Blue Ribbon Yearbook Preseason Top 25

[SelectionSunday]

BLUE RIBBON TOP 25
1. Michigan State
2. Kentucky
3. Louisville
4. Duke
5. Arizona
6. Kansas
7. Florida
8. Syracuse
9. Michigan
10. North Carolina
11. Ohio State
12. Oklahoma State
13. Wichita State
14. Gonzaga
15. Connecticut
16. Marquette
17. Memphis
18. VCU
19. Notre Dame
20. Tennessee
21. Creighton
22. Baylor
23. Colorado
24. Iowa
25. New Mexico

Conference Representation
ACC (4): Duke, Syracuse, North Carolina, Notre Dame
Big Ten (4): Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, Iowa
American (3): Louisville, Connecticut, Memphis
Big XII (3): Kansas, Oklahoma State, Baylor
SEC (3): Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee
Big East (2): Marquette, Creighton
Pac 12 (2): Arizona, Colorado
Atlantic 10 (1): VCU
Missouri Valley (1): Wichita State
Mountain West (1): New Mexico
West Coast (1): Gonzaga

A couple sleeper teams I might have snuck into the top 25? BYU and LSU.

 

[bga1]

BLUE RIBBON TOP 25
1. Michigan State
2. Kentucky
3. Louisville
4. Duke
5. Arizona
6. Kansas
7. Florida
8. Syracuse
9. Michigan
10. North Carolina
11. Ohio State
12. Oklahoma State
13. Wichita State
14. Gonzaga
15. Connecticut
16. Marquette
17. Memphis
18. VCU
19. Notre Dame
20. Tennessee
21. Creighton
22. Baylor
23. Colorado
24. Iowa
25. New Mexico

Conference Representation
ACC (4): Duke, Syracuse, North Carolina, Notre Dame
Big Ten (4): Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, Iowa
American (3): Louisville, Connecticut, Memphis
Big XII (3): Kansas, Oklahoma State, Baylor
SEC (3): Kentucky, Florida, Tennessee
Big East (2): Marquette, Creighton
Pac 12 (2): Arizona, Colorado
Atlantic 10 (1): VCU
Missouri Valley (1): Wichita State
Mountain West (1): New Mexico
West Coast (1): Gonzaga

A couple sleeper teams I might have snuck into the top 25? BYU and LSU.

I really like Iowa this year. That said- there wasn't much difference between Iowa and the Gophers last year. If we can get someone to come up and surprise at power forward and compete on the boards, then we might not be that far off in a Big Ten that will be very competitive but have fewer power teams than last year. I expect our offense to be better and our guard play to be outstanding this year. Lot's of unknowns, but it should be fun to watch.

 

[SelectionSunday]

I think it's the 6 and 7 spots in the Big Ten where there'll really be a heated battle for a couple NCAA bids. Feel extremely comfortable saying Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Wisconsin will be in the (NCAA) tournament. It'll be interesting to see who emerges from Illinois, Indiana, the Gophers, and Purdue to grab the likely other 1-2 (maybe even 3?) bids.

One thing to note is overall I don't think Big Ten teams scheduled as tough in the nonconference as they usually do. I'll be surprised if the Big Ten is the #1 RPI conference this season, though I certainly wouldn't expect it to drop any lower than #3.

 

[Cayman]

I really like Iowa this year.

Interesting. I hate Iowa this year.

 

[bemidjigopher]

I hate Iowa every year

 

[Pewterschmidt]

As much as I dislike Slick Cal, Kentucky should be #1 in every preseason poll (for whatever it's worth).

My opinion:

Tier 1 is Kentucky
Tier 2 is Michigan St and Louisville
Tier 3 is Duke, Kansas, Arizona, Florida, UNC, Syracuse, and Michigan

Oh, and I hate Iowa too but they'll be pretty good this year unfortunately.

UNC likely plays all Tier 1 and 2 teams in the non-conference. Pretty cool scheduling. Duke likely plays everyone in Tier 3 except Florida and they play UNC and Syracuse twice.