Playboy's College Basketball Preview

Playboy's College Basketball PreviewThe sounds of practice at Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, seem much the same as any other season. Sneakers squealing on hardwood, the grunts of young men as they push, pivot and soar, the sharp sting of the practice whistle. To many, though, the bounce of the ball is hollow this fall, because the best team in college basketball, the reigning national champion, has been dethroned before the season's first jump ball.This past July, the N.C.A.A. banned t...