Ranking The Best Teams in College Basketball Heading Into The NBA Draft

1. Baylor

 If it wasn’t for a handful of bad injury luck, Baylor could have easily become the first program since Florida in 2007/ 2008, to repeat as national Champions. Despite losing LJ Cryer, and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua to season ending injuries, Scott Drew still led the Bears to a number one seed for the second consecutive season. The Bears will return Cryer alongside Adam Flagler in the backcourt, who improved last season after dropping 13 points for the Bears in their 2021 National Championship game victory. Baylor also brings in a consensus Top 5 recruit in Keyontae George, alongside West Virginia Transfer Jalen Bridges, who Bob Huggins raved about his hunger and desire to win. With these pieces alongside a returning Flo Thamba, Baylor can easily produce another year of being at the top of College Basketball.

2. Houston

The state of Texas is off to a roaring start in these rankings, after Houston Head Coach Kelvin Sampson put together another impressive coaching job, cementing himself as one of the best in the sport. Last December, Houston lost leading scorer Marcus Sasser for the season with a foot injury and it didn’t bother them one bid. The Cougars finished the season, 23-4 without Sasser and Tramon Mark, making it to the Elite 8 for the second consecutive season. Houston came out of NBA Draft Deadline day, as one of the major winners, getting Sasser back for next season. The Cougars will also return Jamaal Shead, who broke out as a lead guard last season, and will give Sasser more room to operate off the ball. With the return of Mark, who was a major contributor to the 2021 Final Four team and 5-star Freshman Jarrace Walker in the frontcourt, Kelvin Sampson brings in a dynamic, talented roster, set to do big things with being led by his coaching ability.

3. Gonzaga

Things looked somewhat bleak for Gonzaga following a disappointment Sweet 16 lose to Arkansas, failing to win a National Championship after getting the #1 overall seed, for the second consecutive season. Gonzaga lost Chet Holmgren and Andrew Nembhard to the NBA Draft, with the possibility of losing Drew Timme and other significant contributors from last year’s team. Instead, Mark Few was the biggest winner of NBA Draft Deadline day getting Timme back alongside Julian Strawther and Rasir Bolton, who were no sure things to come back. One day after the deadline Gonzaga picked up a commitment from Chattanooga Guard Malachi Smith, who averaged 19.9 points per game in 2022, leading the Mocs to the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga is also hoping for leaps from Sophomores Nolan Hickman and Hunter Sallis, who were highly touted players out of high school, and should see much bigger roles this season.

4. North Carolina

No team will come into the 2022-2023 season with more momentum, then Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels. Despite a disappointing regular season, North Carolina entered the NCAA Tournament somewhat under the radar, the Tar Heels came minutes away from a National Title and will return 4 of their 5 starters. Caleb Love was one of the more intriguing players in College Basketball last season, consistently showing flashes of greatness, but also playing inefficient basketball. What made North Carolina so impressive towards the back end of the season, was that even when Love wasn’t playing great, they still found ways to win. Senior big man Armando Bacot returns after having 15 points and 15 rebounds in the National Championship game on a bad ankle. It will be fascinating to see what the Tar Heels do without Brady Manek, who was vital in their deep Tournament run. With that being said North Carolina is in the running for Northwestern Transfer Pete Nance, who would be a perfect replacement. With RJ Davis and Leaky Black back as well, North Carolina has the tournament experience for another deep run.

5. Creighton

At this time last year, Creighton lost all 5 starters from a team that made the Sweet 16, and it was unknown just how good they would be in 2022. After starting the season with some ups and downs, Greg McDermott’s team took off, going 9-4 in their last 13 games. During this stretch Creighton lost Starting Point Guard Ryan Nembhard due to a season ending wrist injury. With their backs against the wall, a number of key players emerged for Creighton including Freshman Trey Alexander and Arthur Kaluma. With Alexander showing steadiness and efficiency with the ball in his hands and Kaluma blossoming into a go to scoring option, there were very few teams in the country more enjoyable to watch. Creighton made it all the way to the Big East Tournament Final and Round of 32 in the big dance. Creighton’s season came to an end losing to the eventual National Champions Kansas, without Ryan Kalkbrunner, who has an argument as being the best big man in College Basketball this season, due to a knee injury suffered in the first round. Although the Blue Jays lost key contributors in Ryan Hawkins and Alex O’Connell, they also gained one of the best Transfers available in Baylor Scheierman.

