Seeing the future isn't trouble-free. It is always a tussle in deciding exactly how much of the future fans truly want to know. And there is certainly apprehension among ESPN suits and editors as to "giving things away" and "taking away the thrill of the chase, the mystery of the unfolding season." Why would viewers view if they know the outcomes? Well, The Bilastrator cannot keep this season's bright future to himself. That would be downright egocentric. And, as you should know, there is no person on this planet less egocentric than The Bilastrator.
With that, The Bilastrator welcomes you to his 2016-17 College Basketball Opus, the most revealing and insightful preview -- indeed, the most wide-ranging, foretelling calculation -- of the impending season known to man.
But before The Bilastrator informs you copiously and abundantly and enlarges your basketball enlightenment to levels John Wooden wouldn't be able to comprehend, it is constructive to look back. In last season's Opus, a wondrous map of the season ahead, The Bilastrator told you that North Carolina, Villanova, and Oklahoma could book travel to the Final Four, and that Kansas and Virginia could do the same. Sadly, the committee again failed to read the Opus and put Villanova and Kansas in the same bracket. Some will never learn.
The Bilastrator also told you one year ago that Buddy Hield of Oklahoma was a Wooden Award favorite, and Stephen F. Austin and Northern Iowa were teams to take in your bracket. It took an amazing comeback by Texas A&M and a tip-in from Notre Dame's Rex Pflueger to derail those two teams' amazing journeys. Six of The Bilastrator's 12 impact freshmen were selected in the first round of the 2016 NBA draft, and one was taken in the second round. The other five came back to school.
With that, The Bilastrator once again welcomes you to basketball wisdom. As always, you're welcome.