ESPN updates college basketball preseason Top-25
ESPN released the preseason Top 25 with a month to go before the start of the 2021-22 college hoops season. The preseason rankings, last updated in August, have some slight tweaks but Gonzaga remains supreme as the No. 1 team in the country.
Not only does Gonzaga return Wooden Award favorite Drew Timme, but they also added the No. 1 2021 prospect in the country, Chet Holmgren. Throw in two more five-star freshmen and Iowa State transfer Rasir Bolton and you’ve got a roster that’s not to be trifled with.
Kansas, UCLA and Villanova are all holding steady as the Bulldogs’ fellow Final Four contenders.
Transfer portal activity and new signings have impacted rosters all over the country, resulting in movement for a few teams in the preseason rankings. Memphis and Texas are big beneficiaries of offseason acquisitions.
Texas returns Courtney Ramey and Andrew Jones but it’s the addition of six ESPN top-30 transfers that have the Longhorns at No. 5 in the country. A hot start from the Longhorns could push them into the top two once Chris Beard shows he can make all those talented pieces fit.
The Memphis Tigers have a lot of buzz coming out of the preseason. Penny Hardaway landed two five-star reclassifiers in Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren, as well as three more four-stars and three transfers.
ESPN Hoops Preseason Top 25
- Gonzaga Bulldogs
- Kansas Jayhawks
- UCLA Bruins
- Villanova Wildcats
- Texas Longhorns
- Purdue Boilermakers
- Memphis Tigers
- Michigan Wolverines
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Baylor Bears
- Duke Blue Devils
- Oregon Ducks
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- Arkansas Razorbacks
- Houston Cougars
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Maryland Terrapins
- Florida State Seminoles
- Auburn Tigers
- UConn Huskies
- St. Bonaventure Bonnies
- Virginia Caveliers
Next Five Up
26. Oklahoma State Cowboys
27. Virginia Tech Hokies
28. Texas Tech Red Raiders
29. Michigan State Spartans
30. Colorado State Rams
Most of the movement in the latest rankings came at the bottom of the list. While Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech fell out of the top 25, UConn and St. Bonaventure ascended to No. 23 and No. 24, respectively.
The UConn Huskies return a lot of talent but they’ll have a lot to prove at the beginning of the season without former leading scorer James Bouknight. They have to find ways to replace Bouknight’s 18.7 points per game and fast. Dan Hurley added four ESPN top-100 prospects in the offseason, so there’s a good chance that they’ll get things figured out.
Mark Schmidt has the benefit of returning all five of his Bonnies starters from the 2020-21 season. St. Bonaventure bounced out of the tournament early last year but they have the pieces to make another run.