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

232. Troy Trojans

Scott Cross is a great coach and it is great that he can have a chance to build a program back up like he did at his former job Texas-Arlington. This season it is going to take his best coaching job for Troy to reach the middle of the Sun Belt pack. The roster is largely turned over and it saw the graduation of their stars Jordan Varnado and Alex Hicks. Cross will get the Trojans turned around, but it won’t be this year.

231. Mercer Bears

Few mid-major hires were better than the one Mercer made this year. They hired Matt Painter disciple Greg Gary. Gary is going to get Mercer back to making the NCAA tournament in no time, but this year he inherits a team that won 11 games. The Bears do have their two leading scorers returning and Gary has a great player development reputation. Mercer will be better.

230. Utah Valley Wolverines

The Wolverines were expected to be one of the contenders in the WAC. That was until their stars Jake Toolson and Baylee Steele decided to transfer after former coach Mark Pope left for BYU.  New coach Mark Madsen is going to rely on transfers and JUCO players to get him over the hump. Year one will be a transition year, but the following years should be much better.

229. Loyola Maryland Greyhounds

The Greyhounds are an extreme sleeper to vastly outplay their ranking. They have arguably the best starting five in the Patriot League with Andrew Kostecka, Chuck Champion, Isaiah Hart, Brent Holcombe and KaVaughn Scott. Kostecka is a legitimate Patriot League player of the year candidate. The team had a terrible time defending last year and this year it doesn’t seem to be better. That was the downfall along with lack of quality depth.

228. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

Cliff Ellis has done a fantastic job as the head coach of the Chants. He has been able to coach the team to 20-win seasons in six of his 12 full seasons at the helm. The last two have not been as good as they have been a middle of the pack Sun Belt team. This year he does return his starting backcourt, who were also the leading scorers. The rest of the roster has numerous question marks.

227. Army Black Knights

Army has won 13 games each of the last three seasons and finished in the middle of the Patriot League each of the last three seasons. The Black Knights don’t usually have to worry about transfers or players leaving early. This year they return most of their roster including their best rebounder Matt Wilson and leading shooter and captain Tommy Funk. Going out on a limb and projecting yet another middle of the Patriot league finish again.

226. Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks

The Skyhawks may have struck it rich with two transfers from Pennsylvania. Craig Randall from Duquesne played half the season a year ago and was the best player on the floor for the Skyhawks. The second transfer is coach Anthony Stewart’s son Parker. Parker played his freshman year at Pitt and can really shoot the ball. Those players to go along with the rest of the roster will push the Skyhawks to a .500 record and a top-five finish in the OVC.

225. Fairleigh Dickinson Knights

The Knights represented the Northeast conference last season in the NCAA tournament. They return key pieces Jahlil Jenkins and Xzavier Malone-Key from that team. The team leader last year and star of the NEC tournament Darnell Edge is no longer on campus. Fairleigh Dickinson will still be a top-half team.

224. Valparaiso Crusaders

The transition for Valpo to the Missouri Valley conference has not gone well. The Crusaders have yet to finish higher than eighth place in the conference. Going into this season the Crusaders were destroyed by transfers and graduation. The light at the end of the tunnel is second-leading scorer Ryan Fazekas stuck around and head coach Matt Lottich gets two key transfers in Eron Gordon and Nick Robinson. These three will be tasked with helping the Crusaders climb out of the MVC basement.

223. Miami (Ohio) Redhawks

Year three of the Jack Owens era kicks off with arguably his best team he has ever had. Miami returns all-conference player Nike Sibande and budding star forward Dalonte Brown. Even with those players and the best team the Redhawks have had in a long time, it’ll be tough to get to the top of the MAC, especially the East division is strong.

222. Rider Broncs

Rider is one of the few teams who can boast they return much of their starting lineup. That lineup has been extremely productive. The Broncs by all accounts had a disappointing season last year.  This year the roster is another year older and is looking to have a better showing in their quest to the NCAA tournament.

221. Columbia Lions

The Ivy League plays a fun brand of basketball that is visually appealing to fans. Columbia fits right into that mold. The Lions enter the year returning their three leading scorers. One of those players is point guard Mike Smith who was lost to an injury just eight games into the season. The Lions will improve on their 10 wins from a season ago, but there are much better teams in the Ivy.

220. Southeastern Louisiana Lions

Southeastern Louisiana is starting fresh this year. They have a new coach David Kiefer, after Jay Ladner left to take the Southern Mississippi job. With the new coach comes a roster makeover.  The team’s two best players are no longer on campus and the natural attrition of losing a coach has hurt the depth this team once had. Look for senior Von Julien to lead the Lions in the Southland. Year one post-Ladner is going to be a tough one.

219. Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders

There is always next year is something sports fans love to say. That may be the actual case for the Blue Raiders. Next season they get a slew of transfers to help with depth. This season the top two scorers return including star Antonio Green. The entire roster is built almost entirely of sit out transfers. That will hurt the depth once again this year, but the starters and sixth man should be enough to improve from the 11 wins a year ago.

218. Abilene Christian Wildcats

Abilene Christian lost a lot from last season. The team won 27 games and qualified for the school’s only NCAA tournament appearance. Peyton Ricks is going to have to shoulder the load offensively as the Wildcats look to replace two 14-point scorers. Abilene Christian will be alright because one staple of Joe Golding coached teams is their prowess on the defensive end. If they continue to play defense, they should win some games.

217. Florida Gulf Coast Eagles

Last season was the first year since 2011-2012 that the Eagles did not win 20 or more games. They won 14 total games and finished third in the much-improved Atlantic Sun conference. This season Dunk City enters the year led by sophomore Zach Scott and Division two Nova Southeastern transfer Malik Hardy. The Eagles will get closer to the norm, but 20 wins may be a stretch.

216. Campbell Fighting Camels

Campbell is the one team on this list who can drastically underplay their ranking. They must replace the NCAA leading scorer from a season ago Chris Clemons. The Camels also lost big man Andrew Eudy. Coach Kevin McGeehan has done a nice job and has instilled confidence in the fan base that he will continue winning. Life post Clemons will be a learning experience.

215. UMass Minutemen

The first two seasons of the Matt McCall era have not gone according to plan for the Minutemen.  McCall was able to build the roster with quality transfers from high major schools. The problem is some of those guys have not panned out and he lost star Luwane Pipkins to transfer. This season McCall has players who have bought into his system and was able to secure a talented big man Tre Mitchell. UMass is trending up.

214. Detroit Mercy Titans

Mike Davis is the current coach of the Titans. He has a reputation for rebuilding programs, and he is on his way to doing that with Detroit Mercy. His son Antoine is a guard on the team and scored 26 points per game last season. He is the most exciting player to watch in the Horizon League.  This season the Titans have bolstered the talent around their star with a couple of graduate transfers. Brad Calipari from Kentucky and BJ Maxwell from Abilene Christian.

213. UAB Blazers

Every season it seems UAB is always slept on, and they quietly have a winning record and play competitive games against everyone. This year the Blazers return their nice inside out combo with guard Zack Bryant and center Makhtar Gueye. UAB will need to find some depth and a reliable option behind those two if they want to repeat the consistent success they have had every season.