College Basketball: Top 25, no. 10 through no. 6

One note: I wanted to adjust one team in my top 25 after doing a lot of reading: I'd move Illinois from 18 to 11, bumping back every team in my top 25 one slot. Other than that, my top 25 remains unchanged.

It is as follows:

25. St. Bonaventure

24. UConn

23. UVA

22. Maryland

21. Indiana

20. Texas Tech

19. Ohio State

18. Tennessee

17. Oregon

16. Houston

15. UNC

14. Memphis

13. Alabama

12. Arkansas

11. Illinois

10. Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky was struck by tragedy twice in the last year, with the passing of walk-on F Ben Jordan first. Then, after the season, F Terrence Clarke was killed in a car accident before the NBA Draft, where he was recognized by the league. Both were beloved players on their team, and our thoughts are with the program. A good friend of mine once said, ball is life, but sometimes, life is life. The team will honor both of these players this upcoming season. Much respect.

Kentucky struggled mightily last season, finishing a paltry 9-16, the fewest wins Calipari has ever had not just at UK, but in his entire career (given the season was shorter). They had trouble on both ends of the floor, finishing 197th in the nation in PPG (70.4) and 179th in opponents’ PPG (70.2). They were extremely inefficient from a shooting perspective as well - they finished 283rd (!) in FG% at 41.7, and virtually had the same numbers in conference, which landed them 12th in the SEC. They finished near last in the nation in two-point FG% at 45.5 and 33.1% from three. They simply could not score the ball.

A big problem with the team last year was the issues with freshman G Devin Askew, who transferred to Texas in the offseason. He had a lot of difficulties all across the floor, much like another highly touted freshman G, Caleb Love, did at UNC. Askew averaged 6.5 PPG on a troubling 34.5% from the field and a PER of 8.8. He also averaged 2.9 assists to two turnovers per game, so he was unable to effectively distribute. While it’s unfair to put an entire team’s struggles on one player, this was unfortunately a big cause of the Wildcats’

While they usually dominate in recruiting, they really juiced up the roster with transfers this year, including highly touted G Sahvir Wheeler (14 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 7.4 APG) of SEC-East foe Georgia, the only Wildcat named to the preseason all-SEC first team. They also land all-SEC honorable mentions G Kellan Grady (17.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.4 APG) of Davidson, and rebounding phenom C Oscar Tshiebwe (8.5 PPG, 7.8 RPG) from West Virginia.

Look for Kentucky to bounce back in a big way this year.

9. Baylor Bears

Last season, Baylor was an all-time great basketball team, finishing 27-2 and winning the national championship handily over then undefeated Gonzaga. Though they lost their incredible trio of NBA talent at G in what was inarguably one of the best backcourts in the history of the sport, Baylor reloaded this year.

As I mentioned before, gone is lockdown defender G Davion Mitchell (14 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 5.5 APG), as well as G Macio Teague (15.9 PPG, 4 RPG, 1.7 APG), and G Jared Butler (16.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.8 APG). In the NBA Draft, Mitchell went ninth overall to the Kings, Butler went 40th overall to the Jazz, and Teague signed as an UDFA, also with the Jazz. They also lose F Mark Vital (5.6 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.4 APG), who was important in rebounding.

The Bears bring in four key newcomers: Arizona transfer G James Akinjo (15.6 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 5.4 APG), and blue-chip freshman F Kendall Brown (Rivals no. 11 overall, five-star), G Langston Love (Rivals no. 56 overall, four-star), and F Jeremy Sochan (four-star, international so not ranked). Akinjo was Arizona’s star from last season, and though he has massive shoes to fill (that’s still an understatement), he’s well equipped to do so. They also bring in Fairmont State G Dale Bonner (21.1 PPG in D-2’s MEC)

In addition to the new guys, Baylor returns a key group of players as well, including G Adam Flagler (9.1 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 1.4 APG), all-Big-12 preseason F Matthew Mayer (8.1 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1 APG), and F/C Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua (6.4 PPG, 5 RPG), amongst others. Meyer is probably the most valuable returning piece, and the coaches that voted seem to think so as well. He can score at multiple levels efficiently, sporting a PER of 24.6 last season, good for second best on the team amongst players who qualified in games played. He hit 39.5% of his threes last year, and is special in the pick ‘n’ pop, which he can do in the Scott Drew offense.

Last year’s Baylor team had unbelievable numbers. To rehash, they finished sixth in the nation in total PPG at 82.9, first in 3P% at a blistering 41.3. They finished first in conference PPG at 80.3, second in PPG allowed at 67.3, second in ORB at 11.9, first in steals at nine per game, and first in three-pointers made per game at 10.1. They were a juggernaut that lost only two games all season: at Kansas and to Cade Cunningham’s Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Big 12 tournament.

While Baylor won’t be quite this level of elite in 2021-2022, they will still be clawing their way to the top of the Big 12, and make a deep run in March.

8. Duke Blue Devils

Like Kentucky and North Carolina, Duke was another blue-blood program that struggled last year, finishing 13-11 and 9-9 in conference. On top of this, they lose their top three leading scorers from last season: F Matthew Hurt (18.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 1.4 APG), G DJ Steward (13 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.4 APG), and F Jalen Johnson (11.2 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.2 APG).

