Oklahoma State University LogoItsAesthus's Ballot for Preseason of 2021-22

Submitted on Friday, October 15, 2021 at 11:42AM EDT
RankTeamReason
1 Gonzaga University Logo Gonzaga Drew Timme AND Chet Holmgren AND two five-stars is just unfair. This is the most obvious #1 in history.
2 University of California, Los Angeles Logo 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 University of Texas at Austin Logo Texas Texas brings in tons of star power from out of town, including former Texas Tech HC Chris Beard. Will it all click?
4 University of Kansas Logo 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 University of Michigan Logo 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 University Logo Villanova Ditto for Villanova, which has some great players but has struggled to put it all together recently.
7 Baylor University Logo Baylor The defending champs lose Jared Butler, Davion Mitchell, MaCio Teague, and Mark Vital. The next team will be solid, though.
8 University of Memphis Logo Memphis Memphis brings in two top-ten recruits (including the highly-touted Emoni Bates) and has an all-around great lineup.
9 Purdue University Logo Purdue Purdue is getting closer to matching expectation with reality. This might be the year they make the leap to contender status.
10 Duke University Logo Duke Duke adds three five-star recruits, two of them expected to go to the lottery after 2021-22. They'll be back.
11 University of Kentucky Logo Kentucky So too will Kentucky, which brings in a boatload of talent through the transfer portal and recruiting class.
12 University of Arkansas Logo 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 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Logo 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 University of Oregon Logo Oregon Oregon is a mightily experienced team, but only two starters have actually played together in the past.
15 University of Houston Logo 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 University Logo 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 University of Tennessee Logo 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 University Logo Florida State FSU is unusually inexperienced and not very physical, but Leonard Hamilton will probably wrangle a talented group to ACC contention.
19 University of Alabama Logo 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 University of Connecticut Logo UConn The Huskies bring back almost everybody...aside from James Bouknight, the twelfth overall pick in the NBA Draft.
21 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Logo Virginia Tech Keve Aluma is one of the best players in the ACC, and the Hokies have solid pieces throughout the depth chart.
22 University of Virginia Logo 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 University Logo 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 University Logo 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 University of Maryland, College Park Logo Maryland Maryland has plenty of intriguing pieces in their lineup, and some key transfer additions should elevate them to a conference contender.