Hello, Kansas.

Welcome back to the big time, Kentucky.

Greetings, Villanova and Michigan State.

College basketball practice begins today, and these four teams look like the preseason favorites to be here in 169 days when the Final Four unfolds at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Why these four? Winning basketball in March is about big-time guards.

Quick, off the top of your head, who started on the frontcourt on the Marquette team Dwyane Wade led to the 2003 Final Four? Exactly. Elite guards win in the NCAA Tournament.

The list of touted big men who couldn’t quite get to the Final Four is as long as Blake Griffin’s wingspan.

Even last year, while television talking heads genuflected before Tyler Hansbrough, it was clear eventual champion North Carolina wasn’t the same without lightning bolt/point guard Ty Lawson.

“Clearly, Michigan State, with what it returns, Kentucky with its influx of incoming talent and returning talent and (John) Calipari taking over, and Kansas, which has a good blend of talent, are teams I think would be in that mix,” CBS lead analyst Clark Kellogg said. "Certainly those three would be on anybody’s list.

“Villanova lost some key guys and they could be grouped with two or three other teams.”

This year, Kansas is the easiest pick. The Jayhawks return most of their firepower from last year’s team that won 27 games and reached the Sweet Sixteen. Remember, Kansas led Michigan State in the second half in the NCAA Tournament before falling 67-62 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Senior guard Sherron Collins is to this Kansas team what Lawson was to North Carolina. Cole Aldrich is the kind of big man that fits coach Bill Self’s offense. And freshman Xavier Henry is a name you’ll soon learn.

Some think Kentucky is too young. What, everybody forgot about Derrick Rose and Memphis already? Freshman point guard John Wall could be a top-five NBA draft pick after his first year in college.

Add in Patrick Patterson and another potential one-and-done freshman, DeMarcus Cousins, and first-year coach Calipari has talent similar to his Rose-led Memphis team that lost to Kansas in the 2008 NCAA title game.

ESPN analyst Dick Vitale jokingly said Kentucky is so deep it could compete for the 2010 NBA title. “He never embellishes, ever,” Calipari joked back to the Lexington Herald-Leader. “We have a ways to go. This is going to be a step at a time.”

Michigan State returns seven of the top nine players from last year’s national runner-up.

Junior point guard Kalin Lucas is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, Raymar Morgan is special and if Delvon Roe regains his spring after a knee injury that slowed him last year, the Spartans will be edgy and very athletic.

And, of course, Tom Izzo knows his way to the Final Four, having been there five times.

“I enjoy the expectations,” Izzo said during the team’s media day. “But I have to remind myself what I lost. I think some of the fans think the Final Four is on our schedule. It’s not.”

Villanova is attracting attention because of the backcourt led by Scottie Reynolds.

Reynolds, Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes are a solid, veteran triumvirate. They can score, create and defend. If ’Nova coach Jay Wright can find enough to handle the interior, the Wildcats will stay among the elite all season and could return to the Final Four.

Purdue is in the running, too, along with Texas, Connecticut and North Carolina. The Boilermakers return all five starters from a team that reached the Sweet Sixteen. If Robbie Hummel is healthy all year, they just might reach the Final Four.

Butler is a legitimate threat. If Gordon Hayward, Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack can lead Butler to some wins over the “name” schools on its nonconference schedule, the Boys of Hinkle could be the nation’s darling.