Every college basketball season has its cast of characters. Some will get a lot more coverage than others, based on some combination of skill, looks and personality. Here are some of your expected pageant winners for 2007-08.

Kevin Love, UCLA: He’s a 7-foot tall freshman, related to both Brian Wilson and Mike Love of the Beach Boys, and already dropping 20 and 10 on opponents.

Drew Neitzel, Michigan State: A star Big Ten senior and Wooden Award candidate; 13-for-26 from beyond the arc to start the season.

Eric Gordon, Indiana: Top frosh stud leads all Division 1 scorers at 27 points per game. Should continue to shine in non-cupcake action.

Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina: The Heels are likely to battle UCLA all year for top spot in the rankings, and Hansbrough is their poster child.

Mike Krzyzewski, Duke: Coach K’s Devils looked very good winning the Maui Invitational. He’ll get most of the face time with this unheralded bunch.

Even though it’s an impossible question to get a definitive answer for, you may already have a game that comes quickly to mind. But unless it’s one of these three, you’d be wrong.

1985 Championship Game
Villanova 66 – Georgetown 64

In what stands as one of the biggest upsets of all time, the underdog Wildcats moved the immovable object when they defeated the Hoyas back on April Fool’s Day in 1985. Patrick Ewing and the rest of the Hoyas had obliterated everyone that got in their way before Villanova took them down. To win the game Villanova shot an incredible 78.6 percent. Even more amazing was the 90 percent rate at which they shot in the second half. This was the first of many letdowns for Ewing, who also had to endure his fair share of disappointments in the NBA.

1987 Championship game
Indiana 74 – Syracuse 73

Keith Smart hit a 15-footer with five seconds to go to give the Hoosiers a national title. But it wouldn’t have been a winning shot if Derrick Coleman hadn’t clanged a free-throw off the rim just seconds earlier.

1992 Regional Final
Duke 104 – Kentucky 103

The final shot from this game has been played so many times, it has to rank up there among the greatest college games ever played. Christian Laettner’s turnaround jumper over two defenders allowed Duke to advance, but it was Laettner’s perfect 10-for-10 from the field and 10-for-10 from the free-throw line that effectively tamed the Wildcats.

And without further adieu, here’s that Laettner jumper in video form for you. Enjoy.

It’s called the preseason, but make no mistake – these college basketball games count. And there’s some pretty good tilts out there worth your handicapping homework.

Wednesday features a potential first-round Tournament delight when Davidson and No. 1 North Carolina play on ESPN. This Davidson squad delighted handicappers last year at 21-9-1 ATS, second only to Southern Mississippi (16-4-2) in profitability. And the Wildcats have everyone of significance coming back for 2007-08.

Things get really interesting with Thursday’s bout between Michigan and No. 5 Georgetown. Have the Hoyas taken a step back with Jeff Green’s decision to turn pro? We’ll soon find out.

This should be one hell of a college basketball season. There is no clear favorite to win the national championship – Memphis has taken over the top spot on the odds list at 9-2, edging North Carolina at 5-1 and UCLA at 6-1.

The fact that a team outside the major conferences could win it all is intriguing enough; the last to do so was UNLV, coming out of the Big West in 1990. But the Tigers also have one of this year’s hot freshmen: point guard Derrick Rose. Two other new names you should hear a lot about in 2007-08 are USC’s O.J. Mayo and Indiana’s Eric Gordon.

The Kentucky Wildcats (30-1) fans are looking forward to their first year under coach Billy Gillispie. Billy Donovan is back with the Gators after reversing his decision to go pro, and Kevin O’Neill is coaching Arizona while Lute Olson takes a leave of absence. Buckle your seat belts.