chet_w's Ballot for Preseason of 2021-22
Submitted on Friday, October 15, 2021 at 5:50PM EDT
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Gonzaga
|
Best combo of returning players and talented freshman |
| 2 |
Michigan
|
Extremely talented, and are returning a lot of pieces from their deep run last year |
| 3 |
Villanova
|
Return 4/5 leading scorers, and Jay Wright may just be the best coach in the country |
| 4 |
UCLA
|
Bringing back everyone from a final four run is good, but their regular season was shaky at best |
| 5 |
Texas
|
Chris Beard worked the transfer portal masterfully, and should bring the elite coaching Texas has been missing |
| 6 |
Kansas
|
With Baylor losing their two best players, Kansas should be the favorite to win the big 12. |
| 7 |
Duke
|
Coach K has the talent for one last hoorah, but a lack of talented experience may hold this team back |
| 8 |
Purdue
|
An absurd amount of returning players to a team that got a 4 seed last year is a recipe for success. |
| 9 |
Houston
|
Coach Sampson should be able to make another run with this tea,, despite losing Grimes |
| 10 |
Baylor
|
The best team last year. Baylor may have lost significant contributors, but they still have the tools to make sum noise nationally |
| 11 |
Kentucky
|
Following a disastrous year, I fully expect Kentucky to rebound and win the SEC with yet another great crop of incoming Freshman |
| 12 |
Ohio State
|
Losing Washington hurts, but this is still most of the team that finished second in a brutal big ten last year |
| 13 |
Oregon
|
Dana Altman always works roster construction magic, and this year should be no different. |
| 14 |
Memphis
|
The talent is there, but does Penny have the coaching chops to make some real noise? |
| 15 |
Arkansas
|
Coach Musselman is great, and this team should have enough firepower to challenge for the SEC |
| 16 |
Alabama
|
They lost of lot of production, but Coach Oats did a good job of bringing in guys who can help ease that pain |
| 17 |
Illinois
|
Kofi Cockburn and Andre Curbelo will step in the absence of Ayo, and provide steady options for the Illini |
| 18 |
North Carolina
|
It might take some time with a new coach at the helm, but bringing back Bacot is a perfect parting gift from Roy Williams |
| 19 |
Maryland
|
They don't seem too exciting on paper, but there is enough talent here to get Maryland back to the big dance yet again |
| 20 |
Tennessee
|
A phenomenal recruiting class will help Tennessee be a threat in the SEC |
| 21 |
Auburn
|
If Pearl can channel his inner Dana Altman and get all these guys to mesh, the Tigers might have a top ten team |
| 22 |
Virginia Tech
|
Adding Storm Murphy should give this team some much needed scoring |
| 23 |
Florida State
|
FSU might benefit from playing smaller this year-If that's something Leonard Hamilton is comfortable doing |
| 24 |
Michigan State
|
They lost a lot, but Izzo is great and there are enough pieces to make this team relevant nationally |
| 25 |
USC
|
They may have lost Mobley and Eaddy, but they weren't the only reason this team was so good last year. |