College Baskeball: Mike's Early Top 25

 We are 2 months shy of the start of the 2023-24 NCAA Mens' Basketball season on November 6, when the road to the Final Four at State Farm Stadium in Glendale will begin in earnest. With tipoff fast approaching, I think it's time to take a look at who I think are the top teams heading into the season and who will be the first four in, the last four in and the first four out in the road to Glendale.


1. UConn

Would be pretty hard not to put the defending National Champions atop this list. Sure, the losses of Adama Sonago and Andre Jackson to the NBA Draft do hurt, but Tristen Newton is back and the losses of Sonago and Jackson are quickly offset by a top five recruiting class that includes combo guard Stephon Castle. Plus Cam Spencer is coming over from Rutgers to bring some experience and top-tier shooting ability. Expect the Huskies to be a threat for the National Title again.

2. Kansas

The return of Kevin McCullar Jr. as well as incoming players Nick Timberlake and Hunter Dickinson have catapulted Kansas into a serious threat to unseat UConn as National Champions. With the trio of DaJuan Harris Jr. McCullar and KJ Adams Jr. back, look for Kasas to make a Final Four run come March.

3. Duke

Duke is looking for a bounce-back season after going 27-6, getting an automatic bid as Atlantic Coast Conference Champions only to get bounced in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament by Tennessee. The addition of top 15 prospect Jared McCain should help the offense plus 4 of their 5 starters from last season (Kyle Filipowski, Mark Mitchell, Tyrese Proctor and Jeremy Roach). Look for Duke to get another 20+ win season and another auto-bid into the NCAA Tournament. Only this time, they'll make it even deeper.

4. Purdue

The Boilermakers have all of their starters from last season back for this season, including the most dominant player in the Big Ten and defending Wooden Award winner Zach Edey. Head Coach Matt Painter has all five starters back and the team has a chip on their shoulders after getting upended in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament by 16 seeded Fairleigh Dickinson. Look for a Virginia 2019 type run for the Boilermakers this season.

5. Houston

The Cougars' lineup isn't an issue here, expecially after they landed Baylor's LJ Cryer and Temple transfer Daimian Dunn, making Houston's perimeter group just that much more formidible. The biggest question mark and probably the only question mark for Houston will be their transition to the Big 12, where they have to deal with perennial powerhouses like Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

6. Michigan State

The second Big 10 school on this list, Michigan State seems to be in top form once again as they look to bring Tom Izzo another National Title, his first since 2000. Four of their five starters from last year have returned plus they added three can't miss prospects in Xavier Booker, Coen Carr and Jeremy Fears. They have the experience, they have the depth and they have the explosiveness. If they can put it all together, they could be cutting down the nets in Glendale come April.

7. North Carolina

Honestly, you can't have Duke in the top 10 without their chief rival UNC. New head coach Hubert Davis started this offseason with RJ Davis and Armando Bacot. Then he used the transfer portal to surround those 2 returning players with an interesting supporting cast comprised of Stanford's Harrison Ingram and Notre Dame's Cormac Ryan. Then a top 2024 prospect in Elliot Cadeau opted to reclassify and join UNC for this season. This is a team with experience and youth on their side. Could make a surprise Elite 8 run.

8. Villanova

Villanova missed the tournament last year for just the first time in more than a decade. Second year coach Kyle Neptune was bound and determined not to have a repeat so he went into the transfer portal and had basically more success than anyone. He landed TJ Bamba (Washington State), Hakim Hart (Maryland) and Tyler Burton (Richmond) to surround stalwarts Justin Moore and Eric Dixon. The Big East could be in a whole heap of trouble of Villanova plays their cards right this season.

9. Florida Atlantic

This may seem lofty considering Florida Atlantic was a 9 seed in last year's tournament and was nearly knocked off in the first round by Memphis. However, like Duke, the Owls are bringing back all 5 of their starters from the previous season. The competition for the Owls has stepped up now that they've joined the American Conference, but look for Florida Atlantic to compete year 1 in the AAC.

10. Tennessee

The lone SEC team in the top 10 is the team that upset Duke in last year's Tournament - the Volunteers of Tennessee. 4 of their 5 starters from last season are back plus they brought in 2 top transfers in Dalton Knecht of Northern Colorado and Jordan Gainey of South Carolina Upstate to bolster their perimeter scoring. The big question mark that needs to be addressed, however, is Zakai Zeigler's health.


Best of The Rest

11. Marquette
12. UCLA
13. Arizona
14. Gonzaga
15. Creighton
16. Arkansas
17. Miami Florida
18. Kentucky
19. Baylor
20. Southern California
21. Texas A&M
22. Texas
23. St. John's
24. Alabama
25. San Diego State


Top Seeds

Purdue
Duke
Kansas
Michigan State

Last Four In

St. John's
St. Mary's
UCLA
Southern California

Bubble Teams

Alabama
Georgia
Gonzaga
Texas

First Four Out

Virginia Tech
Florida
Texas A&M
Oklahoma State

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