generally-mediocre's Week Pre-Season Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Purdue | The level of retention is insane...Braden Smith and TKR are a great duo with lots of experience |
| 2 | Houston | Sampson brings in a big freshman class with 3 key returners |
| 3 | UConn | Ball and Demary are two legit perimeter scorers, and they have help in Karaban, Reed, Malachi Smith, etc. |
| 4 | St. John's | This team is deep, with 6 proven power conference performers and the Big Sky POY at point guard to spread the ball around. |
| 5 | Florida | I understand if people see them as bound to repeat as they return most of their bigs, but I think a Fland-Lee backcourt is a big step down from last year's team. |
| 6 | Duke | High potential for sure |
| 7 | BYU | Dybantsa, Saunders, and Wright are a scary scoring trio. |
| 8 | Michigan | I don't love this backcourt but this team is deep. |
| 9 | Illinois | A lot rests on Stojakovic, but there is talent |
| 10 | UCLA | Dent is a beast. They need Booker to show up as a big man |
| 11 | Louisville | Where's the rim protection? |
| 12 | Texas Tech | Toppin and...? |
| 13 | Iowa State | Love the returning pieces but do they have enough perimeter scoring? |
| 14 | Tennessee | Ja'Kobi is a monster, but who else scores? |
| 15 | Kentucky | Lots of talent, but Oweh has a lot to prove IMO. |
| 16 | Kansas | Needs Peterson to be a star |
| 17 | Alabama | They return a lot of talent but Sears isn't easy to replace |
| 18 | Arizona | Lots of trust in freshmen |
| 19 | Arkansas | Anything from here is a crapshoot... |
| 20 | Gonzaga | |
| 21 | San Diego State | |
| 22 | Creighton | |
| 23 | NC State | |
| 24 | Wisconsin | |
| 25 | Michigan State |
Overall Rationale
Also considered: Ohio State, UNC, Ole Miss, Oregon