Not So Early Top 25: College Basketball

By Ryan Hammer on October 22, 2016

sportsrumble.com

We are less than a month away from the first games of the 2016-17 college basketball season. With some changes in recruiting, injuries, etc. here is an updated top 25, not so early anymore.

1. Duke

Harry Giles’s six-week injury does not change much in terms of long term goals for the Blue Devils. Grayson Allen and company are out for a national title and nothing less.

2. Kansas

cjonline.com

Frank Mason III and Devonte’ Graham make one of the more experienced and best backcourts in the nation. Add freshman and possible NBA draft number one overall pick Josh Jackson and you can book the Jayhawks for their 13th straight Big 12 title and more.

3. Kentucky

Isaiah Briscoe returns for his sophomore season leading a pack of future NBA stars. John Calipari will go through a run of the mill year when the Wildcats only lose two or three games and send half of their team to the NBA.

4. Virginia

Tony Bennett is one of the most appraised coaches in the nation for a reason. Even after losing Malcom Brogdon and Anthony Gill, London Perrantes will run the team for his senior season.

5. Vilanova

Losing 5-star Omari Spellman to intelligibility hurts the returning national champs in the paint. That being said, Kris Jenkins returns after his shot of the century and POY candidate Josh Hart takes the Cats out searching for back-to-back titles.

6. Wisconsin

The exact same lineup as last season returns in full force with Nigel Hayes front and center. Greg Gard took over the squad mid-season last year and turned a .500 season into a sweet 16 finish so the Badgers have their eyes on the Final 4 this season.

7. North Carolina

Not much to dislike about the 2016-17 Tarheels. Isaiah Hicks, Joel Berry, Justin Jackson, and Kennedy Meeks all bring top level talent and experience back to Raleigh.

8. Indiana

With five key players nursing injuries, Hoosier nation may see a short speed bump in their start to the season. Thomas Bryant is one of the better players in all of division 1 basketball this year and will dominate some of the frontcourts in the Big 10.

9. Oregon

oregonlive.com

It is a huge deficit with the Ducks’ most important player Dillon Brooks missing a large part of the year with a foot surgery. Just like last season, Oregon has a lot of depth and will play their fast paced team basketball so they should be just fine until Brooks’s return.

10. Michigan State

After one of the most disappointing tournament losses of all time, only one starter returns to East Lansing. No. 8 overall recruit Miles Bridges is the highlight of the squad but lack of experience can set Izzo and his Spartans back a little.

11. Xavier

Myles Davis’s indefinite suspension is a big question sitting over the Musketeers. For ‘not representing the school’s and program’s expectations’ Davis could miss a large chunk of the season. A lot of depth in the backcourt offers good hope for Xavier.

12. Arizona

Terrance Ferguson’s decision to surpass college ball and play professionally in Australia hurts the Wildcats. But, this does not change the fact that Sean Miller has one of the best backcourts in the country and possibly his best team in his Zona years.

13. Gonzaga

Transfers galore! Newcomers from Cal, Washington, and Missouri offer a lot of help to an unexperienced Bulldog squad. Chemistry could be an issue early on but as always, Gonzaga only have one real opponent in conference play in St. Mary’s to watch out for. Beat them and they have their tournament birth.

14. Purdue

http://news-sentinel.com/

Finally, someone who can get the ball over half court for the Boilermakers. Enter Spike Albrecht to do the job and let POY candidate Caleb Swanigan get the job done under the basket accompanied by Isaac Haas. After last season’s first round exit, Purdue is out for blood.

15. St. Mary’s 

After sweeping Gonzaga in the regular season for the first time in 26 years, this fully returning team shot well last season … really well. Third best FG percent in the country makes them dangerous against any team.

16. Louisville

It’s up to Rick Pitino to take V.J. King, McDonald’s All-American, and a steady group of slightly above average ballers and turn them all into a frightening basketball team. Knowing Rick Pitino like we all do, you should expect nothing less than fantastic of this squad.

17. Florida State

Xavier Rathan-Mayes returns for his junior season as the team’s leading scorer. Jonathan Isaac, incoming freshman, will have his bet on being a lottery pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Add Dwayne Bacon, top 10 5-star ESPN 100 recruit, and this Seminoles team can be good so do not be surprised to see them in March.

18. Texas 

6-foot-11 NBA prospect Jarrett Allen will be a force to be reckoned with in the Big 12. Shaka Smart is one of the best coaches in the country showing just that by his team’s late run to fame just in time for March last season.

19. West Virginia

This could possibly be the least talented team in Bob Huggins’s reign as a Mountaineer. But when has that ever been a problem? Huggins will take a bunch of bought in scrappy young men and turn them into the best pressing defense in the country once again.

20. Maryland

bleacherreport.com

Melo Trimble will be doing some heavy lifting this winter and that’s not in the weight room. The Terps’ fate rides on his junior season but it will be the role players and new incomers who can make the team great, or hold them from tournament hopes.

21. Rhode Island

After a double digit freshman season (team finish of 23-10) and missing all of last season with an injury, E.C. Matthews finally returns to basketball and is one of the top players to look out for in Division 1 basketball. The Rams had a top 10 efficiency defense in Matthews’s freshman season so that could possibly be re-established.

22. Creighton

A team that could not burst the bubble last March has new March goals this year with Kansas State transfer Marcus Foster who averaged double digit stats at his old school. Greg McDermott’s slightly above average squad just got that much better with one standout player.

23. UCLA 

Lonzo Ball is one of the nation’s best recruits and leads another fantastic Bruins recruiting class. In the past, UCLA has thrown away great potential as a team but this season’s class seems to be a special one. We will have to wait and see if their freshmen class lives up to their maximum potential or if they throw another season in the dump.

24. San Diego State

After a Final 4 finish in last year’s NIT and a tragic loss in the Mountain West conference final, the Aztecs have new goals but old faces. The same exact backcourt returns in hopes for a new type of dominance in such a small conference.

25. Syracuse 

Bringing in a pair of transfers from Nebraska (Andrew White) and Providence (Paschal Chukwu) creates depth in the Orange lineup but still holes in their guard spots. Giving up their backcourt to the NBA will hurt, especially come conference play.

Honorable mention:

Wichita State, USC, Cal, Texas A&M, Seton Hall, Cincinnati 

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format