ItsAesthus's Ballot for Preseason of 2021-22
Submitted on Friday, October 15, 2021 at 11:42AM EDT
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Gonzaga
|
Drew Timme AND Chet Holmgren AND two five-stars is just unfair. This is the most obvious #1 in history. |
| 2 |
UCLA
|
UCLA has great depth, but they'll need someone to step up as Johnny Juzang's right-hand man in order to take the next step. |
| 3 |
Texas
|
Texas brings in tons of star power from out of town, including former Texas Tech HC Chris Beard. Will it all click? |
| 4 |
Kansas
|
It's a dogfight at the top of the Big 12 between Texas and old stalwart KU, which has excellent starters all around. |
| 5 |
Michigan
|
Michigan's probably the most talented team in the Big Ten on paper, but much like Texas, they need the lineup to gel well. |
| 6 |
Villanova
|
Ditto for Villanova, which has some great players but has struggled to put it all together recently. |
| 7 |
Baylor
|
The defending champs lose Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell, MaCio Teague, and Mark Vital. The next team will be solid, though. |
| 8 |
Memphis
|
Memphis brings in two top-ten recruits (including the highly-touted Emoni Bates) and has an all-around great lineup. |
| 9 |
Purdue
|
Purdue is getting closer to matching expectation with reality. This might be the year they make the leap to contender status. |
| 10 |
Duke
|
Duke adds three five-star recruits, two of them expected to go to the lottery after 2021-22. They'll be back. |
| 11 |
Kentucky
|
So too will Kentucky, which brings in a boatload of talent through the transfer portal and recruiting class. |
| 12 |
Arkansas
|
Arkansas has incredible talent in some areas, but glaring weaknesses in others. Moses Moody's out, but Chris Lykes is a great substitute. |
| 13 |
Illinois
|
The Illini have the pieces to contend, in theory. Ayo Dosunmu is a tough loss, though, and they'll have to adjust accordingly. |
| 14 |
Oregon
|
Oregon is a mightily experienced team, but only two starters have actually played together in the past. |
| 15 |
Houston
|
It's Houston. They're good. I'm not sure what magic Kelvin Sampson will work, but they're going to be near the front of the AAC again. |
| 16 |
Ohio State
|
As with most of the top Big Ten teams, talent abounds, but the jury's still out on whether it'll all come together. |
| 17 |
Tennessee
|
There's a lot of depth for the Vols, but either Victor Bailey Jr or John Fulkerson needs to step up and be the star. |
| 18 |
Florida State
|
FSU is unusually inexperienced and not very physical, but Leonard Hamilton will probably wrangle a talented group to ACC contention. |
| 19 |
Alabama
|
Alabama loses three of five starters, but adds two impact recruits and Furman transfer Noah Gurley. Bama is a basketball school, I guess. |
| 20 |
UConn
|
The Huskies bring back almost everybody...aside from James Bouknight, the twelfth overall pick in the NBA Draft. |
| 21 |
Virginia Tech
|
Keve Aluma is one of the best players in the ACC, and the Hokies have solid pieces throughout the depth chart. |
| 22 |
Virginia
|
Last year's returns leave much to be desired, but Virginia allays some of those concerns by bringing in tons of transfer talent. |
| 23 |
Oklahoma State
|
If the Cowboys' brief stint without Cade Cunningham last year was any indication, they still have the depth to contend without him. |
| 24 |
St. Bonaventure
|
Saint Bonaventure returns only five players. The good news: they're all solid projected starters. When healthy, the Bonnies will be golden. |
| 25 |
Maryland
|
Maryland has plenty of intriguing pieces in their lineup, and some key transfer additions should elevate them to a conference contender. |