6. UCLA

Although they didn’t return to the Final 4, last season was a massive success for Mick Cronin’s group, staying ranked in the top 10 for a majority of the season and making it to the Sweet 16. Despite losing key contributors in Johnny Juzang and Jules Bernard, UCLA brings back a really good core group of players. Primarily both Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez Jr. will be playing under Cronin at UCLA for their 4th season and know exactly what to expect. In addition, UCLA brings in one of the best recruiting classes in the country including top 10 prospect Amari Bailey and Adem Bona. The one guy that can be the x-factor for this Bruins team is Jaylen Clark, who was a very useful player last season, and can guard any position on the floor. All Mick Cronin has done is win since he arrived in Westwood, and there is no reason to think anything different will occur this season.

7. Duke

First year Head Coach John Scheyer has a massive challenge ahead of him, replacing a legend in Mike Krzyzewski. Even though no basketball has been played for Duke under Scheyer’s watch, he has done a great job immediately bringing in talent, while creating some momentum heading into his first season. Duke brings in the #1 recruiting class in the country, headlined by three of the top four ranked prospects in the country. The class includes Derek Lively, Dariq Whitehead and Kyle Fillipsowski, who should all be lottery picks in the NBA. In addition, Duke will be bringing in Mark Mitchell and the reclassified Tyreese Proctor, to add to an already loaded class. Despite getting some news about the possibility of Trevor Keels coming back to school, Jeremy Roach will return to Durham with a major opportunity to lead this team as a Junior. After a disappointing first year and a half, Roach took off for Duke last season, as one of the steadiest floor generals in the country. Roach had some big performances in the biggest moments, including dropping 15 points in two of Duke’s NCAA Tournament wins over Michigan State and Texas Tech.

8. Tennessee

Similar to last year, Tennessee will enter the new season with a talented roster and a ton of hype, following a disappointing NCAA Tournament loss. Before the season ended with a disappointing loss to Michigan, Tennessee had a fantastic season and Rick Barnes deserves credit for getting this program to consistently play winning basketball. Unlike last year, this Tennessee team has a ton of returning talent, already bought in and familiar with Barnes system. This is huge due to the fact that last year, Tennessee seemed to have too many good players and it took some time for Rick Barnes to really get things figured out. This year a core group of Zakai Zeigler, Santiago Vescovi, Josiah Jordan- James, Olivier Nkamhoua, Jonas Aidoo and Uros Plavisic. The backcourt composed of Zeigler and Vescovi should be one of the better units in the country, as both players are tough players that can play on my team any day of the week. In addition, the Vols bring in a big time Freshman in Julian Phillips that should have a role as well. The guy to watch for however is Aidoo, as he really showed flashes of greatness last season, especially on the defensive end and can make a major impact with a much better opportunity this season.

9. Kentucky

There isn’t much John Calipari can do until the NCAA Tournament next year to win back the trust of Kentucky fans following their disappointing opening round Tournament loss to Saint Peters. The pressure was especially on Calipari due to the fact that it was the second year in a row Kentucky had a massively disappointing season, after the disastrous 2021 campaign. Despite the disappointing NCAA Tournament loss, Kentucky did have a successful regular season and things could have ended differently if TyTy Washington would have been fully healthy throughout the ride. Kentucky had some great moment including going into Phog Allen Fieldhouse and beating the eventual National Champions Kansas by 18 points, and things never felt the same for Kentucky following their January loss to Auburn, which was also the first time TyTy got hurt. This season kentucky, returns the defending National Player of the Year in Oscar Tshibwe alongside returning Point Guard Shavir Wheeler and useful forward Jacob Toppin. That top 3 alone is solid and You should expect a massive jump from Toppin, who has produced so much the last two seasons and now finally has a massive opportunity. In addition, Kentucky brings in another dynamic recruiting class headlined by Chris Livingston and Casen Wallace, who could both be playing on the perimeter. Calipari had such a great run at Kentucky from when he first arrived to 2020, and for the first time in a while he will have something to prove this season.

