| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|
| 1 |   Duke | Most talent, good coach, motivated. |
| 2 |  Florida | Best starting 5 if they can shoot. |
| 3 |  Illinois | Offensive scheme elite and good mix of veteran talent and freshmen |
| 4 |  Arizona | Three of the best players in the sport and top tier coach. |
| 5 |  UConn | Backcourt, defense, and coaching. |
| 6 |  Louisville | High end talent with good fits. |
| 7 |  Texas | A lot of talent, but there's some fit and Sean Miller questions. |
| 8 |  Kansas | New additions have beefed up the team. Will Stokes be dominant or just good? |
| 9 |  Michigan State | Fears is a top distributor, but they're lacking a go-to scorer. |
| 10 |  Houston | Sampson will have the team top 10, but the overall roster talent is down. |
| 11 |  Gonzaga | I'm not a Lee believer, but Huff is awesome. |
| 12 |  Michigan | Depth is a concern, but starting 5 with Gayle is very good. |
| 13 |  Iowa State | Otz + Lipsey can't put them outside the top 15. Elite perimeter D. |
| 14 |  Virginia | Like a lot of the pieces, but not quite the elite tier of talent that others have. |
| 15 |  Miami (FL) | The frontcourt is monstrous and Lewis is a player, but do they have any shooting? |
| 16 |  Alabama | Oats has a lot of skill, but front court concerns maybe not quite answered. |
| 17 |  Arkansas | Talent, but youth. |
| 18 |  Tennessee | A lot of offensive firepower, but worried about the defense. |
| 19 |  St. John's | Not sure about the mix of dudes. |
| 20 |  Texas Tech | Need to see it with Toppin and for everyone to stay cleared. |
| 21 |  Kentucky | The most 21st team of all time. Milan+Moreno, but guards are still a ? |
| 22 |  Vanderbilt | Tanner and not much else. |
| 23 |  UCLA | Why didn't they recruit over Booker? |
| 24 |  Nebraska | Sandfort is a floor raiser, but lacking ceiling. |
| 25 |  Villanova | A lot of old, pretty good dudes. Ceiling depends on Suigo. |
