YAY! FREAKING YAY!!! College Basketball is here and in case you haven't noticed I am stoked. When the clock hits midnight and the calendar turns to October 12, 2018, we will be twenty-five days from the start of the season. Oh, by the way, the season starts this year with the FREAKING CHAMPIONS CLASSIC! Oh yes, that's right. The FIRST night of the season features KANSAS VERSUS MICHIGAN STATE and FREAKING DUKE VERSUS KENTUCKY! Umm, yeah, that's the exact definition of starting a season with a big bang. That's a volcanic bang right there. So let's take a look at how we rank our Top 25 plus five, so yeah, Top Thirty.
Just Missed the Cut: Maryland, Washington, Florida, Indiana, Providence
30. Marquette
29. Davidson
28. Clemson
27. Cincinnati
26. UCLA
25. Purdue
24. Central Florida
23. Mississippi State
22. North Carolina State
21. Syracuse
20. LSU
Key Losses: Randy Onwuasor, Aaron Epps, Mayan Kiir, Duop Reath, Galen Alexander, Jeremy Combs
Key Additions: Emmitt Williams, Javonte Smart, Naz Reid, Darius Days, Kavell Bigby-Williams
Outlook: Really young, really good. That's LSU this year, folks. Tremont Waters is so much fun to watch and as he goes, LSU will go. Kentucky and Tennessee will be the kings of the SEC, Auburn and LSU should fight for third best.
19. Loyola-Chicago
Key Losses: Donte Ingram, Ben Richardson, Aundre Jackson
Key Additions: Will Alcock, Franklin Agunanne, Cooper Kaifes
Outlook: This is not going to be a one-hit wonder team. Mark my words. Clayton Custer, Marques Townes and Cameron Krutwig will not allow it. They are head and shoulders above the rest of the Missouri Valley.
18. West Virginia
Key Losses: Jevon Carter, Daxter Miles, D'Angelo Hunter
Key Additions: Derek Culver, Jordan McCabe, Trey Doomes, Andrew Gordon
Outlook: Daxter Miles is a big loss. Jevon Carter is a huge loss. This year will test Bob Huggins.
17. Michigan
Key Losses: Moe Wagner, Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Duncan Robinson, Jaaron Simmons
Key Additions: David DeJulius, Brandon Johns, Ignas Brazdeikis, Adrian Nunez, Colin Castleton
Outlook: A lot is lost from that team that made the Final, but quite a bit is back too. Zavier Simpson, Charles Matthews, Jordan Poole, Isaiah Livers and Jon Teske are all back. Let's not completely write them off.
16. TCU
Key Losses: Kenrich Williams, Vlad Brodziansky, Ahmed Hamdy
Key Additions: Kendric Davis, Angus McWilliam, Yuat Alok, Kaden Archie, Russel Barlow Jr.
Outlook: Jamie Dixon. Jamie Dixon. Jamie. Dixon.
15. Oregon
Key Losses: Elijah Brown, MiKyle McIntosh, Troy Brown
Key Additions: Bol Bol, Louis King, Miles Norris, Will Richardson
Outlook: Duke has the top three ranked recruits. Oregon has number four in Bol Bol and has another top-fifteen recruit in Louis King. Those two will be added to a lineup with Payton Pritchard, Paul White and Kenny Wooten. Dana Altman had Oregon in the Final Four in 2017 and that's not out of the realm of possibility for 2019.
14. Michigan State
Key Losses: Miles Bridges, Jaren Jackson, Gavin Schilling, Lourawls Nairn, Ben Carter
Key Additions: Gabe Brown, Foster Loyer, Aaron Henry, Thomas Kithier, Marcus Bingham Jr.
Outlook: Michigan State is going to have to score a lot of points this year because their defensive woes from a year ago doesn't seem to be going away this year. Let's be honest with ourselves, Miles Bridges and Jaren Jackson saved this team a lot last year, and now it's basically the same team without those two. Cassius Winston will HAVE to step up at least a level or two this year, so will Josh Langford and Matt McQuaid. Tom Izzo, you gotta start doing more for me. I am beyond "out of love" with Izzo and starting to wonder if he's worn out his welcome.
