Di9ForLife's Week Pre-Season Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston | One botched possession away from Kelvin Sampson’s first national title. Emmanuel Sharp, Milos Uzan and Joseph Tugler are back for vengeance, along with newcomer Chris Cenac. |
| 2 | Purdue | Braden Smith could be the best PG in the country. Purdue may be Houston’s best competition this year. |
| 3 | Duke | The Boozer twins are all the rage but don’t forget about Isaiah Evans, Nik Khamenia and and Pat Ngongba. Looking to become big contributors for Duke. 1 seed on paper for sure. |
| 4 | Florida | The defending champs reloaded with a star in the making in Boogie Fland and returned Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu and Thomas Haugh. I expect another deep tourney run for the Gators. |
| 5 | UConn | Silas Demary and returners Solo Ball and Alex Karaban are gonna be scary for everyone in the country. |
| 6 | Kentucky | Year 2 for Mark Pope comes with sky high expectations for Kentucky. Easily the deepest team in the country, gonna be critical for a long season. |
| 7 | Michigan | Dusty May signed one of the best transfer classes in the country, just a matter of making sure all that talent gels together. If they do, they could run the Big 10 alongside Purdue handily |
| 8 | Louisville | Louisville brings in one of the most electric point guards out of high school in Mikel Brown Jr. Paired with some other star transfers and a good frontcourt, the Cards could be back. |
| 9 | St. John's | Maybe the most talented St. John’s team we’ve seen in a while. Definitely trust Pitino to maximize their strengths. |
| 10 | BYU | AJ Dybantsa is gonna be so much fun to watch, and given BYU’s style of play and the team surrounding him, they could make a lot of noise. |
| 11 | UCLA | Donovan Dent was one of the best pickups in the portal for UCLA, he’s poised to make a big jump. |
| 12 | Tennessee | Tennessee faces a fairly major rebuild after losing most of their core group from last year. Nate Ament and Ja’Kobi Gillespie are the guys to watch, if they’re good, UT will be too. |
| 13 | Arkansas | Cal brings in more returners than usual for his teams, along with Darius Acuff and Meleek Thomas. A sweet 16 run and a seemingly rejuvenated Calipari could lead Arkansas to higher ground. |
| 14 | Illinois | The Ivisic brothers will be like the twin towers for the Illini. Sharpshooter Andrej Stojakovic will instantly contribute and thrive with their style of play. Just gotta stay consistent. |
| 15 | Iowa State | The loss of Keshon Gilbert raises some questions about Iowa State for me, but if there’s any coach that can everything possible out of his teams, it’s Otz. |
| 16 | Texas Tech | JT Toppin is one of Tech’s only major contributors returning, which definitely leaves me with some pause for thought. They’re in the “we’ll see” category for me. |
| 17 | Alabama | Same for Alabama, who also faces a major rebuild. The roster construction reminds me of their 2024 team. Inconsistent but made it to the final 4. |
| 18 | Gonzaga | Another team going through a rebuild. Metrics love the Zags and I trust Mark Few to make this team dangerous, but Gonzaga’s a ways away from their powerhouse teams of the late 2010s |
| 19 | NC State | Give Will Wade and NC State their flowers. He went out and brought in a great transfer class and we know he can coach. I expect the pack to challenge for the ACC title. |
| 20 | Michigan State | Typical Izzo offseason at Michigan State, a few solid transfers to complement key returners. |
| 21 | Creighton | Metrics don’t love Creighton, especially with the losses of Ashworth and Kalkbrenner, but Greg McDermott is a floor raiser, they’ll be competitive. |
| 22 | Kansas | After a few underwhelming years, Kansas is in a far more preferable spot: they lack the burden of expectations, and they’re also bringing in Darryn Peterson. Could go either way for the Jayhawks. |
| 23 | USC | Look for USC to outperform expectations. CBM will piss everyone in the Big 10 off for sure but Alijah Arenas could be the star, as long as he’s healthy. |
| 24 | North Carolina | This feels like a make or break year for Hubert Davis and UNC. Picked up a few solid transfers, brought in Caleb Wilson and returned Seth Trimble. Gonna have to prove their worth. |
| 25 | Texas A&M | Watch out for BuckyBall. The roster may not have any real head turners, but Bucky McMillan is a hell of a coach, glad A&M decided to take a chance on him. |
Overall Rationale
Possible sleepers to watch: - Florida State - Indiana - Maryland - West Virginia - SDSU - Illinois State - Washington - Saint Louis - Minnesota - Villanova