10. Arkansas

Razorbacks’ Head Coach Eric Mussleman has done an outstanding job in his first 3 years in Fayetteville, and that is likely to continue this season. After making it to the Elite 8 in each of the last two seasons, Arkansas brings in the #2 ranked recruiting class in College Basketball, headlined by McDonald’s All Americans Nick Smith, Jordan Walsh and Anthony Black. Smith has a legitimate chance to be the best NBA prospect in College Basketball next season, and as always Coach Muss dominated the transfer portal cycle. Arkansas will rely on the same new faces after the losses of JD Notae, Jaylin Williams, Stanley Umude and others, however they bring in Trevon Brazil, Jalen Graham, Ricky Council IV and the Mitchell twins. Council is in position to be the small ball 4, which Coach Muss has had a history of making major success stories out of. In addition, Brazil broke out towards the back end of last season for Missouri and despite only averaging 6.6 points per game, there were a handful of Power 6 schools that were heavily interested. This Arkansas team has more natural talent then each of the Razorback teams in the last two years that went on deep NCAA Tournament runs, despite not many returning players.

11. Kansas

The defending National Champions will lose a majority of the core that brought them to the promised land including Ochai Agbaji, Christian Braun, Remy Martin, David McCormack and others. A lot of times certain programs can struggle a bit after winning the big one and losing so much production from a championship team. Thankfully Head Coach Bill Self did a phenomenal job bringing in reinforcements, while there are also some returnees’, in for a possible breakout. Primarily, Kansas brings in the #4 overall recruiting class in the country, headlined by top 30 prospects Grady Dick, MJ Rice, and Ernest Udeh Jr. In addition, Kansas added Kevin McCullar Jr. from Texas Tech, who was already one of the best defenders in the Big 12 and is the kind of player you want on your team any day of the week. With numerous returnees such as Jalen Wilson and DeJuan Harris, alongside possible breakout players like KJ Adams, Zach Clemence and Bobby Pettiford, Bill Self will have the Jayhawks right back in contention at the top of the Big 12, following their 4th National Championship trophy.   

12. Alabama

In late December, Alabama was sitting pretty with an 8-1 overall record and collected back to back wins over Gonzaga and Houston in the same week. After that massive two game stretch, they finished the season 11-13 overall in their last 23 games, and lost in the NCAA Tournament’s opening round to Notre Dame. Something didn’t feel right with this Alabama team as they were never on the same page, and it was evident that at some points Nate Oats didn’t have any answers. The Tide should be in for a bounce back season, as despite losing some key pieces, Alabama did a great job in the transfer portal. The Tide brought in Mark Sears from Ohio, who was arguably the best natural Point Guard on the market, alongside Dom Welch from St Bonaventure. In addition, Alabama will get former Texas Tech Guard Nimari Burnett back in the lineup, after he sat out the entirety of last season with a torn ACL, alongside the #3 ranked recruiting class in the sport. It was difficult for the Tide to live up to expectations last season, following the loss of two pros in Herb Jones and John Petty from the 2021 SEC regular season and tournament championship teams. With a full year to get used to life without them, it will be big for the Tide to get back to their winning ways.

