EDITOR'S NOTE: Each week leading up to the season, one of our experts will offer up a list previewing some aspect of college basketball. Previous entries include: Jay Bilas on the best conferences and the best rebounders; Fran Fraschilla on the best defenders and the most versatile players; and Doug Gottlieb on the best transfers.

With college football in full swing, it is always interesting to see the trends in both offensive and defensive strategies on the college gridiron. The common misconception among fans is that when a trend hits, and an offense like the spread runs through college football like the flu, the offenses are all the same. Ask any college football coach and they will tell you that nothing could be further from the truth.

The same is true in basketball. While many teams run a "high-ball screen" at the end of a possession, even those "sets" are not all created the same. I thought it might be interesting to pick out a dozen distinct styles in college basketball that are known, set and well-respected.

As we jump into early season tournaments, watch these distinct styles start to take shape. While turnover in college hoops is constant, the top programs are consistent in their offensive and defensive approach and that, along with the talent on the floor, is what separates them.

North Carolina

While no one else really plays like UNC, the two national titles and a third Final Four while back in Chapel Hill makes Roy Williams' style worthy of any list. North Carolina runs. They run on makes, they run on misses and their end-to-end push puts you on your heels (thank you, thank you). Anyway, UNC runs just about everything out of its secondary break, in which the 4 man trails and the 5 man goes to the block, then follows the ball. There are about seven different options in the secondary which are called during dead balls and Carolina runs them all very well. Their motion is solid but unspectacular and UNC runs fewer than 10 set plays, which are all very basic but well-executed and spaced. Their defense will trap off of timeouts and half-court violations and they sub extensively in order to play well at hyper-speed.

Kansas

Bill Self likes to use quick and fast guards to pressure in the half-court defensively. From his underrated groups at Oral Roberts and Tulsa, to the NBA-caliber talents he left at Illinois, all the way to KU, Self likes guards and lots of them. He changed his "high-low" offense to use the high post as a ball-screener and not a reversal man -- and that in turn has opened up the court. With two or three true guards on the floor at once, an emphasis on getting the ball inside and quality depth, Self's style is both popular and effective. Also used at: Illinois State and St. John's.

Duke

This program's pressure defense, epic charge-taking and dribble-penetrating offense is well-known. But in truth, Duke's offense is still a bit of a work in progress, as the Blue Devils work through trying to use Mike D'Antoni's system with new personnel and an uncertain commitment to it. Duke works on its spacing and relocation and that's the strength of its style. With great shooting and passing skill, Duke has lacked only the Jay Williams, Bobby Hurley, William Avery, Chris Duhon-type of point guard to make everything click. Where the Blue Devils are unique defensively is in their level of intensity at the defensive end. While at times the charge-taking leads to a Danny Green poster -- and Villanova exposed their positional lack of lateral quickness in last season's Sweet 16 blowout -- the Devils really play their tails off and Coach K allows for more offensive freedom with each defensive stop. Also used at: Stanford, Harvard.

Wisconsin

On the back of his system, Bo Ryan has taken the Badgers to sustained success never before seen in UW history. The "Swing" is similar to the flex run by Boston College, Tennessee, Maryland and Providence (all coached by Dr. Tom Davis disciples), but only Ryan uses his flex to post smaller guards and invert his offense with big men who can shoot. The "Swing" is almost the opposite of the "Tight Flex" that BC uses in that the Badgers' spacing is outstanding and creates passing angles, while the Eagles make you uncomfortable with the closeness in proximity of their personnel. Tennessee spreads you way out and does not down-screen and Maryland likes to "duck it" after setting the flex pick. But all in all, they are variations of the same offense.

California

Mike Montgomery had an immense amount of success at Stanford and already has Cal among the Pac-10's best. How did he turn the Golden Bears from a ninth-place team to an NCAA-tournament team and now a preseason top-15 team? Montgomery runs only sets in the half-court and allows his team to run on missed shots only. In fact, Monty tells his players that if they stop the opposition, they can play their way, but if they allow a basket, they play his way. It has worked. His philosophy and coaching tree spreads to Nevada, Georgia, Utah State, Old Dominion, Portland, LSU and Montana. There aren't any Monty connections, but Iowa State runs a similar system.

