MEmerson14's Ballot for Preseason of 2018-19
Submitted on Monday, October 15, 2018 at 8:46PM EDT
FYI: This is a provisional ballot. It does not count towards this poll's results.
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Kentucky
|
This might be Calipari's deepest team, his best senior at Kentucky in Reid Travis, and the 2nd ranked class coming in |
| 2 |
Kansas
|
The losses from last year's team hurts, but this is a Final Four team with a top 5 class coming in combined with key returnees and transfers |
| 3 |
Duke
|
The 3 best freshman and another 5-star in Tre Jones might give Coach K his most NBA talent on a team. |
| 4 |
Villanova
|
Booth and Paschall give them championship experience with two top-40 freshman coming in. I also can't bet against Jay Wright. |
| 5 |
North Carolina
|
Little and White give them two 5-stars to go with a good returning core. Losses of Berry and Pinson hurt, but UNC is always there in March. |
| 6 |
Nevada
|
The Martin twins come back, a 5-star comes in, and Trey Porter comes in as a transfer. Should have the ability to improve on last years S16. |
| 7 |
Gonzaga
|
Gonzaga has one of the best frontcourts in the game to go with a senior PG in Perkins. Two 15+ ppg transfers should solidify the lineup. |
| 8 |
Tennessee
|
Tennessee returns all of their starters from a team that tied for the conference regular season championship. That includes CPOY Williams. |
| 9 |
Virginia
|
Virginia comes in with a chip on their shoulder after losing to 16-seed UMBC last year. Guy, Hunter, and Jerome are a good core returning. |
| 10 |
Michigan State
|
Losing Bridges and Jackson Jr. hurts, but the trio of Winston, Ward, and Langford are tough to beat. Might fit better than last years team. |
| 11 |
Kansas State
|
Kansas State returns everyone from their Elite 8 team last year. Dean Wade might be the most underrated player in the country. |
| 12 |
Syracuse
|
Syracuse returns their starting 5 from last years Sweet 16 team that lost to Duke by 4. Battle and Brissett are as good a 1-2 punch as any. |
| 13 |
Virginia Tech
|
Virginia Tech returns most of their core from last year's NCAA tourney team. Should fight for a top-5 finish in a loaded ACC. |
| 14 |
LSU
|
Tremont Waters is among the best PG's in college basketball. The additions of two 5-stars and a 4-star gives LSU a great deal of firepower. |
| 15 |
Oregon
|
Pritchard returning at PG to go along with the additions of Bol Bol and Louis King has Oregon as the favorite in the PAC 12. |
| 16 |
Auburn
|
The loss of Heron will hurt immensely but they return nearly every other key contributor from their SEC co-champ and NCAA tourney team. |
| 17 |
UCLA
|
Having Cambell and O'Neal both out for the year lowers their ceiling a lot, but they still have talent on what might be Alford's last team. |
| 18 |
West Virginia
|
Losing Carter and Miles hurts the back court, but Ahmad, Konate, and West gives them a front court that will make them a tourney team. |
| 19 |
Indiana
|
The 1-2 punch of Langford and Morgan is one the best in college basketball. IU's deepest team in a while. Should finish top-3 in B1G. |
| 20 |
Florida State
|
Florida State has a good core coming back from a team that went to the Elite 8 last year. Should compete for a top-5 finish in loaded ACC. |
| 21 |
TCU
|
TCU returns most of their core that was an NCAA tourney team a year ago. Players will need to step up to match that this year. |
| 22 |
Wisconsin
|
Wisconsin has one of the best players in the country in Happ and also comes into the year healthy. Should contend for top-4 in B1G. |
| 23 |
Marquette
|
Markus Howard is a scoring machine and will be an All-American. This team will reach its ceiling if the role players fill in behind. |
| 24 |
Michigan
|
Loss of players continue to be understated, but Beilein is one of best coaches in college basketball. Matthews will need to step up. |
| 25 |
Purdue
|
Carsen Edwards will be in the running for NPOY, how efficient will he be after Purdue loses 4 senior starters? Will role players step up? |