13. TCU

Jaime Dixon’s Horned Frogs, snuck onto a lot of people’s radar in the NCAA Tournament last season, when they blew out Seton Hall and came very close to knocking out #1 seed Arizona. TCU will return all five starters from last year’s team that won 21 games last season. The group is headlined by star Point Guard Mike Miles who initially declared for the NBA Draft, before having a change of heart and deciding to come back to Fort Worth. The thing that makes this TCU team so intriguing, is that despite being very talented their main strength is their toughness. With a lengthy frontcourt headlined by Eddie Lampkin, Emmanuel Miller and Charles O’Bannon, TCU will have three guys at 6’7” or taller on the floor at all times. This doesn’t include the return of Damion Baugh, who is the best defender on the team and one of the best in the country. With other lengthy guys such as Micah Peavy, Xavier Cork and JaKobe Coles coming off the bench as well, TCU should have one of the best defensive units in the country. There is a good possibility this team could be the best TCU team Fort Worth has ever seen, with the return of an entire very good core and Head Coach.

14. San Diego State

Many people forget that the Aztecs were in position to get a #1 seed in the 2020 NCAA Tournament before it got called, and have followed it up by making it back to the big dance in each of the last two seasons. Head Coach Brian Dutcher has done a phenomenal job building the program and it resulted in 6 of the top 7 Aztec leading scorers returning. The group is headlined by former California Transfer Matt Bradley, who finished 9th in the Mountain West in scoring with 17 points per game. The Aztecs will also return big man Nathan Mensah for his fifth year in the program, as one of the country’s top rim protectors. The question for San Diego State is do they have enough scoring alongside Bradley? The Aztecs were consistently great on the defensive end of the floor a season ago, but lost some games based on the inability to score. Lamonte Butler is a player to watch, as he has been great on the defensive end throughout his career and has really improved on the other end of the floor. A year 3 leap would be vital for the Aztecs, as him and sharpshooter Chad Baker- Mazara will make an impact in the backcourt. The Aztecs also gained Seattle transfer Darrion Tramell from the portal, who will provide offense in the backcourt as well.

15. Villanova

It is going to be very odd next season watching Villanova Basketball and not seeing Jay Wright roaming the sidelines. The Wright era at Villanova lasted for 21 years resulting in 2 National Championships, four Final 4’s and a handful of other accomplishments. Former Fordham Coach and Villanova Assistant Kyle Neptune will take control and Villanova fans should be excited. Neptune led Fordham to their best season since 2016, in only his first year in charge. Despite the departure of Wright, Villanova does return some key contributors from last year’s team that made it all the way to the Final 4.  That includes Caleb Daniels, Eric Dixon and Brandon Slater, who all burst onto the scene last season. Specifically, Daniels, the former Tulane transfer, who raised his scoring average, rebounding and minutes played per game. With the losses of Colin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels, there is now a major opportunity for Daniels to be the go to guy. Villanova should also be excited about the potential of Jordan Longino, who looked promising in the somewhat limited action we saw last season. Despite only averaging 1.8 points per game, Longino found himself on the floor in some crucial situations towards the back end of last season, and had 10 points in the Wildcats season finale against Butler. With guys like Dixon and Slater also improving, Villanova should be right back in the fold at the top of the Big East.

16. Illinois
    
    Illini Head Coach Brad Underwood has done a tremendous job since arriving in Champagne, improving the team year by year. The Illini have won at least twenty games in each of the last three seasons, and have done a tremendous job bringing in and developing talent. Unfortunately, not everyone thinks this highly of the Illini, based on the fact that they have not been to a second weekend yet, under the watch of Underwood. What isn’t mentioned is that Illinois has caught some brutal breaks in the postseason the last few years, including drawing back to back teams ranked in KenPom’s Top 10, in each of the last two seasons. Despite losing guys like Kofi Cockburn, Trent Frazier and Alfonso Plummer, the Illini are set for another big season. Illinois brings in transfers Terrance Shannon Jr. and Matthew Mayer, who at one point in their college careers looked like sure-fire NBA players, but it hasn’t necessarily worked out just yet. In addition, the Illini will bring back RJ Melendez and Coleman Hawkins on the wing, who both showed massive potential throughout last season. The one question is how will the team look being run by a true Freshman Point Guard in Skyy Clark. But with that being said, this is the most talented team in a weaker Big Ten that can easily find themselves at the top of the standings.

