NCAAM teams
Myron Medcalf, ESPN Staff Writer 7y

The best combos in college basketball

Men's College Basketball, Kansas Jayhawks

The 2017-18 college basketball season seems as uncertain as any in recent years.

A multitude of talented squads could end the season with the national title.

As Kevin Durant, Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors showed the NBA last season, a potent combo eases the path to a championship.

Here's a list of the best duos in college basketball:

Miles Bridges & Jaren Jackson, Michigan State Spartans
Tom Izzo could reach the Final Four for the eighth time in his career with Bridges and Jackson on the roster. Bridges' decision to return to East Lansing for his sophomore season elevated projections for the Spartans, who will also welcome Jackson, a top-10 prospect and versatile 6-foot-11 forward. Bridges (16.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 39 percent from the 3-point line) and Jackson will present problems for any team in America.

DeAndre Ayton & Allonzo Trier, Arizona Wildcats
Sean Miller's squad could enter 2017-18 ranked first in every reputable poll with Trier, a preseason Pac-12 player of the year candidate, and Ayton, ranked second in the 2017 class by ESPN.com. Trier thrived after missing most of last season due to a suspension by the NCAA. He's back to bulk up impressive numbers from a year ago -- 17.2 PPG, 39.1 percent from the 3-point line -- before his pro career begins. Ayton, an ambitious and aggressive big man, will help Trier and Arizona with his ability to attack at all levels of the floor.

Devonte' Graham & Svi Mykhailiuk, Kansas Jayhawks
Few teams could lose a Wooden Award winner and enter the subsequent season as a national title contender. But Kansas will start the 2017-18 season as a threat to win a second national crown for Bill Self because Graham and Mykhailiuk comprise one of the nation's greatest backcourts. Graham (13.4 PPG, 39 percent from the 3-point line) will step into Frank Mason III's role as the catalyst. And Mykhailiuk (9.8 PPG, 40 percent from the 3-point line), who withdrew from the NBA draft before the May deadline for early entrants, could end the season with a Final Four appearance and a ticket to the first round of the NBA draft.

Jock Landale & Calvin Hermanson, Saint Mary's Gaels
Saint Mary's could overtake Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference if Landale and Hermanson, two of the team's top three scorers from last season, play to their potential in 2017-18. Landale could win conference player of the year honors if he builds on last season's impressive stat tally: 16.9 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 1.2 BPG. With wing forward Hermanson (43 percent from the 3-point line), the Gaels will challenge the best of the WCC and beyond next season.

Chris Chiozza & KeVaughn Allen, Florida Gators
The duo that helped Mike White's squad reach the Elite Eight last season returns. Chiozza nailed the game-winning 3-pointer for Florida, and Allen scored 35 points in a win over Wisconsin in the Sweet 16. Now, the duo comes back as one of America's strongest backcourts. They're the nucleus of a program that could win the SEC title.

Deng Adel & Quentin Snider, Louisville Cardinals
It's the perennial norm in the Rick Pitino era. Louisville is an ACC and national title contender in 2017-18. The presence of Adel and Snider provides the necessary energy and talent to make the Cardinals a quagmire for all opponents they'll see in 2017-18. Pitino recently said Adel would replace first-round pick Donovan Mitchell as the focal point of Louisville's offense after he averaged 12.1 PPG last season. Snider averaged 12.4 PPG and 4.1 APG in 2016-17. He also hit 37 percent of his 3-pointers. The ACC endured as much turnover as any league in the country. But the Cards return a stable combo that could lead the program deep into March.

Khadeen Carrington & Angel Delgado, Seton Hall Pirates
Seton Hall's prospects for 2017-18 changed when Delgado announced his return for his senior season. Delgado, a first-team All-Big East selection last season, and Carrington, a second-teamer in 2016-17, form one of the nation's best inside-outside combinations. Delgado (15.2 PPG, 13.1 RPG) is a 6-foot-10 monster inside the arc. And Carrington, who led the team in scoring at 17.1 PPG, made 38 percent of his 3-pointers last season. They're dangerous.

Andrew Jones & Mohamed Bamba, Texas Longhorns
Shaka Smart's squad fell short of expectations last season, but Texas could enter 2017-18 as a top-25 squad with Jones and Bamba. Jones withdrew from the NBA draft to rejoin the Longhorns. He averaged 11.4 PPG in 2016-17 but hopes to boost his 32.8 percent clip from the 3-point line. Bamba is an athletic big man who runs the floor well and can block or alter shots. The No. 3 prospect in the 2017 class, per ESPN.com, changes everything for Texas.

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