ESPN's NCAA "Way-Too-Early Top 25"

Sports are all about competition, so we like to compare those who were the best, are the best, and will be the best. “Will be” is up for debate.

We are only about a month or two removed from the NCAA Tournament Championship. That said, college basketball fans still need things to chat about, right? Enter the good people over at ESPN, that have compiled a list of which teams will head into the 2019-20 season with the highest expectations.

Not all incoming freshman have committed to their collegiate teams yet, so the list will likely look a bit different by the end of the summer. Many top prospects have committed, so we are finally getting to see lists like this one that are adjusted to account for incoming talent as well as those that have graduated or declared for the NBA Draft.

James Wiseman, who we had the pleasure of covering at the 2019 Tournament of Champions, is the number one incoming prospect in the country. He has helped to get Memphis into the top 25 list below. Though North Carolina lost arguably it’s five best guys, they are still at 12 due to incoming players such as guard, Cole Anthony.

Though they are the reigning champs, Virginia is just at 14 following the loss of three key players to the NBA Draft. The return of Cassius Winston has made Michigan State the consensus number one while Duke is number two despite losing Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, and Cam Reddish to the draft. Incoming players such as Cassius Stanley will look to keep Duke more than relevant.

Below is the top 25 NCAA rankings for 2019-20 per ESPN:

1. Michigan State

2. Duke

3. Kentucky

4. Villanova

5. Michigan

6. Gonzaga

7. Ohio State

8. Louisville

9. Maryland

10. Kansas

11. Seton Hall

12. North Carolina

13. Arizona

14. Virginia

15. Oregon

16. Texas Tech

17. Washington

18. Memphis

19. Houston

20. Utah State

21. Saint Mary’s

22. Baylor

23. Florida

24. Creighton

25. Tennessee

A couple of bubble teams that retained most of their core are Creighton and Saint Mary’s, which is why they are on this list. Experience goes a long way in the college game. Seton Hall has some big questions around returning players, but Ohio State is coming back strong.

These rankings figure to shift before the season begins, but it is fun to take a look at where schools are slated so early. College basketball fans have to talk about something! For the fans that are also interested in the NBA, high school ball, and just basketball in general, keep checking back here where hoops are always in season!

NCAA home stretch power rankings

March is closing in, meaning we have a better idea each day of which teams will make the big dance.

With NCAA hoops hitting the home stretch, many teams are undoubtedly wondering where they will stand at the end. ESPN has updated its power rankings following some big games this week. We dive into those rankings to see how things are shaping up near the top with March Madness on the horizon.

Below are ESPN’s ranks for the top 16

1. Duke (23-3)

2. Virginia (23-2)

3. Tennessee (24-2)

4. Gonzaga (26-2)

5. Kentucky (22-4)

6. North Caroline (22-5)

7. Michigan (24-3)

8. Houston (25-1)

9. Michigan State (22-5)

10. Kansas (20-6)

11. Marquette (22-4)

12. Purdue (19-7)

13. Texas Tech (21-5)

14. Nevada (24-2)

15. LSU (21-5)

16. Wisconsin (18-8)

Despite the upset of North Carolina over Duke in their highly-touted matchup, the needle did not move too far on either team. The impact of Zion Williamson getting injured in the opening minutes had a deeply felt impact on the game instantly.

As Williamson’s shoe exploded and he went down with a knee sprain (not expected to be serious), thoughts naturally turned to other players that were “unable to play due to injury” that were able to go to the NBA unscathed. Duke has seen this before in the form of Kyrie Irving. With Zion set to make millions in the NBA next year, it would be tough to blame him for playing things safe.

In a case of perfect timing, the NBA is currently considering lowering their age of eligibility from 19 to 18.

Anyway, Duke is still set to hold its number one spot on the backs of its touted freshman. Many pundits expected Kansas to be higher on this list so late in the season. They could still make for an unfortunate opponent for some teams should they garner a lower seed come tournament time. Purdue is sitting a bit lower than expected as well.

Nevada and to a greater extent, Houston, are the pleasant surprises on this list. Their strong play has demanded attention and thrust them directly into the mix of the nation’s top teams.

Women’s bracket looking familiar

If March Madness started today, we would be seeing a lot of familiar faces near the top. The 1-seeds would be: UConn, Baylor, Louisville, and Oregon. The 2-seeds would be Mississippi State (who can no longer play underdog after consecutive great seasons), NC State, Stanford, and Notre Dame.

Perhaps March Madness’ biggest individual hero last year, Arike Ogunbowale just recently set an all-time scoring record for Notre Dame.

As the regular season winds down, our thoughts are full steam ahead to March Madness. One-and-done tournaments don’t always produce the truest results in terms of the most talented teams. However, the luck factor, heat checks, and meteoric rise of teams and players make it an incredible event to witness.

Who will be this year’s Arike Ogunbowale or Donte Divincenzo? Follow along with us on social media as we dive into one of the most exciting months in basketball. We’ll see you there!

Updated NCAA basketball power rankings

As things are beginning to take shape in the college basketball landscape, ESPN has released updated power rankings. Any surprises?

ESPN provides one of the most comprehensive power ranking systems available. It does typically favor “power conferences”, but with smaller schools making noise year after year, these types of rankings are slowly becoming more inclusive.

