KingInDaNorf34's Week Pre-Season Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston | Homerism, as well as them bringing in what is to me, the best group of Freshman in the country to surround 3 star players |
| 2 | Purdue | Purdue returns excellent players as well as bringing in high value transfers. Would not shock me if they won it all |
| 3 | Duke | Excellent group of freshman and transfers. Great Coach |
| 4 | St. John's | Pitino knows what he is doing, I think! However, I am expecting weird losses all year due to a lack of true and natural point guard |
| 5 | Michigan | Very good team last year, in large part due to their coach. They lsot some talent, but May is one of the best in the business, and yaxel is excellent. |
| 6 | Florida | I do think they take a step back this year, but their front court will be very good. |
| 7 | UConn | I have no idea what to expect from them in terms of pure quality. Hurley is one of, if not the best, in the business so I am expecting a rebound season from them. Lots of returning players. |
| 8 | Texas Tech | Really good starting 5 so they will probably start the year of very well, but their depth is not great. Great coach |
| 9 | Louisville | Very interesting team this year. Kelsey just finds ways to win normally, and they have a lot of exciting pieces. |
| 10 | Kentucky | Pope had a good first year, and I expect him to build on it. Lots of fresh faces from the portal that should be good |
| 11 | Arizona | I think Arizona this year has as high a ceiling as anyone. With their main big man being healthy this year, it will be very interesting to follow |
| 12 | Illinois | A ton of new pieces, and most of them European, I am king of expecting a slow start but they will have a strong big ten record |
| 13 | BYU | Another team that I think has a crazy high ceiling, they just need to lock in more defensively. Will be interesting to watch AJ |
| 14 | Iowa State | Otz is a great coach. There are lots of new pieces this year, but as he has proven over and over again, otz will coach them up well |
| 15 | Tennessee | Barnes brought in some great new, and young, players this year. While it will take some time to adjust over the year, I think that Barnes team may have an extra gear in them this year |
| 16 | Gonzaga | They were very good last year and bring back lots of that team. Few is an excellent coach. |
| 17 | Michigan State | Izzo is a great coach. People constantly rank them a bit to low in the early portions of the season. |
| 18 | Kansas | I think this team from Self will be better than last years (not that that is to much of a challenge for him and Kansas), but it will be reliant on youth. Expecting some hiccups |
| 19 | Creighton | I think they will be a good but not great team like they are every year. They have an excellent coach |
| 20 | San Diego State | I am expecting a very good season for them. I think they have a chance to be a top 4 seed this year with all of the talent they have coming back. |
| 21 | NC State | Will be very interesting to watch Wade here. They bring in excellent players, he just needs to coach them up |
| 22 | Auburn | I have no idea where to rank them, I just know they should be ranked. They bring back a star and had some very good players come in this year. |
| 23 | Alabama | Oats is fantastic. They are bringing in a lot of fresh faces, and losing their main player of the last few years. They will likely have a slow start, but things will pick up for them. |
| 24 | Wisconsin | A really good season last year came as a to most, but not me. i think that they will continue to be very good with their now offensive identity, but I cant put them ahead of most teams in poll |
| 25 | USC | Musselman's second year will get this team to tourney. Kenpom really likes this team, and I agree. Should be a top 8 seed. |
Overall Rationale
I tried to lean heavily on my own eye test of either returning players/teams/coaches plus what I thought about transfers in, but I also relied a bit on Kenpom as well where I thought it was appropriate.