NCAA Basketball: Updated early top-25 power rankings for 2020-21 season

NCAA Basketball power rankings – Texas Longhorns

There’s always a debate about how much to value teams who return the majority of their offensive production from an average campaign a year ago. That’s going to be the case with Texas, who has underachieved under head coach Shaka Smart. In fact, the crazy circumstances of this offseason may have ultimately saved his job.

But he’s back and brings with him a five-star prospect in Greg Brown. Thought to have been going to the G League, his surprising decision to play college ball is a major boost to their frontcourt, which only had center Jericho Sims as a consistent producing big man. The power forward position was a glaring weak spot, with Kai Jones, Kamaka Hepa, and Gerald Lidell all splitting starts there last season. If he can be at least a double-digit scorer himself, that makes Texas automatically better.

They’ll still be led by the perimeter guards, including Matt Coleman, Andrew Jones and Jase Febres. Courtney Ramey is a breakout candidate as a junior, giving the Longhorns arguably the best guard depth in the Big 12 next season.

The defense should remain strong for Texas. But any kind of improvement on offense should have this team in contention to not only make the NCAA Tournament but be a darkhorse threat to make a run. The entire roster is filled with top-100 talent and a number of seniors, making this a “put up or shut up” campaign for everyone involved. No excuses why the Longhorns can’t in the top-25 for most of 2020-21.