ESPN Preseason Predictions

[TrojHen]

1. Florida
2. Kansas
3. UNC
4. LSU
5. UCLA
6. Ohio State
7. Memphis
8. Texas
9. Bama
10. Pitt
11. UConn
12. Duke
13. Georgetown
14. Cal
15. Arizona
16. Villanova
17. Wisconsin
18. Texas A&M
19. Florida State
20. BC
21. Oklahoma State
22. Tennessee
23. Gonzaga
24. Marquette
25. Michigan

Others in consideration:
• Louisville: Loss of Taquan Dean puts them just outside the Top 25.
• NC State: Hard to lock in on the Wolfpack without knowing who the coach is, but the talent is in place with Cedric Simmons.
• Illinois: The Illini will knock on the top 25 door but losing Dee Brown and James Augustine makes the argument tough in April.
• Indiana: We don't know if D.J. White and Robert Vaden are back, and until then it's hard to commit to the Hoosiers.
• Washington: The Huskies lose the Pac-10 player of the year in Brandon Roy, but the talent is in place with a stellar recruiting class led by Spencer Hawes.
• Oregon: The Ducks return the core of their team but this is still a squad that has underachieved for two seasons.
• USC: Don't be surprised to see Tim Floyd get this squad in the Top 25 at some point next season.
• Oklahoma: Have to wait on the new coach, and losing the frontcourt means the Sooners can't be in the Top 25 yet, but Kelvin Sampson did recruit his best class before he bolted to Indiana.
• Kentucky: Rajon Rondo is declaring. Who knows about Randolph Morris? There are too many questions to put them in right now.
• Arkansas: This could be a mistake to keep Arkansas on the outside looking in at this point but we're making an assumption that Ronnie Brewer will declare. If that happens, the Hogs would have lost their top two scorers (with senior Jonathon Modica).
• South Carolina: The Gamecocks are the kings of the NIT and lose Tarence Kinsey, their top scorer. They'll be good with three potential senior starters, but we're not sure how good yet.
• George Washington: The Colonials lose three key seniors in Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Mike Hall and Omar Williams, but should still have a core back with Maureece Rice, Danilo Pinnock and Carl Elliott -- enough to make a run at the top 25.
• Xavier: The Musketeers finished strong, winning the A-10 tournament and nearly taking out Gonzaga in the first round. They could return four of their top five scorers and added a top shooting guard in Adrion Graves.
• Nevada: Not knowing if Nick Fazekas is returning makes it hard to commit to the Wolf Pack in April.

[TrojHen]

Glad to see USC is at least a consideration for next year. Lots of returning players, Floyd, and a grand new venue should hopefully make next year a great one at Troy!