17. Indiana
    
    Very few teams in College Basketball created more momentum than Indiana this offseason. Star Forward Trayce Jackson- Davis decided to return to school for the second consecutive offseason and will likely be the frontrunner for Conference Player of the Year alongside Hunter Dickinson. Mike Woodson will enter his second season in charge, following taking the program to their first NCAA Tournament since 2016, last season. Indiana will be returning a really good core group of players alongside Jackson-Davis including Xavier Johnson, Race Thompson, Jordan Geronimo and Miller Kopp among others. The Hoosiers will also bring in two marquee Freshman in Jordan Hood-Schifino and Malik Reneau. It was clear last season that Indiana still had some trouble getting over the hump towards the end of close games, which was vital to the disappointment suffered during the Archie Miller era. However, as things went on last season, that changed, as Indiana won a handful of close games late to secure the NCAA Tournament bid. With another season together to get over that hump, it could be the season Hoosier fans have been waiting for.

18. Florida State

After missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016, Leonard Hamilton’s Seminoles should be in for a bounce back season. Despite the season being disappointing, we were introduced to Florida State’s Freshman class headlined by Matthew Cleveland and Jalen Warley. Both guys should see a massive jump in 2023 after showing flashes, but also inconsistency this past season. In addition, the Seminoles will return former Houston Guard Caleb Mills, who should be one of the better players in the ACC. Mills once averaged 13.2 points per game at Houston during the 2020 season, and continued to score the ball at a rapid pace in Tallahassee last season. Florida State will also bring in UCF transfer Darrin Green Jr., who can really shoot the basketball and Freshman big man Baba Miller, who can also shoot the ball as a stretch 4. The addition of Miller is critical, following the somewhat surprising departure of John Butler III, who was another key member of last year’s Freshman class and showed massive potential. Leonard Hamilton has been doing this a long time and with this roster, the Seminoles will surely be back in the NCAA Tournament.

19. Wyoming

Although their overall tournament resume might have said otherwise, Wyoming deserved better than a First 4 NCAA Tournament loss a season ago. Head Coach Jeff Linder consistently had his Cowboys as one of the best 30 or so teams in the sport, and Wyoming will return some key members alongside a handful of major additions. Primarily, there won’t be many better 1/2 punches in the sport then Hunter Maldonado and Graham Ike. Maldonado is a unique player standing at 6’7” but playing exclusively on the perimeter as a Point Guard, while not being the best shooter. This will be his 6th year of College Basketball, so there is nothing especially in the Mountain West that he hasn’t seen. Up front, Ike is one of the most skilled big men in the country, and compliments Maldonado perfectly alongside some of the Cowboys additions. In a span of 24 hours, Linder gained the commitment of three Pac 12 transfers including Ethan Anderson and Max Agbonkpolo from USC and Jake Kyman from UCLA. These three players will immediately fill holes Wyoming needed to fix in the worst way including depth, toughness and shooting. 

20. Oklahoma

It was a very successful first season in Norman for Porter Moser despite not making it to the NCAA Tournament. Oklahoma had some massive victories throughout the season, including knocking Baylor out of the Big 12 Tournament and beating a very good Texas tech team. One given about each of Moser’s teams of the past, is that they will always defend their hearts out and work hard on both ends of the floor The Sooners are set to return key frontcourt members Jacob Groves, Tanner Groves, and Jalen Hill. The Tanner Groves/ Hill starting frontcourt should be one of the more undervalued frontcourts in the country, as both players’ numbers might not stick out, but it’s clear how effective and contagious their play is. In addition, the Sooners will bring in Nevada Transfer Grant Sheffield, who has scored over 100 points in his three-year college career.