NCAA Basketball: Updated early top-25 power rankings for 2020-21 season
Honorable mentions for NCAA Basketball top-25 rankings
Arkansas Razorbacks
It was a solid first season for Eric Musselman, working with some quality guards to have a better than expected last season. They won’t have leading scorer and passer Mason Jones and could lose 16 ppg scorer Isaiah Joe to the NBA Draft as well. But with grad transfers Vance Jackson and Jalen Tate, along with a top-10 recruiting class, the Razorbacks will have plenty of depth to work with. If any of the sit-out transfers (JD Notae, Connor Vanover and Abayomi Iyiola) can give any kind of production then they’ll be ranked in 2020-21.
LSU Tigers
Assuming that forward Trendon Watford remains in the NBA Draft, that makes the top three scorers gone from the Tigers roster. They should return both Ja’vonte Smart and Darius Days, both double-digit scoring starters. Then there’s five-star guard Cameron Thomas, part of a top-10 incoming recruiting class. There could be reinforcements coming with five-star center Moussa Cisse set to make a decision in the next month. If he picks LSU, expect them to be in the official preseason top-25 list.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
The postseason ban left them out of the spotlight but the Yellow Jackets quietly finished tied for 5th in the ACC this past season. They return their top three scorers (Moses Wright, Jose Alvarado and Michael Devoe) and also have another returning starter in Jordan Usher. Head coach Josh Pastner has arguably the best roster he’s had since joining Georgia Tech and it’ll be NCAA Tournament or bust for them in 2021.
Stanford Cardinal
One of the biggest pending NBA Draft decisions includes what will happen to freshman guard Tyrell Terry, who was a breakout star for Stanford. If he decides to come back, they’ll return all of key players, including All-Pac 12 forward Oscar Da Silva. They also bringing in five-star Ziaire Williams to add a scoring punch. But again, their Pac-12 title hopes will depend on what happens with Terry.
Indiana Hoosiers
Leading scorer Trayce Jackson-Davis will be coming back for another season and five-star point guard commit Khristian Lander has reclassified to play in 2020-21 season. The question lies with the supporting cast, with both Justin Smith and Devonte Green having departed from the team. Rising seniors Joey Bunk and Aljami Durham will have to have big roles to add enough support, while the incoming freshmen will hopefully improve the Hoosiers shooting woes from last season.