ababababab_okay's Week Pre-Season Ballot

Rank	Team	Reason
1	UConn	Returning champs, looked great to end the season, 2-peat w great coach who has the ability to recraft this team yet again
2	Kansas	Good record previous season, hard to deny Hunter Dickinson effect alongside KJ Adams
3	Alabama	A team who just got a huge transfer presence in Omoruyi, could be even better than last year.
4	Duke	Cooper Flagg looks really impressive - Duke has some great freshmen and good returning players
5	Arizona	With Caleb Love, Trey Townsend, and consistent performance for years, Arizona will be back where they see themselves every year.
6	Gonzaga	With the experience that Gonzaga brings yet again, expecting little losses from this team
7	Baylor	This team is loaded with performers, it's just a matter of if they can connect well together.
8	Iowa State	Great returning experience and one of the most "all-around" looking team coming up.
9	North Carolina	Another team with a star player who should be a difference maker with great supporting cast.
10	Arkansas	John Calipari hit the transfer portal hard, with well established players. No question they will be good, just a matter of how good.
11	Auburn	JP Pegues will be Auburn's saving grace towards success, expect a more efficient team.
12	Houston	I'm not bullish on Houston this year without Jamal Snead, I think it will be a bigger loss than anticipated. The rest of the team is great, but nervous about guard.
13	Creighton	With good scorers both returning and transferring in, expect this team to give UConn a run for their money.
14	Marquette	Another big east team that will have success with its experienced returning team.
15	Indiana	This team hit the transfer portal hard with dominant players who should make a big difference, especially Ballo
16	Ole Miss	Chris Beard will lead his already offensive team to mildly more successful defense, seeing improvements.
17	Tennessee	Tennessee is a hard to place team because it is not apparent how successful the transfers will be. Could see this team fall or rise quickly.
18	Texas A&M	Another good looking starting lineup who could do some damage, but historically early woes limiting a higher spot.
19	Texas	Looking to see a mini Alabama this year from this team with all its scorers.
20	Kentucky	Mark Pope's team is no joke, but with little standout seasons at BYU, I am hesitant to rank KY any higher.
21	Michigan	With a new coach and one of the best backcourts in the nation, this team may be a shocker, but they need to prove themselves first.
22	Florida	A weird team with varied talent, should be very solid if they play to their strengths.
23	San Diego State	Every year, SDS outperforms their initial ratings and I see this no different.
24	Purdue	Let's not downplay Edey's significance to this team. They still have a good returning cast, but they will be much worse this year without Edey.
25	Saint Louis	Robbie Avila was so fun to watch in the NIT last year, and with he and Schertz on an improved roster, I see a mid major sneaking in here.

Overall Rationale

This ballot has a strong focus on historical player and coach performances. Teams heavy on the transfer portal or with new coaches are getting a bit more love than other rankings give. I value the "star player" teams like Kansas, Arizona, etc. bc they tend to have really good success especially with a good supporting cast. This bracket is more stats heavy than future ones will be.