Travbowman's Week Pre-Season Ballot

Rank	Team	Reason
1	Houston	Three starters back from a NCG team, and added two protected lottery picks. Always a top five team in kenpom. Always advance to second weekend or later in March
2	Purdue	Returning top four scorers, and added size and more shooting to the roster. Only question is defense
3	UConn	Hurley had them hanging with national champs in round two after a down season
4	Florida	Losing Clayton hurts but they're still loaded
5	Duke	Still gonna be really good. ACC should test them more this season
6	Arizona	Should be another great season in Tucson. March needs better results though.
7	Illinois	Eastern Europe pipeline is insane right now
8	Louisville	Special season last year derailed by injuries
9	Kentucky	Pope excelled in year one. Can't wait to see what he can do long term
10	Michigan	Lots of new parts, if they can add chemistry fast this team can be special
11	Tennessee	Barnes just wins every year despite the roster turnover
12	Texas Tech	Should be another top 3 conference finish in Lubbock
13	BYU	Talent is there, will it work together?
14	St. John's	Last year was fantastic but ended on a sour note
15	Gonzaga	Still good, just not elite like they were from 2017-2023
16	Iowa State	Expecting a small drop off but still a very good team in Ames
17	Kansas	Bill Self rebound year coming
18	Alabama	Should still be a hard team to beat with their style
19	San Diego State	Returning a lot of good pieces
20	UCLA	Computers like them ...I'm not as sold
21	Vanderbilt	Special year for football/basketball in Nashville
22	Michigan State	Izzo just wins, period.
23	Arkansas	What will Cal do in year two? Year one was definitely a success
24	Oregon	Shelstad and Bittle is a great top two. The question is what happens with the o
25	Yale	Calling it now, will be one of the last five undefeated teams left on the map this year

Overall Rationale

Just missed: Auburn, UNC, Wisconsin, Ole Miss, Ohio St, Utah St, NC State