Kansas, Gonzaga, and Duke are all right around where they were expected to be at this stage in the NCAA basketball season. Duke’s freshman are looking more polished than many expected however.

The other top-four team that many expected to see for the year is Kentucky, who is listed on ESPN’s list at number nine. A lack of perimeter defense has proved to be a vulnerable point for the Wildcats, though they currently only have one loss.

After a strong start to the year, Michigan is more than deserving of the number four spot.

The full list from ESPN is shown below:

1. Kansas

2. Gonzaga

3. Duke

4. Michigan

5. Nevada

6. Virginia

7. Auburn

8. Tennessee

9. Kentucky

10. Texas Tech

11. Wisconsin

12. Virginia Tech

13. Florida State

14. North Carolina

15. Michigan State

16. Arizona State

Reigning NCAA basketball champions, Villanova is absent from the top 16 at this point. The Wildcats dropped a pair of games early; One to Michigan and another to Furman (South Carolina). They do appear to be back on track somewhat.

NCAA Women’s rankings

At the top: Guess who? The rankings on the lady’s side of things may be even more predictable than the men’s at this point in the year.

If you follow women’s college hoops or even just watched the bracket unfold during March Madness this past season, you will recognize most of the teams toward the top this list as perennial basketball powers.

Full list per ESPN:

1. UCONN

2. Notre Dame

3. Oregon

4. Baylor

5. Louisville

6. Mississippi State

7. Maryland

8. Oregon State

9. Tennessee

10. NC State

11. Stanford

12. Texas

13. California

14. Minnesota

15. Syracuse

16. Iowa

Will we ever see one of these power rankings that does not have UCONN at the top? Well, yes, eventually. Probably.

In the meantime though, UCONN continues to draw top talent with it’s stellar program and reputation. Notre Dame appeared to threaten for the top spot, but lost to the Huskies in a head-to-head matchup. Tough to argue with results.

For more NCAA, NBA, prep hoops, and everything else, keep scrolling here or follow @BBall_Movement on Twitter to get all the updates.

Probably too early NCAAM BPI rankings

The NCAA men's college basketball season is just under 100 days away, but predictions are already being formulated.

Recently, ESPN released some summertime BPI rankings for guy's college hoops. Yes, we are a long way out, but as they mention, the October rankings are pretty predictive, so it's reasonable to think that some August numbers may be telling as well.

BPI rankings are unique, and take into account some in-depth factors that may look a little funny without some explanation. Here is a description of what it takes into account:

“The preseason rankings are based on the following categories: the quality and quantity of the returning players on the team, including transfers and players who missed last season because of injury; recruiting rankings, both overall and the number of five-star prospects; and coaches’ past performances on offense and defense.”

— Jeff Borzello, ESPN Staff Writer

It is important to note that the rankings are weighted on returning talent when examining the below list. This means that Kentucky and Duke in particular will be shown lower here than any other ranking list you will find. For the sake of consistency, they are left where they are to purely show BPI numbers.

A few other team that have surprising rankings are Marquette, West Virginia, Syracuse, and Wisconsin. The model likes Marquette and WV's offense and coaching style. Wisconsin and Syracuse seem to be based largely on returning talent. Below is the top 25 of the list, taken directly from ESPN:

As mentioned, we are a long way out from college basketball season. It is fun to play the guessing game on where everyone will wind up, and there are a lot of numbers behind the above list. BPI doesn't account for everything such as Duke's massive influx of young talent, so things are certainly subject to change.

Keep an eye on The Basketball Movement for more college hoops stuff, NBA stuff, high school stuff, WNBA stuff, local stuff, and well, basketball stuff!

NCAA power rankings - Who is at the top?

Men's college basketball is slowly starting to wind down and thoughts are turning to the NCAA tournament.

Power rankings are becoming more and more important each week, as we are starting to get a good idea of who we will see competing in the NCAA's big dance.

As you likely know, records are not everything, as the tournament takes into account things such as conferences and strength of schedule. ESPN has updated its comprehensive top-25 list and the top three are as follows:

1. Virginia Cavaliers (22-1)
2. Villanova Wildcats (22-1)
3. Purdue Boilermakers (23-2)

Virginia sits at the top of the list bolstered by its intimidating defense. They are hoping this improved defense can take them farther this year after being ousted by Florida in just the second round last year.

Villanova is certainly a team that we are used to seeing near the top year-after-year. This year is no different with them sporting a lot of offensive firepower.

Purdue has had several good seasons, but they have been surprisingly elite this year. They have had some close ones, but are currently clinging to a 19-game win streak.

The other guys

Kansas (18-5) is number four, having played one of the tougher national schedules and Xavier (21-3) is at the five. Duke (19-4) has looked out of sorts of late, slipping to number seven, while Clemson (19-4) makes a jump to number eight in the standings with some big wins.

Trae Young finally had an off night shooting last Saturday and OU (16-6) moved back a few spots to 14, right in front of North Carolina (17-7). Kentucky (17-6) recently dropped a game to Mizzou, and takes the 22 spot.

Since their Cinderella run in 2010, Butler (17-7) has done a great job of staying relevant. They are holding onto the number 25 spot, with Florida, Arizona State, and Wichita State (not a state) on the outside looking in.

For the full list, check it out on ESPN. For all things basketball, check out The Basketball Movement.