Men’s Basketball Preseason Top 25
October 24, 2011 · CSM Staff
| Rank | Team | Comments | Prior | |
| 1 |  |
North Carolina |
North Carolina will kick off the first full day of college hoops by taking on MSU in, or is it on, the Carrier Classic. |
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| 2 |  |
Kentucky |
Anthony Davis and the rest of the superb Kentucky recruiting class will have the Wildcats ready for March. |
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| 3 |  |
Ohio State |
Coach Thad Matta has half a team that could have jumped to the NBA. Jared Sullinger will lead the way. |
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| 4 |  |
Syracuse |
If the frontcourt can live up to their former hype, Syracuse has the weapons to make a run to the Final Four. |
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| 5 |  |
Duke |
Duke will always be near the top of the standings and the addition of Austin Rivers gives them plenty of hope. |
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| 6 |  |
Louisville |
With a ton of talent back and a great recruiting class, Louisville will not have another season of low expectations. |
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| 7 |  |
Memphis |
The Memphis freshmen are now experienced sophomores. That will make a huge difference for the Tigers. |
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| 8 |  |
Kansas |
It will take some time for Kansas to reload, but this group has enough talent to take home a conference title. |
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| 9 |  |
Vanderbilt |
John Jenkins, Jeffery Taylor and Festus Ezeli are all have all-SEC and first round draft pick potential. |
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| 10 |  |
Arizona |
Arizona has a nice mix of veterans and newcomers that should turn into a cohesive unit by March. |
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| 11 |  |
Pittsburgh | Could this be the year Pitt lives up to expectations in March? Ashton Gibbs will have to provide the leadership. |
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| 12 |  |
Florida |
Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton, Mike Rosario and Bradley Beal comprise one of the best backcourts in the nation. |
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| 13 |  |
Texas A&M |
The Aggies will have to rely on an inexperienced backcourt, but the frontcourt is one of the best in the Big 12. |
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| 14 |  |
Connecticut |
Connecticut could actually be better than they were last season, but replacing Kemba Walker will not be easy. |
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| 15 |  |
Wisconsin | The Badgers are practically tournament locks without a superstar or two. This year they have Jordan Taylor. |
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| 16 |  |
Xavier | Tu Holloway is back to avenge his poor showing in the NCAA Tournament last season. He probably will. |
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| 17 |  |
Marquette |
Marquette should be more consistent this season with senior Darius Johnson-Odom leading the charge. |
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| 18 |  |
Missouri |
The Tigers have experience and talent, but breaking in new coach Frank Haith may take a little time. |
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| 19 |  |
Florida State | FSU has become the ACC’s third best program and Bernard James and company won’t let that change in 2011-2012. |
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| 20 |  |
Alabama |
Add the top three scorers to a great recruiting class and Coach Anthony Grant has a winner in Tuscaloosa. |
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| 21 |  |
Purdue |
JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore are gone, but a healthy Robbie Hummel will lead Purdue back to the NCAAs. |
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| 22 |  |
New Mexico |
The pressure is on in New Mexico, but Drew Gordon and company should take this team a long ways. |
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| 23 |  |
West Virginia | Coach Bob Huggins has talented, albeit inexperienced, team this year. He will get the best out of this group. |
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| 24 |  |
Baylor |
Perry Jones, Quincy Miller, Anthony Jones, Quincy Acy…even UNC wouldn’t mind boasting that frontcourt. |
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| 25 |  |
Gonzaga |
The Gonzaga expectations are high again with a dominating frontcourt led by Elias Harris and Robert Sacre. |
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