willweaverrva's Week Pre-Season Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston | Houston is just about the consensus #1 among all the talking heads and it's hard to argue with that. They're consistently at the top of the metrics and they have a ton of talent coming back. |
| 2 | UConn | Dan Hurley stands a good chance of leading UConn to a three-peat this year, but it'll be a tough road for them. Has the rest of the Big East caught up to them? |
| 3 | Alabama | Nate Oats looks to have another offensive powerhouse that should be the odds-on favorite to win the SEC. |
| 4 | Duke | I am not a Duke fan, but Jon Scheyer has built a pretty good team this year and the Blue Devils will be fun to watch. |
| 5 | Iowa State | Iowa State is looking like one of the best defensive teams in the country with huge frontcourt size. It's going to be tough to score on the Cyclones. |
| 6 | Gonzaga | With the Zags headed to the Pac-12 in 2026, it'll be interesting to see how their last two years in the WCC go. |
| 7 | Kansas | Kansas had some uncharacteristic inconsistency during the latter couple of months of last season. I don't think that's going to happen again, but the top of the Big 12 is VERY strong. |
| 8 | Auburn | |
| 9 | North Carolina | RIP Tylee Craft. |
| 10 | Arizona | Arizona looks like they will be good again this season. Don't take this #10 as me being down on them, the top 10 is TIGHTLY clustered. |
| 11 | Tennessee | |
| 12 | Purdue | It'll be fun to see how Purdue handles the post-Zach Edey era. |
| 13 | Texas | Texas had a wild and bumpy ride through Big 12 play last season. They should be better this season, but again, the top of the Big 12 is stacked and it's gonna be tough. |
| 14 | Baylor | Of all the teams on my ballot Baylor stands the best chance of doing way better than I'm giving them credit before. Solid returners (Nunn, etc) and key transfers (Roach, etc) make the Bears dangerous. |
| 15 | Marquette | Tyler Kolek is gone, but Shaka Smart still has a ton of talent on that Golden Eagles roster and they look poised to have another great season. |
| 16 | Creighton | |
| 17 | Texas A&M | The Buzz is palpable in College Station as Texas A&M has a good shot at being resurgent after last season's inconsistencies. |
| 18 | UCLA | UCLA seems poised to bounce back after an uncharacteristically bad season last year. |
| 19 | St. John's | Is this when the Fighting Rick Pitinos finally break out and get back to the Dance? |
| 20 | Kentucky | Mark Pope is a master of building teams to win games. I'm really excited to see how Kentucky performs with a roster not designed to be a NBA player factory (sorry, Cal). |
| 21 | Michigan State | Michigan State is NOT going to have a repeat of last season. I expect them to hang around here for a while. |
| 22 | Illinois | This feels too low to me, but honestly it's hard to rank some of these teams based on potential alone. I think Illinois has a good chance of moving up. |
| 23 | Saint Mary's | Saint Mary's may be playing for a Pac-12 invite this season. A good season might persuade the Pac-12 to keep a classic rivalry with Gonzaga alive. |
| 24 | Indiana | |
| 25 | Texas Tech |
Overall Rationale
ALMOST FAMOUS: Clemson, Mississippi State, BYU, Kansas State, Cincinnati. ALMOST "ALMOST FAMOUS": Dayton, Wake Forest, Iowa, Maryland, Arkansas. RIP Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim.