On the hardwood, Steve Alford will have plenty to prove after slumping to 15-17. However, Tony Parker was the only senior on that underachieving team, and Lonzo Ball and T.J. Leaf are instant impact mega-recruits determined to incite a winter revival.

9. Michigan State

Few athletic departments are steadier than the one in East Lansing, a direct result of the coaching duo of Mark Dantonio and Tom Izzo.

Sure, football and basketball will have enormous holes to fill, such as quarterback Connor Cook and All-American guard Denzel Valentine. But Dantonio and Izzo are proven teachers who build from the ground up. Both will go back to the basics during the offseason, rebuilding around a swath of blue-collar overachievers. Izzo, in particular, will coach with a vengeance after his Spartans fell to Middle Tennessee in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

8. Oregon

Yeah, the bar has been set pretty high after basketball delivered its best-ever season. But even if hoops slips in 2016, football is liable to pick up some of the slack.

For as strong as the Ducks’ football program finished last fall, don’t forget that they also lost three games by midseason, including a 62-20 home rout at the hands of Utah. Mark Helfrich will again have a talented FCS transfer quarterback, Dakota Prukop, and a lights-out supporting cast to help with his transition. 

Basketball may not win another Pac-12 title, but expectations will remain sky-high as long as Dillon Brooks, Tyler Dorsey and Chris Boucher hold off on entering the NBA Draft.

7. Ohio State

The Buckeyes missed the Hoops & Helmets rankings last year. Don’t expect it to become a trend.

Thad Matta missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight years. And while criticism and departures are mounting, Matta is planning to hunker down with a palpable sense of urgency around those holdovers who’ve decided to remain in Columbus. 

Urban Meyer, too, is dealing with significant roster turnover after an inordinate number of his kids bolted for the NFL Draft. J.T. Barrett still remains, though, and Meyer has filled his roster with the next wave of future stars.

6. Houston

It’s a very good time to be a Cougar, thanks in large part to two outstanding coaches.

With Tom Herman and Kelvin Sampson piloting football and basketball, respectively, the future is bright for Houston athletics. Herman has a Heisman-contending quarterback, Greg Ward Jr., and a realistic shot of running the table one year after going 13-1. Sampson is building something special at Hofheinz Pavilion. He inherited a team in disrepair two years ago, but went 22-10 last season and returns guards Rob Gray and Damyean Dotson from that emerging squad.

5. Oklahoma

After both squads made Final Four appearances within the past three months, what can the Sooners possibly do for an encore?

Oklahoma was last year’s H&H kingpin. Defending that crown, though, will hinge heavily on how well basketball coach Lon Kruger replaces a ton of senior production, namely scoring machine Buddy Hield. The university should get off to a fast start in the fall, since Bob Stoops’ team welcomes back gunslinging quarterback Baker Mayfield and will be favored to win a second consecutive Big 12 championship.

4. North Carolina

Now that football is pulling more of the load, Carolina is going to compete for H&H titles for the foreseeable future.

The Tar Heels won 11 games—and the ACC Coastal—for Larry Fedora in 2015. And no drop-off is expected from a talent-rich roster, provided Mitch Trubisky can adequately succeed Marquise Williams behind center. 

The situation on the hardwood will be a far more fluid situation now that Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson are graduating. Still, there’s a solid base of talent, and this is Carolina, where 25-win seasons are a near certainty under Roy Williams.

3. Notre Dame

As long as Brian Kelly and Mike Brey are in South Bend, there’s reason for optimism for Irish backers.

Last year, Kelly overcame a spate of crushing injuries to come within a pair of two-point losses to top 5 teams from a perfect regular season. And Brey guided the Irish to the brink of the Final Four with a No. 6 seed that didn’t have Final Four talent. Now, both teams could be even better next season. Kelly will have access to one of the deepest backfields in America, while everyone except for Zach Auguste and Demetrius Jackson is expected back for Brey’s club.

2. USC

Andy Enfield has Trojan hoops pointing in the right direction, with a bullet.

Not only were no starters from last year’s 21-13 team seniors, but Enfield is piecing together a solid recruiting class headlined by guards Jonah Mathews and De’Anthony Melton. Brighter days could be ahead for football now that Clay Helton has brought long-overdue stability to the sideline. Of course, Troy is also flush in playmakers, like wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster and cornerback Adoree’ Jackson, and a quarterback, Max Browne, just itching for a starring role.

1. Michigan

Football is surging. If it can rub off on the hoops team, the Wolverines could be the H&H frontrunner a year from now.

Okay, so there are gridiron holes, especially in the trenches, but Jim Harbaugh has already won 10 games in a season that was pegged as a transition year. Plus, he has another full class of recruits, another talented transfer quarterback, John O’Korn, to mold and a Big Ten East that won’t be quite as thorny.