MAFIAxMaverick's Week Pre-Season Ballot

Rank	Team	Reason
1	Kansas	On paper a stellar defense and top tier offense should lead to a dominant season.
2	Duke	Jon Scheyer is a top notch coach and proved that in his first season. There's a lot of talent on this team; mix that with a young coach and I think there's a pathway to a title.
3	Purdue	One of the best offenses and a top defense. A college star in Zach Edey, who will be doing everything to prove he belongs in the NBA.
4	UConn	Defending national champions. Coming in with a chip on their shoulder. A sophomore Donovan Clingan is their most important player.
5	Michigan State	Hauser is gone (finally). Strong recruiting class and good returning players. This team is better than last year.
6	Marquette	Returning all starters minux O-Max w/ Joplin slotting into his old position. Interior defense and rebounding will be key to Marquette's success or failure this year.
7	Creighton	Kalkbrenner and Alexander are going to carry this team far. The loss of Nembhard to Gonzaga just knocks them out of the Top 5. Not a lot of bench depth.
8	Houston	If Jamal Shead and LJ Cryer (Baylor transfer) can pickup the slack left behind by Sasser - Houston will be just fine.
9	Florida Atlantic	A well-oiled, and now veteran, squad of players. A few ranked matchups in non-conference. A team that is no longer "unknown".
10	Gonzaga	Picking up Nembhard was great for this program. A strong non-conference schedule this year will show how good they are.
11	Tennessee	A team with a lot of veteran experience will be important for a brutal non-conference and conference schedule If they do well in non-con they're a top 5 team.
12	Miami (FL)	A Jim Larranega coached team fresh off a Final 4 run. Two big incoming transfers. Could challenge for best team in the ACC.
13	Arizona	They lost a lot of scoring. Can Caleb Love fill that void? Other players will have to step up.
14	Kentucky	Probably the best recruiting class in the country. A top 5 team if their freshmen meet expectations.
15	Arkansas	Great recruiting class and massive transfer in El Ellis (plus other transfers). Great on paper - on court product will show the team chemistry
16	Texas A&M	Best scorers returning. Jace Carter an intriguing transfer from UIC.
17	Texas	Can Shedrick rediscover his defense? Some strong mid-major transfers as well.
18	North Carolina	Bacot and RJ Davis are two of the best players in the ACC. Will team chemistry improve with Caleb Love and Leaky Black gone? Cormac Ryan underrated transfer
19	San Diego State	It will be hard to repeat last year's success - Lamont Butler is the heart of this team.
20	Baylor	Very up and down last year. Felt like they were overranked the same way Virginia was. Great recruiting class and transfers to balance out their transfer losses.
21	Saint Mary's	Always a good team. Major defensive loss in Logan Thompson. Should still compete.
22	UCLA	Only the remnants of the 21-22 Final 4 team remain. Regardless - Mick Cronin is a coach that gets the most out of his players. Underrated team to start the season.
23	Villanova	A lot of returning contributors plus some (on paper) good transfers. Will be interesting to see how this team gels in a tough Big East.
24	USC	Top recruiting class. Look for Isaiah Collier to shine as a freshman. Didn't lose too much to the transfer portal.
25	Wisconsin	A strong, fundamental basketball squad. They might not have the most talent on paper. But the Badgers are returning most of their plaeyrs and have some good incoming players.

Overall Rationale

Had fun putting this list together for the first time. Look for Colorado, Maryland, UVA, and Auburn to push for a top 25 spot early in the seasons. Should be a fun season of college basketball!