Why, then, are they ranked so highly? Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting. They absolutely cleaned up in 2021. But the crowned jewel of the class is without a doubt gamebreaker F Paolo Banchero.

He’s ranked as the Rivals no. two player in the country, though many argue - including myself - that he’s the best player in the class. He’s so good that I could easily see his being first-team All-American by the end of the season. He might be the best overall player - forget freshman - in college basketball this year.

As if that’s not enough, they also land two other five-star recruits in F AJ Griffin (Rivals no. 16) and G Trevor Keels (Rivals no. 22). The triumvirate of top-flight prep talent will carry the Blue Devils to a top-10 ranking this season, with help from some returning players and a couple of transfers. Jon Scheyer, the heir apparent to the Duke throne, has already proved himself as a fantastic recruiter, and will continue this success into the 2022 class, which is already looking to be in the top couple of classes in the country.

Coming back after last year are sophomore G Jeremy Roach (8.7 PPG, 2.8 APG), junior G Wendell Moore (9.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.7 APG), sophomore F/C Mark Williams (7.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG). They bring in Marquette transfer F Theo John (8 PPG, 5 RPG) as well, who can help with rebounding, and more importantly for this team, inside defense at 6’9.

Duke had its most trouble in 2020-2021 defensively, where they finished 12th in the ACC in opponents’ PPG at 73.4. Opponents shot 38% from the three-point line against the Blue Devils, and 47.1% overall, which landed them 13th in the conference. They had no defensive stopper of note, yet this influx of freshmen is going to dramatically improve the team on that side of the ball. Banchero is 6’11 and can guard most positions, play the rim, and defend the pick ‘n’ roll with his athleticism moving side to side. Seriously, he can do it all on both ends of the floor.

Additionally, AJ Griffin and Trevor Keels are 6’7 and 6’6, respectively, and lengthy as well, which will aid in perimeter defense, another area in which the Blue Devils struggled last year. This team will be one to watch this year - they may start off a little slow due to their youth, but by February and March, they should be rolling and competing for the ACC - and national - championship.

7. Purdue Boilermakers

The Boilermakers, who went 18-10 last season and were a four-seed in the NCAA Tourney, return essentially their entire team for 2021-2022, most notably borderline All-American F Trevion Williams (15.5 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 2.3 APG), who was spectacular last year as a do-it-all big man who can score, defend, and pass at a high level. He was third on the team in APG last season, and extremely versatile on the offensive end.

They bring back star G Jaden Ivey (11.1 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.9 APG) as well. Also returning are 7’4 C Zach Edey (8.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG), G Sasha Stefanovic (9.3 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 2.6 APG), G Eric Hunter (8.5 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 2.8 APG), G Brandon Newman (8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.3 APG), and a host of other experienced players.

As far as recruiting goes, they brought in four-star F Trey Kaufman (no. 41 overall according to Rivals) and four-star C Caleb Furst (no. 54 overall). Adding depth to an already very impressive frontcourt is going to pay dividends in the deep, deep Big 10, full of teams with great big men (Illinois’ Cockburn, Michigan’s Dickinson, Indiana’s Jackson-Davis, etc). It’s going to be imperative to be able to bring in new blood during games because of how exhausting it will be for forwards and centers playing in this conference.

Last year, Purdue excelled defensively, finishing second in conference in opponents’ PPG at 65.4. They finished third in opponents’ FG% per game at 41.1 and in three-point FG% at 31.9. They also finished third in total rebounding in the conference at 37.8, out rebounding opponents on average by 5.3 per game.

The Boilers return so much talent that it’s hard not to see their being at the highest level in the hyper-competitive Big 10 this season - even with the depth the conference has. Look for Purdue to be a high seed and make a deep run in March.

6. Villanova Wildcats

Arguably the best program in the nation over the last several years, Villanova, like Purdue, brings back the majority of their roster from last season. Though they lose F Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to the NBA Draft (15.7 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.2 APG), who went 32nd overall to the Oklahoma City Thunder, they retain a majority of their talent, including preseason All-American G Collin Gillespie (14 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.6 APG). They also return G Justin Moore (12.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3 APG), F Jermaine Samuels (12 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.5 APG), and G Caleb Daniels (9.6 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 1.2 APG). They also bring in a triplet of four-star recruits in C Nnanna Njoku, F Trey Patterson, and G Jordan Longino.

Villanova finished first in the Big East last year with an 11-4 conference record, their seventh regular-season conference title in the last eight years. This year looks to be no different, as they are clearly once again the favorite.

Last year had the unfortunate caveat of Collin Gillespie tearing his MCL in an early March game against Creighton, sidelining him for the rest of the season. This was a major blow obviously and prevented them from really flourishing in the NCAA tournament. Luckily for college basketball at large, Gillespie was cleared for full basketball activities in August, so he’ll be ready to go to start the season.

Jay Wright is nothing short of a genius - one of the best coaches in the history of the game. Last year, unfortunately for them, they ran into the buzzsaw that was Baylor in the tournament, and managed only 51 points in a 62-51 loss to the eventual national champions. They finished third in conference in PPG at 74.4 and second in opponents’ PPG at 66.5. They were more of a defensive team, however, as they had trouble with FG% all year. They also finished ninth in the conference with 9.3 turnovers per game - this undeniably was due to Gillespie’s injury. However, bringing back what they do, I think Villanova will finish first in the Big East this year and compete for a national title.