13. Florida State
Key Losses: Braian Angola, C.J. Walker, Brandon Allen
Key Additions: Devin Vassell, David Nichols
Outlook: Trent Forrest, M.J. Walker, Terance Mann and Phil Cofer is a great group of four to lead the Seminoles this year following a trip last year to the Elite Eight. Cofer seems like the most important of the bunch.
12. Kansas State
Key Losses: No One
Key Additions: Shaun Williams
Outlook: I am really trying to lower my expectations for this team but it's really hard. Really, really hard. Okay, sure, they didn't have to go through Virginia like everyone thought they would in the Tournament last year. But they did beat Kentucky. And they played very well against Loyola. But my level of belief behind this team this year isn't just because of last year's Tournament. Like it or not, Bruce Weber is a top-fifteen head coach in America. And he is going to do amazing things with this team this year that includes Kamau Stokes, Barry Brown, Carter Diarra, Xavier Sneed and Dean Wade all back from a year ago. A trip to the Sweet Sixteen is expected, Elite Eight is very possible, Final Four isn't out of the question.
11. Auburn
Key Losses: Mustapha Herron, DeSean Murray, Davion Mitchell
Key Additions: Samir Doughty
Outlook: The SEC is going to be very good and very deep this year and this team will be among the best in the conference. Like Kansas State, it's a team that I'm trying to keep my expectations from going too high on. Their best player from a year ago, Herron, is gone, but return everyone else. Remember folks, this team won the SEC regular season title and just sputtered down the stretch with depth issues. Now, depth is still a concern this year, but it's not as bad. Biggest question for me: how healthy is Anfernee McLemore? He suffered an ankle injury in February, if he is 100%, watch out for the Fighting Bruce Pearls.
10. Virginia Tech
Key Losses: Devin Wilson, Justin Bibbs
Key Additions: Landers Nolley II, Jarren McAllister, Jon Kabongo
Outlook: Seven of their top eight players from last year are back and that is precisely why I believe this Virginia Tech will be the best basketball team that program has ever had. Justin Robinson, Ahmed Hill, Kerry Blackshear, Chris Clarke and Nickeil Alexander-Walker are going to make for an amazing starting five that can both score a ton a lot but also defend extremely well. This is a legit ACC contender.
9. Virginia
Key Losses: Devon Hall, Isaiah Wilkins, Nigel Johnson
Key Additions: Kody Stattman, Kihei Clark, Francisco Caffaro
Outlook: Look, I can sit here and write about three paragraphs about why I think Virginia is going to be great again this year. Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy, DeAndre Hunter, Jack Salt and Mamadi Diakite are all back and will likely make up the starting five. But we all know what one thing will be looming over Virginia's heads all year long. The letters U-M-B-C. Is it possible for this group of players and a terrific head coach to forget all about that meltdown and the ones that plagued them in previous years as well? If so, maybe, just maybe, we can pencil them on the one line again for the Dance. Beyond that? Don't look at me for a prediction.
8. Nevada
Key Losses: Kendall Stephens, Josh Hall, Hallice Cooke
Key Additions: Corey Henson, Jazz Johnson, Tre'Shawn Thurman, Kwame Hymes, Trey Porter, Jordan Brown, Vince Lee, Nisre Zouzoua
Outlook: While all the Cinderella talk last March was about Loyola-Chicago, and rightfully so, Nevada didn't do too bad for themselves either. Remember, they gave the Ramblers a run for their money in the Regional Semi-Final down in Atlanta. Now, for this year, the team is even better. The Martin twins are back, that's huge. And look at that long list of additions. Yeah, this team is stacked. This Nevada team will rival Kawhi Leonard's Aztecs and Jimmer Fredette's Cougars for best Mountain West team ever.
7. North Carolina
Key Losses: Joel Berry III, Theo Pinson
Key Additions: Nassir Little, Coby White, Rechon Black
Outlook: Boy oh boy does North Carolina have a great starting five, maybe the best in the country. It'll be set with returnees Cam Johnson, Luke Maye and Kenny Williams along with freshmen White and Little. That is honestly either the best or second best starting lineup in College Basketball. Roy Williams' biggest problem is what comes after that on the bench. Can he rely on Sterling Manley, Garrison Brooks and Brandon Huffman to give the Tar Heels valuable minutes and a spark off the bench? If he can, North Carolina can most certainly cut down the nets in Minnesota.
