Around the Nation

Two of the best post players in Division III, Guilford's Ben Strong and Millikin's Lindsay Ippel, enter the 2007-08 basketball season ready to compete not only for our Player of the Year award but a national championship.

It's not too outlandish. Ippel was a key player -- some might say the key player -- for the Big Blue as a freshman when she joined the varsity lineup for the team's national championship run. And Strong, lest we forget, scored an NCAA Tournament record 59 points in the Sweet 16 against Lincoln. He's attracted attention from all quarters. What's next? Read more in Around the Nation.

Let's just go out on a limb and say those teams are not sleepers. Who are the super sleepers for 2007-08? Find out who's on our list and meet one of the teams up close -- the Defiance men. Why will the Yellow Jackets improve on last year's 17-9?

What games are worth watching this weekend? How will some of the top teams hope to replace some of their top departed players? That and more in the first Around the Nation of the 2007-08 season.