College basketball season is just days away from starting, which means it is a good time to look at teams for this season. Here is The Game Haus college basketball preseason top 25.
25-21
25. Colorado Buffaloes
A team that was 18-17 in the top 25 for next year? Colorado returns KJ Simspon at guard and Tristan da Silva on the interior. With the addition of Eddie Lampkin Jr. from TCU to help in the paint and the best recruit in program history in Cody Williams, the Buffaloes have a lot to be excited about this season.
24. Baylor Bears
Baylor loses Adam Flagler, Keyonte George, LJ Cryer and Flo Thamba from last year’s team. Jalen Bridges will have to take a giant step forward. Newcomers Jayden Nunn (VCU transfer) and McDonalds All-American Ja’Kobe Walter will have to live up to expectations quickly for Baylor to compete in the Big 12.
23. St. Mary’s Gaels
After going 27-8 last season there is reason to hope for more this season. Aidan Mahaney averaged 13.9 points per game at guard. Alex Ducas and Mitchell Saxen also return from the starting lineup. With that experience and talent, they are a shoe-in to finish second in the WCC.
22. USC Trojans
Boogie Ellis returns for USC after scoring 17.7 points per game last year. He will be joined in the backcourt by top recruit Isaiah Collier. There are plenty of options upfront to give the Trojans minutes, including returning starter Joshua Morgan and returnee Vincent Iwuchukwu, who was recovering from a cardiac arrest last season. They are in play to compete for a Pac-12 title.
21. Alabama Crimson Tide
The Crimson Tide lost a lot of talent to the NBA Draft and to transfer. It is important that they bring back Mark Sears, who ran the point well for them last season. Grant Nelson transfers in from North Dakota State, where he averaged 17.9 points per game. Aaron Estrada brings more scoring in the backcourt from Hofstra. Alabama will need some time to gel together, but can be good when they do.
20-16
20. San Diego State Aztecs
The Aztecs made the Final Four last season, but lost several key players from that team. Lamont Butler and Darrion Trammell are returning starters in the backcourt and will have to take on larger roles this season. Reese Waters will help in the backcourt as well after being the Pac-12 Sixth Man of the year at USC last season. They’ll need to find new impact players up front, but have plenty of transfers to fight for minutes.
19. Texas Longhorns
Texas decided to keep Rodney Terry at head coach and he has been able to put a solid roster together. Tyrese Hunter returns at point guard, while Dylan Disu and Dillon Mitchell return up front. Hunter averaged 10.3 points per game and will have to provide some more scoring, but he’ll have help from Max Abmas, the Oral Roberts transfer. Abmas formerly led the NCAA in scoring. They’ll need depth at guard to step up, but they have plenty of talent to work with.
18. North Carolina Tar Heels
Things didn’t go as planned in 2022-23. North Carolina returns Armando Bacot on the interior and RJ Davis to run the point for a good start. They hit the transfer portal for more impact players. Cormac Ryan enters from Notre Dame, Jae’Lyn Withers comes in from Louisville and Harrison Ingram transfers in from Stanford. They’ll have some intriguing youngsters of their own in sophomore Seth Trimble and freshman Elliot Cadeau. They have the players, the question now is whether Hubert Davis can bounce back in his third season as head coach.
17. Miami Hurricanes
Losing Jordan Miller and Isaiah Wong will hurt, as they both averaged 15 points per game. Norchad Omier, Nijel Pack and Wooga Poplar all give hope to the Hurricanes after a good tournament run in 2023. Matthew Cleveland joins the fold from Florida State as a versatile player.
16. Villanova Wildcats
Villanova can get back to having a great backcourt in 2023-24. Chris Arcidiacono and Justin Moore return. Moore is now healthy after returning from a foot injury last season. They will be joined by TJ Bamba who scored a lot for Washington State last season. Up front, there is plenty of talent with Eric Dixon returning. They also have Kentucky transfer Lance Ware and Richmond transfer Tyler Burton helping out. The roster has talent so now Kyle Neptune can show what he can do as a head coach.
15-11
15. Arizona Wildcats
The early NCAA Tournament losses are frustrating, but Arizona should be in a good position again in 2023-23. Oumar Ballo returned at center after putting up averages of 14.2 points and 8.6 rebounds. Around him, the Wildcats have added plenty of key transfers. Caleb Love enters from North Carolina, while Jaden Bradley comes in from Alabama. They will help the backcourt after being impact players at their former schools. Keshad Johnson was a good forward for San Diego State last season and now is hoping to create the same impact at Arizona.
14. Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky has the number one recruiting class in the country. The key to this season is they have a few experienced players too. Antonio Reeves averaged 14.4 points per game last season for Kentucky, while Tre Mitchell averaged double figures for West Virginia. As recruits, Kentucky has brought in impact guards who can handle the ball in Rob Dillingham and D.J. Wagner, the number one overall recruit in Justin Edwards and the number one center in Aaron Bradshaw. Bradshaw and another center Ugonna Onyenso will be out to start the season, but the Wildcats could benefit from going small.
13. Texas A&M Aggies
Wade Taylor IV is one of the best point guards in the country and his return bolsters Texas A&M’s rankings. He will be rejoined in the backcourt by Tyrece Radford who has almost 1,500 career points. Julius Marble and Henry Coleman are back in the post after impressive junior seasons. Jace Carter will help the backcourt as a UIC transfer. Winning the SEC is in play for the Aggies this season under Buzz Williams.
