Equivalent-Yard3824's Week Pre-Season Ballot

RankTeamReason
1 Duke Deepest team in the nation, with a good mix of returning talent and high upside youth.
2 Florida Reminds me of Michigan last year, elite frontcourt with veterans around them, should be dominant.
3Illinois Returned a majority of the final four squad and adds in a good mix of transfers and freshmen
4 Arizona Will be excellent defensively, assuming Godfrey is elligible, some questionmarks on offense.
5 UConn No more Karaban, but plenty of talent remains for Hurley to retool.
6Michigan State I'm not the biggest Fears believer, but it's hard to deny the combination of talent Izzo has here.
7 Houston Hard to predict with really only Tugler remaining as a high impact piece, but trust in Sampson to have brought in guys that fit the system
8 Kansas With the news that TKR is likely eligible, this squad has an argument for being higher.
9Iowa State Ranking hinges on Lipsey's return, and my ability to ignore exhibition results, but I trust the system here.
10Texas An impressive transfer class and 5 star recruits assemble around Vokeitaitis
11 Louisville For the second time in three years Kelsey brings in a completely new starting 5 from the portal and it's worked before.
12 Tennessee Rick Barnes defense mixed with actual offensive firepower, we'll see how that works out
13Virginia Some of the least roster turnover in this top 25 should lead to a steady start
14 Gonzaga Assuming everyone plays there's plenty of talent here to compete, but it won't reach the highs of past squads
15Miami (FL) Jai Lucas has that it factor both on the court and in recruiting, looking for high expectations here in year 2
16 Texas Tech Toppin alone is enough to have them this high, but they have plenty surrounding him to weather his likely slow start
17 Arkansas Calipari is back to more of a true Kentucky roster with the #1 recruiting class
18 St. John's More balanced than we've seen the Johnnies recently, but maybe less upside as well.
19 Vanderbilt Last year's hot start has opened the talent pool for Vandy, excited to see what Byington does with it
20Alabama Likely even worse defensively than we're used to, should be fun games but way more volatility.
21 Nebraska One of the biggest teams in the B1G, expect Hoiberg to continue to build off last season
22 Michigan No three headed monster, no top 5 coach, and a torn acl to the top recruit. Still have a solid squad but it's a far cry from last year.
23 Grand Canyon Returning talent and added Darling from SJU and a great coach in Bryce Drew
24 Kentucky Do or Die year for Pope who landed Momcilovic and others to help buoy a sinking ship
25 High Point With 8 of the top 10 players of the entire Big South conference on this team, many returning from their 12/5 upset.

Overall Rationale

Next 5: Purdue, BYU, UCLA, Ohio State, Texas A&M