Villanova University Logojckund's Ballot for Preseason of 2016-17

Submitted on Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at 4:41PM EDT
RankTeamReason
1 Duke University Logo Duke Even with the Giles injury, the combination of incoming freshmen and returning players is unparalleled.
2 University of Kansas Logo Kansas Talent-wise, Kansas belongs here until further notice. Might take time for the unit to gel.
3 Villanova University Logo Villanova Returning champs, but frontcourt remains a question mark. How well will the small-ball work?
4 University of Kentucky Logo Kentucky Loaded with NBA prospects, there will be ups and downs, but UK will finish as a top 5 team.
5 University of Oregon Logo Oregon Similar to Nova - relying on lots of interesting returning pieces and plenty of depth. This assumes Brooks stays healthy.
6 University of Wisconsin-Madison Logo Wisconsin I have them higher than most - too many doubts surrounding Hayes/Koenig. The added experience will bring consistency.
7 Xavier University Logo Xavier Return of Myles Davis makes things dicey in the backcourt, but Sumner is a NBA level prospect.
8 University of Virginia Logo Virginia Can never count out Bennett's defense, even without Brogdon.
9 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Logo North Carolina Just not sure who steps up here - the impact players on last year's team (except Berry?) are gone.
10 Michigan State University Logo Michigan State Injuries are ruining this team - a lot will fall on Myles Bridges' ability to play a small ball 4
11 Indiana University Bloomington Logo Indiana Not sure about the backcourt, but the offense is always brilliant. Willing to bet Crean figures it out.
12 University of Arizona Logo Arizona Lots of roster turnover in the frontcourt, but consider me a firm believer in Alonzo Trier
13 University of Connecticut Logo UConn A lot of positional versatility on this team - they'll be able to match up with anyone
14 Saint Mary's College of California Logo Saint Mary's Returning all 5 starters - can't see how they regress from last year's 29-6 performance
15 University of Louisville Logo Louisville Gambling on Donovan Mitchell and Deng Adel to step up - the Pitino press will generate enough offense otherwise
16 Gonzaga University Logo Gonzaga Transfer galore - luckily they're all experienced and proven. Gonzaga belongs here on talent alone.
17 Syracuse University Logo Syracuse I doubted the Cuse last year and Boeheim made me look silly. The 2-3 zone works wonders and Pascal Chukwu will embarrass people in the post
18 University of Maryland, College Park Logo Maryland Melo Trimble. I think last year's frontcourt size limited a lot of things this team could do. Not enough spacing.
19 University of Texas at Austin Logo Texas Might take some time, but Jarrett Allen seems college-level ready
20 Creighton University Logo Creighton Marcus Foster is just what the Bluejays needed last season... all-out scorer on the wings to play alongside Watson.
21 University of Rhode Island Logo URI EC Matthews and Hassan Martin - Hurley has quite the group of experienced guys. This team was 23-10 with both as sophomores.
22 University of Cincinnati Logo Cincinnati 4 returning starters from an NCAA team - big fan of perimeter athleticism on the defensive end.
23 Purdue University Logo Purdue It's low, but I need to see something here. Purdue felt too big and clunky on the offensive end... and still needs better guards.
24 University of California, Los Angeles Logo UCLA I'll take a shot on Lonzo Ball and TJ Leaf. This team was ugly last year, but apparently are instilling a new offense.
25 West Virginia University Logo West Virginia Lots of turnover, but similar to Lousville I'm trusting the Huggin's system. Good defenses carry a team far at this level.