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NCAA Basketball: 5 takeaways from AP Preseason Top-25 for 2020-21

By Tristan Freeman

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 12: The arena sits unused after the announcement of the cancellation of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 12, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. The tournament has been cancelled due to the growing concern about the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 12: The arena sits unused after the announcement of the cancellation of the SEC Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena on March 12, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee. The tournament has been cancelled due to the growing concern about the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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NCAA Basketball
NCAA Basketball (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Duke and Kentucky out of the top 5

Whenever these rankings come out, the teams to watch are always Duke and Kentucky, the biggest of the blue bloods. They’re both always in the top-10 and sometimes, at the very top of preseason rankings. It was going to be interesting where they landed this year, with the Blue Devils listed at 9 and Kentucky after at 10.

Both teams lost a ton of production from last season. The Blue Devils are without their top three leading scorers (Tre Jones, Vernon Carey Jr. and Cassius Stanley), while the Wildcats literally lost every scholarship player on their roster outside of Keion Brooks Jr., good for nearly 100% of production overall.

Of course, both teams still nicely recovered with their respective recruiting classes. Kentucky has the No. 1 overall 2020 class, led by five-star guards BJ Boston and Terrence Clarke, while also landing Wake Forest center transfer Olivier Sarr.

Duke’s class was ranked 3rd via 247sportsComposite, with guards DJ Steward, Jeremy Roach, and Jalen Johnson leading the way one the perimeter. To try and add some frontcourt depth and experience, they landed Columbia grad transfer Patrick Tape.

The word “experience” though may have meant more to those who ranked the teams in the AP poll. Despite having several five-star caliber prospects on both rosters, Duke and Kentucky each have questions. There also isn’t the same kind of generational freshmen on these teams such as a Zion Williamson or Anthony Davis, making these programs vulnerable to unexpected losses.

Among the top seven teams ranked, each of them has at least one senior on their rosters that are projected as all-conference or even All-American. The 8th (Illinois), has a talented senior guard in Trent Frazier, along with several other key upperclassmen.

Due to the unique circumstances, programs with veteran leadership may have an edge, particularly if an outbreak occurs within a team. That may subconsciously play into everyone’s minds when thinking about which teams are better than others. This time, it’ll be the Blue Devils and Wildcats flying under the radar a bit.

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