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. Florida State Seminoles
Florida State returns their two leading scorers from last season in Matthew Cleveland and Caleb Mills. That’s a good start and Leonard Hamilton will use his depth effectively this season. After a 17-14 season last year, the Seminoles will likely improve a little bit this season.
24. Texas A&M Aggies
The Aggies were a young team last year and nearly made the NCAA Tournament. They lose leading scorer Quenton Jackson, but return Tyrece Radford and Henry Coleman both are back after averaging double-digit points last season. Buzz Williams has built the program up and now can make the big dance.
23. Dayton Flyers
Young doesn’t even begin to describe Dayton last season. They played mostly freshmen and sophomores and still went 24-11 overall. Point guard Malachi Smith and center DaRon Holmes had very impressive freshman seasons and can lead Dayton better in their second years in the program.
22. Saint Louis Billikens
Saint Louis won 23 games last season and that was with Javonte Perkins, their leading scorer from 2020-2021 missing the entire season with an injury. They get him back into the fold, plus retain most of their key contributors from last season. If they mesh together, they could be a team to watch out for in March.
21. Villanova Wildcats
Jay Wright will no longer be on the sidelines for Villanova, but that doesn’t mean the team can’t be successful. The team will be awaiting Justin Moore returning to good health. Until then, there will be pressure on young players to step up.
20. Xavier Musketeers
The last few seasons have seen some of the best talent in Xavier history suit up, but the coaching never put it together. Now Sean Miller has returned to his old stomping grounds to fix that. The NIT champions lose Paul Scruggs, but get a good scoring guard in his place in Souly Boum who transferred in from UTEP.
19. Oregon Ducks
With Will Richardson and Quincy Guerrier back, the Ducks have two of their top four scorers from the 2021-2022 season. They have added players in the transfer portal to fill the gaps on the roster and should compete in the Pac-12.
18. San Diego State Aztecs
Leading scorer Matt Bradley is back after averaging 16.9 points per game. The Aztecs also return several players who made an impact on the team that went 23-9 last season.
17. Virginia Cavaliers
Virginia went 21-14 last season and return all key members of the team. Add in some recruits and transfer Ben Vander Plas from Ohio and the team should improve from last season.
16. Arizona Wildcats
Year one went better than expected for Tommy Lloyd. He loses Benedict Mathurin, Christian Koloko and Dalen Terry, but still have talent. Kerr Kriisa and Courtney Ramey, a Texas transfer, will man the backcourt. Azuolas Tubelis will return in the frontcourt and the team will need Oumar Ballo to take a step forward.
15. Auburn Tigers
Losing Walker Kessler and Jabari Smith may make Auburn take a small step back, but it won’t be a giant one. Wendell Green, K.D. Johnson and Allen Flanigan all return to the starting lineup. Good recruiting and transfers will help fill out the rest of the key positions.
14. Indiana Hoosiers
Mike Woodson helped get Indiana to the NCAA Tournament and can do even more this season. Xavier Johnson, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson all are back to lead the way. They could compete for a Big Ten title.
13. Tennessee Volunteers
Santiago Vescovi, Zakai Zeigler and Josiah Jordan-James are back, but Kennedy Chandler and John Fulkerson are gone. Rick Barnes has done a great job bringing in talent and if those players improve, they can have another great season.
12. Texas Longhorns
Marcus Carr was a coveted transfer last year, but this season Texas got another key transfer in Tyrese Hunter. With leading scorer Timmy Allen back too, Chris Beard can improve Texas in year two of his regime.
11. Baylor Bears
While Baylor lost a lot, they still have a lot of talent. L.J. Cryer Adam Flagler and Flo Thamba will have bigger roles this season. Recruit Keyonte George will be a key factor, as well as a few transfers. A national championship may be out of reach, but Baylor will be tough.
10. TCU Horned Frogs
TCU went 21-13 last season and brings back all key contributors. Jamie Dixon has built the program up and Mike Miles could be in contention for National Player of the Year.
9. Arkansas Razorbacks
Eric Musselman will have a lot of new faces suiting up for Arkansas this season, but he hit the transfer portal and recruiting trail hard. It may take some time for the talent to come together and gel with so many new faces.
8. Kansas Jayhawks
Kansas lost a ton from their 2022 National Championship team. They do have Dejuan Harris and Jalen Wilson returning to lead the team. In addition, Kevin McCullar transferred in from Texas Tech. They have talent, but repeating as champs will be tough.
7. Duke Blue Devils
Getting the number one recruiting class and a few transfers has helped Duke immensely, as they didn’t have much coming back. Dereck Lively and Dariq Whitehead are stars who could really lead the team. Jacob Grandison provides a nice shooting stroke to spread the floor.
6. UCLA Bruins
Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez provide a nice one-two punch for the Bruins. They have experience after making the Final Four two seasons ago. They’ll need some of their recruits to take on big roles, but the team is capable of winning the Pac-12.
5. Creighton Blue Jays
Getting Ryan Nembhard back healthy is the most important thing for Creighton. They also got Baylor Scheierman to transfer in from South Dakota State after he led the Jackrabbits to the NCAA Tournament. They lose their leading scorer in Ryan Hawkins, but Creighton is poised for bigger things this season.
4. North Carolina Tar Heels
North Carolina has been ranked no. 1 in most preseason polls, but that is because of a run in the NCAA tournament. They got a no. 8 seed in the tournament and the regular season needs to be taken into consideration too. The Tar Heels have Armando Bacot, R.J. Davis, Leaky Black and Caleb Love back and also have Pete Nance transferring in from Northwestern. They can repeat as champs, but don’t expect them to be without struggles.
3. Houston Cougars
Houston is losing four of their top five scorers from last season. Getting Marcus Sasser, their leading scorer, back though makes them really tough. He, Tramon Mark and Jamal Shed will create one of the best backcourt in the country.
2. Gonzaga Bulldogs
Losing Andrew Nembhard and Drew Timme will be tough, but Gonzaga did get Nolan Hickman and Drew Timme returning at point guard and center. They also have good shooters on the wings. This could be the first time Mark Few is able to cut down the nets at the end of the season.
1. Kentucky Wildcats
The loss to St. Peter’s in the NCAA Tournament, marred a good season for the Wildcats. National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe is back along with starting point guard Sahvir Wheeler. The team should have more shooting this season, which could be the difference in losing in the first round and winning the whole thing.
Go to our college basketball page for more news and updates like College Basketball Preseason Top 25!
You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from great TGH writers!
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
