Col_Pol's Week Pre-Season Ballot
| Rank | Team | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas | I think this team can be the best team from start to finish, and has the depth and coaching to do it |
| 2 | UConn | They have a valid chance to go Back to Back to Back, I think KU and Bama are the only two teams who can dethrone them this season. |
| 3 | Alabama | Best team in the new SEC |
| 4 | Iowa State | The second best team in the Big 12 just not as deep as KU |
| 5 | Baylor | The third best team in the Big 12 Ku and ISU are simply better |
| 6 | Duke | Its Duke do they need a true explination |
| 7 | Gonzaga | Gonzaga can break the top 5 when they move to the new Pac-12, but can't be justified as a top 5 team until then |
| 8 | Houston | They're good the Big 12 is simply stacked, they could realistically get good wins against KU, ISU, or Baylor but not likely |
| 9 | North Carolina | Duke is better than them, but they will be the second best team in the ACC |
| 10 | Auburn | Best auburn team we have seen in a few years, could truly win it all |
| 11 | Arizona | Arizona has proven year after year they cant win it all, they're good but not top 10 good |
| 12 | Tennessee | Better than Creighton, not consistent enough to be in the top 10. Also the SEC is going to be wild this year. |
| 13 | Creighton | Not as deep as previous years but can be a top 3 team in the Big East |
| 14 | Arkansas | One of the better SEC teams, but not better than Tennessee, or Auburn |
| 15 | Texas A&M | Texas A&M will either be really good or fall out of the top 25 half way through the season, this is my riskiest pick of my top 25 |
| 16 | Purdue | Maybe the best BIG 10 team, we'll see how they do without Edey |
| 17 | Indiana | Will manage to beat Purdue at home, but get upset by some bottom tear BIG 10 teams near the end of the season |
| 18 | Ole Miss | I think this team has top 10 potential but will have to prove it in the SEC which may hurt them |
| 19 | Marquette | 3rd best team in the BIG East still not at UCONN or Creightons level |
| 20 | Florida | A solid SEC team I think they will be better than Texas but not as good as Arkansas or Tennessee |
| 21 | Texas | I am interested to see how Texas stands up in the SEC, but they will be good enough to be in the top 25 |
| 22 | Kentucky | This team may be a victim of the SEC, they are not as deep as Texas, but will be good enough to be ranked. |
| 23 | Rutgers | One of the top teams in the big 10, if they can keep up with Purdue and Indiana they will be a deep tournament team. |
| 24 | Kansas State | We know they will manage to beat a combination of 2-3 of KU, ISU, Baylor, or Houston but will lack consistency aginst these top teams to be ranked any higher |
| 25 | Xavier | The Big East is DEEP if they can win some quality games I think they can squeek in the top 25 |
Overall Rationale
The SEC will be an absolute blood bath this year in which any team can win any given night. The Big East will be dominated by Connecticut, Creighton, Marquette, and Xavier but the rest of the conference may be weaker than usual. The Big 12 will be deep but lack depth in their bottom half. The ACC doesn't see much improvement with their additions, and will pan out like usual with Duke and North Carolina at the top.