Kentucky

AASA was a trend that took over California junior college basketball when Vance Walberg was at Fresno City JC. Now Coach Cal has taken it from the vacated Final Four of Memphis to the bluegrass of Kentucky. The philosophy is simple and effective. The floor is spread in order to create driving angles off the bounce. The surrounding offensive players relocate based upon whether or not the ball is driven to the middle or to the baseline. While post play is virtually nonexistent, so too is the encouraged use of the midrange. The pure AASA is a layup of 3-point shooting offense. (Obviously Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins may cause Cal to change his attack some.) Defensively, the Calipari style is 94-feet pressure that stresses defensive intensity and on-ball man-to-man pressure. UTEP, UMass and Memphis will use many of the same concepts.

Georgetown

While not as pure a Princeton-style as Northwestern, Oregon State, Richmond or Princeton itself, the principles are still there. "Chin" or "elbow" (by touching or saying either) are the calls that traditionally trigger the first pass and cut. The cuts are not reads as much as automatics based on the ball handler reading the defense and dribbling the ball to unique spots on the floor. Defensively, "Princeton-style" teams usually use a form of matchup zone that can be a 3-2 or 2-3 and will allow their wings to take chances on stealing reversal passes. The rebounding tends to be porous, but the steals and charges taken make up for that.

Michigan State

Tom Izzo is a wizard. If you think players no longer want to be coached, think again. Did you see the Spartans' march to the national title game last season? His style employs half-court in the passing lane and pressure defense that transitions into a breakneck-speed fast break or secondary break. In the half-court, MSU runs set after set and it can usually get up to three in during a full shot-clock trip. His teams rebound on both ends with ferocity, screen as if to detach a lung and are programmed early in the season to take what the staff deems are makeable shots. Izzo's fingerprints are on IU, Tulsa, Dayton, South Florida and Utah to name a few.

Louisville

Rick Pitino may not use the all-out pressure that got him to his first Final Four, but he still forces tempo with a 40-minute press. And his teams are still in tremendous shape and his offense, though far different than in his previous stops, does use the 3-point shot extensively. The Cards press into a zone on makes and go man-to-man on misses. A steal off of the press and another basket makes Louisville double-down on its pressure, as well. Offensively, Pitino (unlike his closest protege, Travis Ford) has gotten away from the bevy of quick 3s. He still uses the shot as a weapon, but he uses quality big men well through his half-court offense. Oklahoma State, Arkansas, New Mexico State and Iona all use his philosophies.

Michigan

The John Beilein way uses a 1-3-1 half-court zone that is unique since it allows Beilein to recruit length more so than athleticism. Syracuse had the best approach when it tried to lob the ball to the rim constantly on the weak side, but from Canisius to West Virginia to Michigan, it has caused turnovers galore. The Wolverines, like Princeton teams, struggles on the boards at times, but their defensive style is so unique that teams struggle to adjust. Offensively, Big Blue uses the four-out, one-high look that has a Princeton feel, but it is a blend of old offenses. Beilein's offense has some elements of the old Carolina Shuffle, UCLA high post, Princeton and the Triangle. Northern Arizona and West Virginia (last season) used parts of both the offense and defense.

UCLA

Ben Howland went to three straight Final Fours at UCLA and his replacement at Pitt, Jamie Dixon, has the best record in the Big East over the past few years. Howland's style creates offense off of defense. UCLA and Pitt trap and rotate off ball screens and the low post. Offensively, it is a series of simple yet effective sets, followed up by a high-ball screen as the shot clock runs down. The Bruins are tough, they rebound and defend, and they take good shots. Also used at: Pitt, Robert Morris, Santa Clara.

Illinois

Bruce Weber established a style of hard-core, man-to-man, half-court defense that has been a staple of his teams at SIU and Illinois. Weber's perpetual motion offense keeps guards moving and on the perimeter, where they can spread the floor to shoot or ball fake and drive. His teams expend so much energy on defense that there are times when it limits their effectiveness on offense, but it limits the opposition, as well. Purdue and SIU are similar in offensive and defensive philosophies.

Doug Gottlieb is a college basketball analyst for ESPN and a contributor to ESPN.com. "The Doug Gottlieb Show" can be heard weekdays from 4 to 7 p.m. ET on ESPN Radio and ESPNRadio.com.