25. Wichita State- A great season from the Shockers shouldn’t shock anyone after their run in the dance last year, but winning the MVC won’t be easy playing the likes of Bradley, Southern Illinois, and Creighton.
24. UConn- Expect a rebuilding year in Storrs after having a record five players taken in the NBA draft and losing their top six players from last year’s squad.
23. Creighton- Coach Dana Altman’s Bluejays have all the pieces to cause some trouble in the NCAA tournament this year. Seniors Nate Funk and Anthony Tolliver, with help from juco transfer Ty Morrison, could make a run come March.
22. Memphis- Calipari loses a great athlete in Rodney Carney, but the cats shouldn’t have any trouble winning another C-USA title.
21. Kentucky- Inconsistency looks to haunt the Wildcats again this season, but with the solid inside game of Randolph Morris, you know Tubby Smith will find a way to win some big ballgames.
20. Southern Illinois- The Missouri Valley proved itself last season as the king of the mid-majors, and the Chris Lowery’s Salukis look to be slight favorites to defend their MVC tournament championship, but any of six or seven teams have a realistic shot at winning the conference tourney this season.
19. Villanova- Lowry, Foye, and Ray are gone, so the Cats are going to need some underclassmen to take a leadership role to avoid falling back into the middle of a strong Big East pack.
18. Syracuse- McNamara’s gone, but just about everybody else is back on the team that played their way into the Big Dance last season by winning the Big East tourney.
17. Oklahoma State- Can’t mention Okie State without mentioning JamesOn Curry, mainly because I just love his name. Returning five starters should help ease the transition for new coach Sean Sutton, in his first season after the retirement of his father.
16. Washington- The Pac-10 looks like a two horse race, and it will be if the Huskies don’t have someone step up and fill Brandon Roy’s shoes.
15. Marquette- The Golden Eagles lost their leading scorer/rebounder/3-point shooter in Steve Novak, but this team returns some talent so expect them to make some noise in the Big East this season.
14. Boston College- The Seans (Marshall and Williams) can lead BC to its best finished in its short ACC career.
13. Georgetown- Juniors Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green will keep Georgetown in the hunt for the Big East crown.
12. Wisconsin- The Big Ten is Ohio State’s to lose, but if anybody can give the Buckeyes a run for their money, its Bo Ryan’s Badgers, who return four starters.
11. Arizona- Lute Olsen’s squad isn’t used to playing second fiddle to anyone in the Pac-10, and the one-spot in the conference tourney could be decided on January 20th and February 17th.
10. Alabama- If Mark Gottfried can get this talented group to play up to their potential, they can contend for an SEC title, but like last year, depth may be an issue.
9. Texas A&M- With returning stars Acie Law IV and Joseph Jones, expect to see TAMU battling the likes of Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma for the Big 12 crown.
8. UCLA- Arron Afflalo, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, and Alfred Aboya are three of the best players in the country whose names I can’t pronounce. After knee surgery, center Lorenzo Mata should be back by the end of November.
7. Duke- The perennial ACC favorite will be playing underdog to UNC after graduating Shelden Williams and J.J. Redick. Paulus’ broken foot isn’t going to help.
6. Pittsburgh- The Big East may be the deepest conference in the country again this year, and 7’0” star Aaron Gray can lead the Panthers to a conference title.
5. LSU- Tyrus Thomas is now a Chicago Bull, but a slimmed-down Glen Davis can lead this team back to the Final Four.
4. Ohio State- Thad Matta will have freshman Greg Oden, who some project as the top pick in next year’s draft, and the rest of the Buckeyes ready for a post-season run after non-conference games at North Carolina and Florida.
3. Kansas- Like Florida, Kansas returns five starters, and these guys will be hungry after being upset by Bradley in the first round of last seasons tourney.
2. North Carolina- Early season match-ups with Ohio State and Kentucky will prove that the Tar Heels are ready to win their second title in three years.
1. Florida- Rule of Thumb: If the National Champion returns all five starters, they get to stay #1 until they get beat. UF hosts Kansas Nov. 25th in a key game for the Gators.
Check back soon for the PtB Games of the Year and the PtB pre-season Bracket Prediction.