6. Villanova
Key Losses: Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Omari Spellman
Key Additions: Brandon Slater, Jahvon Quinerly, Cole Swider, Saddiq Bey, Joe Cremo
Outlook: Villanova's run the last three years has been amazing. It's quite possibly been the best three year run in College Basketball this century, and of course it was capped with a second National Title in the last three years last season. This year, things will be very different from the last three. There's a lot of turnover this season. Eric Paschall and Phil Booth are the only returning key players from last year's team. This is not going be a walk in the park for Jay Wright, but he has certainly established himself as a top-three coach in the nation and when it counts the most, March, things will be just fine for Nova Nation.
5. Tennessee
Key Losses: James Daniel III
Key Additions: None
Outlook: This team could legitimately be SEC regular season and tournament champions, a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament and a team that makes it to Minneapolis and the Final Four. Two of the best teams in the country come from the SEC, and the battles between Kentucky and Tennessee will be amazing. For Tennessee, it's darn near the same starting five as a year ago. Lamonte' Turner, Jordan Bowden, Jordan Bone, Admiral Schofield and Grant Williams will likely be the starting five for Rick Barnes' Volunteers. Tennessee has not won thirty games in a season since 2007-2008, that's a real possibility this season.
4. Duke
Key Losses: Grayson Allen, Marvin Bagley III, Wendell Carter, Gary Trent Jr., Trevon Duval
Key Additions: Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish, Tre Jones, R.J. Barrett, Joey Baker
Outlook: Mike Krzyzewski has done it once again. This recruiting class Duke has coming in this year might just be the best recruiting class any school has ever inherited. Duke has recruits that were ranked nationally #1, #2 and #3 in the form of Reddish, Williamson and Barrett. Plus Tre Jones who was ranked anywhere between 10th and 20th and Joey Baker who was ranked between 20th and 40th. Javin DeLaurier will be taking a bigger role with the team, likely starting with the four freshmen. Reddish, Williamson and Barrett could very well go 1-2-3 in the 2019 NBA Draft. A lot of people believe this team has the chance to be, X's and O's wise, the Golden State Warriors of College Basketball this season. And oh yes, if the trend is your friend, Duke should be the National Champions based solely on the fact that Minneapolis is hosting the Final Four. They seem to win their titles in cities ending in "-apolis". 1991: Indianapolis. 1992: Minneapolis. 2001: Minneapolis. 2010 & 2015: Indianapolis. Must I say more?
3. Kansas
Key Losses: Devonte' Graham, Svi Mykhailiuk, Malik Newman
Key Additions: Dedric Lawson, K.J. Lawson, Charlie Moore, Devon Dotson
Outlook: We're not going to act like losing Devonte' Graham isn't a big deal, because it is. But when you look at how at much was sitting on the Kansas bench last year that couldn't play and now they can, it's mind blowing. The Lawson brothers that transferred from Memphis can now play, as can Cal transfer Charlie Moore. The Lawson brothers will give Bill Self a couple of true power forwards while Moore can take command at point guard when it's not being held by Devon Dotson. And of course they also get back Udoka Azubuike. The team is experienced, but also mixed in is a lot of young talent. Kansas is set to make another run towards the Final Four.
2. Gonzaga
Key Losses: Silas Melson, Johnathan Williams III
Key Additions: Geno Crandall, Joel Ayayi, Brandon Clarke, Greg Foster Jr., Filip Petrusev
Outlook: Josh Perkins is back. Zach Norvell is back. Rui Hachimura is back. Killian Tillie is back. With them this year are transfers Brandon Clarke and Geno Crandall. Oh yes, I knew I was forgetting one. Yes indeed, Mark Few is back. Gonzaga is truly set for a second Final Four in three years.
1. Kentucky
Key Losses: Kevin Knox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jarred Vanderbilt, Wenyen Gabriel, Hamidou Diallo
Key Additions: Reid Travis, Immanuel Quickley, Tyler Herro, Keldon Johnson, Ashton Hagans, E.J. Montgomery
Outlook: Another year and another load of new players in Lexington to replace the departed. There's of course a ton of talented freshmen, but to me, the most impactful addition for Calipari's Wildcats is the tremendous Stanford transfer Reid Travis. Travis, a 6'8" 245lb standout averaged 19.5 points per game last year, a year after scored over 17 a game. So, despite being new to Kentucky, he's very experienced and very, very good. But of course, the biggest question will be, will they all mesh in time?
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