The preseason top 25 was released yesterday and obviously, college basketball fans are going crazy. This season feels more wide open than usual, but there are certainly some clear cut favorites at the top of the list. Like all lists, there are some surprises.
Preseason Top-25 Takeaways
The Cream of the Crop
Coming in the top spot are the Michigan State Spartans, the consensus number one team with Player of the Year candidate Cassius Winston. Following the Spartans are Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, and Louisville to round out the top five. There are no big surprises here, although it can be argued that Duke is higher than they should be.
Next in Line
Florida, Maryland, and Gonzaga find themselves ranking sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively. Florida and Gonzaga are loaded from top to bottom and should make major noise this year. Gonzaga recently smoked Michigan State in a “secret scrimmage,” which should put the country on notice.
Maryland has been highly touted all year, returning most of their young roster and adding some much-needed depth. They will rely heavily on Jalen Smith and Anthony Cowan. This ranking feels a bit high, but that has more to do with distrust of the coaching staff, than problems with the roster.
The Shocks
North Carolina comes in at number nine, which feels way too high. They are playing with an entirely different roster than last year and have some serious holes to fill. This seems like a ranking based on Cole Anthony, more than the actual roster.
Seton Hall has been a popular pick to make a lot of noise this year. They still have a lot to prove. They return the same team from last year but were wildly inconsistent. Yes, they will improve with another year of experience, but to go from a 10-seed to a top-12 team is a stretch. They need to prove a bit more before they are ranked this high.
Marquette comes in unranked. They lost the Hauser brothers, which is problematic, but they return Markus Howard, the best scorer in the NCAA, and some other solid pieces like Sacar Anim and Theo John. They should be somewhere between 20 and 25.
The Surprises
Virginia comes in at number 11. They lose a ton, but they have created quite the program. Honestly, although the roster does not scream top-15, Tony Bennett fully earned this rank.
Purdue coming in at 23 seems high. Matt Painter, like Tony Bennett, has earned the utmost respect, but losing Carsen Edwards, who single-handedly won several games for the Boilermakers, is serious. They are going to struggle in a consistently tough Big Ten.
Auburn must replace a phenomenal backcourt in Jared Harper and Bryce Brown and a budding star in Chuma Okeke. They will have a difficult time scoring as consistently as last year and will have to rely much more on defense. They are a fringe top 25 team at best. This is probably the most surprising of the preseason top 25 teams.
Teams Too Low
The Memphis Tigers have a team full of young, star freshmen. They are certainly inexperienced, but their talent level is as high, if not higher than any team in the country. Yes, they have questions, but so does the majority of the rest of the top 25. They should be a top 10 team.
Oregon had a great tournament run last year and return their leader, Payton Pritchard. They also add some good young pieces and should be improved offensively. Oregon should be a few spots higher than 15.
The Pac-12 overall is coming off as bad a year as possible. Outside of Oregon, Arizona is ranked, with Washington and Colorado falling just outside the top 25. Washington could easily be ranked, but coming in at 26 versus 25 is not enough to argue. The team left out is UCLA. Mick Cronin is a great coach and has a talented roster. They will be ranked soon and for a long time.
Major Takeaways
The NCAA preseason Top 25 rankings mean nothing. This is not football where every single game is make or break. Teams have plenty of time to make noise and to end up with the ranking they deserve. The major point from the rankings is the parity in college this year. There are arguments to be made for several teams and that is a great thing for the sport. At the very least, it is nice to know basketball season is right around the corner. Buckle up!
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