Bazralian's Ballot for Preseason of 2018-19
Submitted on Monday, October 15, 2018 at 5:01PM EDT
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Kansas
|
All around the best team in CBB, and even with the possibility of losing close games due to Azibuike, Kansas should be the best team in CBB |
| 2 |
Duke
|
They got the cream of the crop in terms of recruits, but also lost some good scoring to the draft. Obviously still a contender though. |
| 3 |
Tennessee
|
It was tempting to put Tennessee #1 due to everybody returning, but like we saw with Northwestern in 2017, that doesn't guarantee anything. |
| 4 |
Kentucky
|
Kentucky is good. John Calipari is still there. Kentucky is still good. |
| 5 |
Auburn
|
Auburn had a bad end to the season due to injuries, but they should be right back up there next year. |
| 6 |
Virginia
|
Virginia returns many players from last year's team and didn't lose much. They'll still be great defensively. |
| 7 |
Gonzaga
|
Maybe? The best team out west. They should run away with the WCC and be a top 2 seed. |
| 8 |
Nevada
|
They return the entire offense from last year and maybe even added. If the defense improves, they could be a Final Four team. |
| 9 |
North Carolina
|
North Carolina is going to be around the same as last year, maybe even a little worse due to everyone around them improving. |
| 10 |
Villanova
|
The defending national champions are at #10 due to losing significant pieces, but they should still be in contention for a third in 4 years. |
| 11 |
Kansas State
|
Kansas' biggest competition this year. They return many pieces from an Elite Eight squad and have a healthy Dean Wade. |
| 12 |
Virginia Tech
|
This was one of three teams that beat Virginia last year and showed what they can actually do at times. They should be very good this year. |
| 13 |
Michigan State
|
This team looks very good on paper, but had many weaknesses exposed last year in their last two losses of the season. |
| 14 |
Oregon
|
This team should run away with the PAC-12 due to it being the worst P5 conference. They have a very good team too. |
| 15 |
Florida State
|
They made the Elite Eight with an underachieving squad last year, and should be back to form for a full year next year. |
| 16 |
West Virginia
|
Bob Huggins is a great coach and should be able to keep the Mountaineers good while he is there. They will take a step back this year. |
| 17 |
Mississippi State
|
Mississippi State had a pretty good team last year, but could never put everything together. That should change this year though. |
| 18 |
LSU
|
LSU is back! They also have a pretty good team and good recruits which should lead to a NCAA Tournament berth. |
| 19 |
TCU
|
TCU finally returned to the tournament last year and is gonna look to improve on that performance and get farther this year. |
| 20 |
Michigan
|
The national runner ups look to fall back a bit, but they will be a good team nonetheless. They'll hit their stride late in the season. |
| 21 |
Clemson
|
Clemson made good strides last year and I see them being about even to last year. They were a dangerous team and will be again this year. |
| 22 |
Loyola Chicago
|
Loyola went to the Final Four last year, but will have conference challenges in Bradley and Illinois State, but they return almost everyone. |
| 23 |
Syracuse
|
Syracuse should improve last year, so that means they'll be the last team in, but as of right now, they should be in. |
| 24 |
Maryland
|
Maryland has some good players and will look to capitalize on that to return to the NCAA tournament. |
| 25 |
Cincinnati
|
Cincinnati loses some key pieces, but will still be a very good team and should win the American. |