroke.

Wade was right. This is not reconstruction. You’ll hear from the ‘Pack in the ACC Race.’ Starting Grade: A

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