finalfourcuse's Week Pre-Season Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Houston | The return of Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark to a team that made the Elite Eight without them, plus my faith in Kelvin Sampson is the reason I believe the Houston Cougars will win it all in in 2023. |
| 2 | Gonzaga | Another go around with one of the most talented teams in the nation, Mark Few has all that he needs to turn the tide for the Zags. |
| 3 | North Carolina | With the return of Armando Bacot and the addition of Pete Nance, coupled with one of the most dangerous backcourts in America, a return to National Final is inbound of UNC. |
| 4 | Kentucky | In 2009, Tyler Hansbrough returned to UNC after winning National Player of the Year and the Tar Heels went all the way. The beginning on this story is the same for Kentucky in 2023. |
| 5 | Baylor | One of the most balanced roster in the country. Led by Adam Flagler and LJ Cryer, the Bears have highly effective players at every position. |
| 6 | Duke | With the talented roster he will inherit, plus the pedigree of the Duke program, Jon Scheyer will be bound by extremely high expectations in year 1 post-Coach K. |
| 7 | UCLA | Despite the new young talent, the Bruins will be able to lean on Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyger Campbell. I find it very unlikely that this team will underpeform. |
| 8 | Kansas | Jalen Wilson and Dajuan Harris are the only major returners from last year's championship team. However, Kansas did reload their roster with Kevin McCullar and several highly ranked freshman. |
| 9 | Tennessee | Tennessee certainly has a talented team, and the addition of Julian Phillips helps as they pursue a deeper tournament run this year. |
| 10 | Villanova | Justin Moore has returned to workouts after his Achilles injury, but his team will have to endure until he returns. Kyle Neptune has plenty of tools at disposal however. |
| 11 | Creighton | Creighton will be strong at all 5 positions on 2023, and this could be the best season under McDermott that the Jays have. |
| 12 | Arizona | Azuolas Tubelis and Kerr Kriisa lead a strong supporting cast this upcoming season. Arizona fans should be excited about this team. |
| 13 | Arkansas | Potentially the highest ceiling of any team in college basketball. Arkansas will likely suffer some growing pains, but should get right by March in the hunt for another Elite Eight appearance. |
| 14 | Indiana | The best team in what I expect to be a weaker-than-normal Big Ten. This is IUs best chance to reestablish their historic success. |
| 15 | Texas | Timmy Allen will the bright spot early for Texas team with a lot of potential. A deep tournament run isn't out of the question for the Longhorns. |
| 16 | San Diego State | There will be drop off from the elite Aztec defense from a year ago. The addition of Darrion Trammell will take the pressure off Matt Bradley being the only scoring option for SDSU. |
| 17 | TCU | Mike Miles is a top breakout candidate for TCU this year, and he will have a lot of help as they try to make it to the 2nd weekend for the first time since the tournament expanded. |
| 18 | UConn | Adama Sanago is one the best bigs in the country and the the addition of trasnfer Tristen Newton has gone under-the-radar. |
| 19 | Illinois | Another high ceiling team, Illinois is certain it can rely on Terrence Shannon Jr and Matthew Mayer. The growth of their remaining players is going to determine their success in 2023. |
| 20 | Dayton | Daron Holmes II is set to be in the national spotlight after going somewhat unnoticed during his freshman season. If he turns out, this may be the last opportunity Dayton has to use him. |
| 21 | Miami (FL) | They have a chance to be an extremely dangerous squad. Should make contenders nervous. |
| 22 | Auburn | Bruce Pearl will be hoping have a more efficient offense this year, however this team is built to shut teams down for long stretches. |
| 23 | Virginia | Maybe an optimistic ranking, but returning their starters, plus the addition of Ben Vander Plas and a strong freshman class gives me hope the UVA will be a tournament team. |
| 24 | Florida | A nice supporting cast surrounding Colin Castleton, sets Todd Golden up nicely in his first year coaching the Gators. |
| 25 | Texas Tech | Defense will be the name of the game again for Tech. Will need someone to step up for a few weeks with Utah Valley transfer, Fardaws Aimaq, out. |
Overall Rationale
I also considered: Saint Louis, UAB, Texas A&M, Xavier, Purdue, Wyoming, Michigan