Maison-Marthgiela's Week Pre-Season Ballot

Rank	Team	Reason
1	UConn	2 time defending national champs, until someone knocks them off they're my #1
2	Kansas	It's Kansas
3	Houston	Very talented team last year derailed by injuries. Should be back
4	Arizona	Being slept on a little imo, should have a chance to prove me right or wrong soon
5	Duke	I hate them but they're still Duke
6	Alabama	Lots of talent but I'm still a little "wait and see" on them
7	Baylor	Having a tournament veteran coach is an x factor many people underrate
8	Iowa State	Lots of returning talent and a coach with a chip on his shoulder
9	North Carolina	It's tough no to see this team competing for the ACC, but I also could see them having a bumpy year
10	Gonzaga	I'm bearish on Gonzaga this year, I agree more with the metrics here than other voters
11	Tennessee	I may move them higher pretty soon but I think they very close to a top 10 team now
12	Creighton	A program that seems ready for the next step
13	Auburn	I hate Auburn but I can't reasonably put them much lower than this
14	Marquette	Underrated team, should be a dark horse threat for the Big East
15	Arkansas	I'm reluctant to put them this high but with a proven coach and a loaded new roster, I can't think of many other teams I'd put above them
16	Texas	I like the roster
17	Purdue	I think they're a little overrated right now but we'll see
18	UCLA	I may look stupid for this later but I like the talent on this team
19	Texas Tech	Number like them and I think AP is blind for not ranking them
20	Kentucky	I'm cautious and I don't think they've got the legs for a deep tournament run, but they'll be a threat early in the season
21	Florida	Should be in the thick of a tough SEC
22	Michigan State	It's Izzo
23	NC State	They lost a lot but they should still get respect
24	Illinois	Lots of incoming talent and a coach who has proven he knows how to make it work
25	Indiana	Overrated but still on the brink of the top 25

Overall Rationale

Next 5: Rutgers, Xavier, Oregon, Ole Miss and Texas A&M