NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 353 D-I programs for 2019-20 season

252. Arkansas State Red Wolves

The Red Wolves have struggled the first two seasons under current head coach Mike Balado.  Balado built the team this year with a transfer from Wake Forest in Melo Eggleston. The potential X-factor for this team is graduate transfer from Chattanooga Jerry Johnson Jr. The Red Wolves are trending upward.

251. East Carolina Pirates

The Pirates have not had much success on the basketball court. East Carolina has won 20 games total over the last two seasons. This year the Pirates may be a little better as they return sophomore Jayden Gardner who is their team leader and one of the better young players in the American. The Pirates also get one more year of Virginia Tech transfer Seth LeDay. The American is loaded, and it is a struggle to climb out of the basement.

250. Alabama State Hornets

The Hornets won 12 games last year, which was the highest win total they have had in the last two seasons. Heading into this season Alabama State no longer has star guard Reginald Gee. The Hornets do still have a good portion of their contributors from a season ago to help minimize the loss of Gee.

249. Fort Wayne Mastodons

Head Coach Jon Coffman has won at least 16 games every year he has been at the helm. The Mastodons have never had a losing record under Coffman. This year he is going to need some new players to step up to replace the loss of star John Konchar.

248. Boston University Terriers

Max Mahoney learn the name as he is one of the best players in the Patriot League. With the help of Redshirt Sophomore Walter Whyte and junior JaVante McCoy, the Terriers could be a tough out in what looks to be another season of extremely competitive basketball in the Patriot League.

247. Central Arkansas Bears

Head coach Russ Pennell has what many would consider his best roster he has ever had at Central Arkansas. The Bears seemed to have finally figured things out in the Southland Conference. Central Arkansas like so many other low major schools is led by a duo of juniors who do much of the dirty work. Center Hayden Koval and guard DeAndre Jones lead the charge for the upstart Bears.

246. Samford Bulldogs

Coach Scott Padgett returns three of his top scorers from a year ago. One of those players who returns is 17 points per game scorer Josh Sharkey. Padgett has one of the best teams he has had at Samford and the Southern Conference is still loaded. Samford finished sixth last year and that may be where they end up again, even with a winning conference record.

245. Southern Utah Thunderbirds

The Thunderbirds won 17 games last season. That was the most they have won since the 2001-2002 season. This year the Thunderbirds should be better as they return 2 of their top 4 scorers and add two transfers. JaKolby Long from Iowa State and Daouda N’Diaye from Illinois State. The Thunderbirds have a great chance to finish above .500 and near the top of the Big Sky.

244. Eastern Michigan Eagles

Coach Rob Murphy lost his three top scorers from a season ago. The Eagles have now resorted to building their team through the JUCO ranks. The Eagles who have never lived up the expectations in the MAC enter this season with the worst team coach Murphy has ever had.

243. Morehead State Eagles

Since head coach Preston Spradlin took over the Eagles program it has been some tough sledding for Morehead State. This season he has a good number of his scoring back from a season ago and even adds a transfer to help with the depth of the team. Morehead State still finished fifth in the Ohio Valley despite only winning 13 games a season ago.

242. Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions

Pine Bluff is another team in the SWAC who lost a huge amount of scoring from a season ago.  The Golden Lions only averaged around 65 points per game and lost a 20 point per game scorer in Martaveous McKnight. It is going to be tough for coach George Ivory to replace that scoring.

241. Norfolk State Spartans

The Spartans won 22 games a year ago, and this year they have experienced a ton of roster turnover from the year before. They are going to rely on Saint Louis transfer Jermaine Bishop and many JUCO transfers. Point guard Steven Whitley did decide to return and lead the offense which can only be thought of as a win for head coach Robert Jones.

240. Cornell Big Red

Cornell has improved every season under current head coach Brian Earl. The Big Red enter the season without 22-point scorer Matt Morgan. The current roster currently has a tremendous amount of question marks and unproven players.

239. Ohio Bobcats

Ohio experienced some attrition in the offseason. They lost their coach Saul Phillips and hired upstart coach Jeff Boals from Stony Brook. The Bobcats also saw their two best players leave to transfer. Boals was able to bolster the lineup with a graduate transfer from Georgia Tech. He also still has a key contributor to past Ohio teams with the return on injured guard Jordan Dartis. Ohio has some nice pieces around them that will speed up the rebuild for Boals.

238. Montana State Bobcats

Everything sets up perfectly for Montana State to rise in the Big Sky rankings. They are coached by a former Bobcat in Danny Sprinkle, who also was on the last team that made the NCAA tournament. Even despite losing one of the greatest to ever wear a Bobcat uniform in Tyler Hall, Norwegian do everything guard Harald Frey is still on campus. The Bobcats had a winning record in conference last year, nothing says they will not again.

237. Evansville Purple Aces

No one could have expected Evansville to play as bad as they did for most of the season a year ago. Coach Walter McCarty was given a roster that was gutted by transfers and graduation. This season he has some high-profile transfers and his leading scorer returning. Evansville should be much more competitive.

236. Robert Morris Colonials

Robert Morris is another one of those extremely consistent mid-major programs. They usually finish with more wins than losses and usually finish near the top of their conference. These should all be true again. The Colonials have Josh and Jon Williams as well as Charles Bain to lead the charge in the Northeast Conference.

235. Prairie View A and M Panthers

The Panthers won 20 games last season for the first time in school history. They qualified for the NCAA tournament for the second time in school history. Last year is over and this season the Panthers lose their star Gary Blackston and many key rotational pieces. The Panthers do still have a good portion of their scoring from a year ago still on campus.

234. Eastern Washington Eagles

Mason Peatling and Jacob Davison are both 15 point per game scorers who return for the Eagles. Eastern Washington will need to improve upon its defense if they want to reach their full potential. Coach Shantay Legans has built a good supporting cast around his two stars. Eastern Washington will be better than their 16 wins a season ago.

233. Lamar Cardinals

The Cardinals have been one of the better programs in the Southland Conference for the last three seasons. Heading into this year head coach Tic Price and the Cardinals have a revamped roster.  The roster has a long list of transfers and first-year players. It looks to be a middle of the Southland pack type of season for Lamar.