12. UConn Huskies
UConn won the national championship last season, but lost a lot. Adama Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins, Andre Jackson, Joey Calcaterra and Naheim Alleyne were all key players that are all gone. Tristen Newton is back at point guard and stretch-four Alex Karaban is back to help. Donovan Clingan will step into the void in the post left by Sanogo. Freshman Stephon Castle is extremely talented and will need to be good from the start. UConn can be good this season, but it will be hard to repeat as champs.
11. Arkansas Razorbacks
Eric Musselman made a run in the NCAA Tournament yet again in 2023. He also continued to hit the transfer portal hard. They have Davonte Davis and Makhi Mitchell back from the starting lineup. Tramon Mark, Jeremiah Davenport, Khalif Battle, El Ellis, Denijay Harris and Jalen Graham all enter the program with success under their belts as collegiate basketball players. They will be a deep team and will have to define their roles throughout the course of the season.
10-6
10. Florida Atlantic Owls
The Owls were a nine-seed last year, but only lost three games all season. They then made the national championship game. From that team, they return everyone but Michael Forrest. Johnell Davis, Alijah Martin, Bryan Greenlee, Nick Boyd and Vladislav Golden are all legends on campus for being starters on a team that changed so much. It will be hard to adjust to a new conference as they join the AAC, but this Owls team can have another good season.
9. Gonzaga Bulldogs
Nolan Hickman and Creighton transfer Ryan Nembhard make up a good backcourt for Gonzaga. Anton Watson is a glue guy for the team, while Wyoming transfer Graham Ike can handle the duties down low. Depth could be a real issue for this team, but their starting talent is worth noting.
8. Creighton Blue Jays
Losing Ryan Nembhard and Arthur Kaluma to the transfer portal was unfortunate. The Blue Jays thankfully brought back Ryan Kalkbrenner, Baylor Scheierman and Trey Alexander from the starting lineup. Mason Miller, the son of Mike Miller, will have to play more minutes. Steven Alsworth will run the point guard spot after being a steady shooting hand for Utah State.
7. Tennessee Volunteers
Zakai Zeigler and Santiago Vescovi return make up a good backcourt. Zeigler is one of the best on-ball defenders in the country, while Vescovi can generate offense. Dalton Knecht will join the starting lineup from Northern Colorado, where he scored over 20 points per game last season. Josiah Jordan-James will have a larger role, but the Volunteers will need players to step up in the post.
6. Houston Cougars
Jamal Shead returns after winning AAC Defensive Player of the Year last season. LJ Cryer joins the fold from Baylor to provide a scoring punch. Damian Dunn transfers in from Temple to help in the backcourt. J’Wan Roberts will play power forward, while Ja’Vier Francis steps into the starting lineup at center. Houston will have a tougher schedule playing in the Big 12, but they should be able to compete.
5-1
5. Michigan State Spartans
Tyson Walker, Jaden Akins and AJ Hoggard return to form one of the nation’s top backcourts. Maddy Sissoko returns in the middle and Malik Hall should be healthier at power forward. They’ll have some depth due to some good Tom Izzo recruiting. The team could be the first Big Ten team in ages to cut down the nets.
4. Marquette Golden Eagles
Tyler Kolek, Kam Jones and Stevie Mitchell are another great college basketball backcourt. Kolek is returning after winning the Big East Player of the Year Award. Oso Ighodaro returns on the inside, but Olivier Maxence-Prosper will need to be replaced. David Joplin can step in after winning Big East Sixth Man of the Year last season. Marquette has their best team in years and now it is up to Shaka Smart to make it past the first weekend of the an NCAA Tournament for the first time since his VCU Rams made the Final Four.
3. Duke Blue Devils
The Blue Devils are blending returning talent with a good freshman class. Kyle Filipowski returns in the middle after a great freshman year and will be flanked by Mark Mitchell. Ryan Young returns to provide depth up front along with some talented freshmen. The backcourt will feature Jeremy Roach, a senior, and Tyrese Proctor, a sophomore. Caleb Foster is likely the best of the freshmen and could find himself in the starting lineup right away.
2. Kansas Jayhawks
Replacing Jalen Wilson and Gradey Dick won’t be easy, but Bill Self knows what he’s doing. Dajuan Harris returns to run the point guard spot after showing off his defensive prowess last season. Kevin McCullar and KJ Adams also return to the starting lineup after helping in a variety of ways last season. Center Hunter Dickinson is transferring in from Michigan to give Kansas a good starting lineup. Arterio Morris, Elmarko Jackson and Nicolas Timberlake all could fight for minutes as well. The team is good enough to win the whole thing.
1. Purdue Boilermakers
Losing to a 16 seed will leave a sour taste in any program’s mouth. But the Boilermakers had a young team and still had a successful season. Zach Edey is back on the interior as the most dominant big man in college basketball. Caleb Furst and Mason Gillis return as starting forwards, although Painter may shake up the starting lineup there a bit. The starting backcourt is back with Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer benefitting from a lot of good experience as freshmen. Guards Myles Colvin and Lance Jones along with forwards Ethan Morton and Trey Kaufman-Renn all will fight for minutes in the rotation. Matt Painter has a team capable of great things this season.
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- Source: https://thegamehaus.com/college-basketball/college-basketball-preseason-top-25-5/2023/10/12/
