NCAA Basketball: Power ranking of all 357 teams for 2020-21 season

120. Marshall Thundering Herd

Marshall has never had a problem scoring the ball under Dan D’Antoni. That has usually led to the Thundering Herd finishing near the top of the Conference USA under their current head coach. Marshall is going to be electric on offense again this year as they return their top four scorers from a team who finished just outside the top 50 on offense last year.

Marshall shoots threes and runs a wide-open style on offense they are fun to watch and can open a game up quickly especially when star Taevion Kinsey gets going. Marshall finishes in the top four of the Conference USA again.

119. Charlotte 49ers

Charlotte came out of nowhere last year, many were wrong on how good the 49ers would be. When current head coach Ron Sanchez was hired many knew he would turn the program around but not many knew he would do it this fast. Charlotte can get it done on the defensive end of the floor.

They were just outside the top 50 in terms of overall defense and it was a chore to score on the 49ers last year. Sophomore Jahmir Young is the team’s best offensive threat, best defender, and best rebounder. Charlotte is a top-three team in Conference USA this year.

118. UC-Irvine Anteaters

Russ Turner has been the head coach of the Anteaters for 10 full seasons and in those 10 seasons, the last eight have all seen Irvine have a winning record and finish at the top or near the top of the Big West. Turner builds his team a certain way, he likes to find a ton of players with size and who are extremely versatile.

That is what he has in star player Collin Welp. Welp also teams with the best rebounder in the conference in Brad Greene to make up a great frontcourt. The Big West runs through Irvine again this year.

117. Hofstra Pride

The Pride won the Colonial last season and were headed to the NCAA tournament before the cancellation of the season. Hofstra is back this year and is the favorite to win the Colonial. If Hofstra wins the Colonial regular season this year that will be three years in a row for Joe Mihalich as the coach of Hofstra.

The Pride led the colonial in scoring last year and had five players score in double figures. Hofstra returns a good portion of those players including Isaac Kante who is an all-conference type player. Hofstra is still the best team in the league and wins the Colonial.

116. VCU Rams

Talk about a team who underachieved last year. The Rams were projected to be one of the best teams in the country last year and win the Atlantic 10 going away. They had three huge pieces to their success all coming back including their star point guard Marcus Evans. VCU could just never go on that run that everyone thought they would.

They still won 18 games overall but they did not perform well within the conference. Now their three stars are all gone either by graduation or by transfer. A new crop of stars is ready to go for VCU and Bones Hyland is one of the Atlantic 10’s brightest young stars. The Rams don’t have enough this year to compete at the top and they end up middle of the pack in the Atlantic 10.

115. Tulsa Golden Hurricanes

Tulsa surprised everyone last year when they came out of nowhere and won the American Conference. The Golden Hurricanes were not a great offensive team, but they were good enough especially when it was coupled with the stifling defense they play.

Head coach Frank Haith has done a good job with Tulsa overall but is the Golden Hurricane one of the best teams in the American? I don’t trust them even with Brandon Rachal and a slew of quality transfers who are out to prove that last season was no fluke. Tulsa finishes in the middle of the American pack.

114. Vanderbilt Commodores

Vanderbilt has won three games in the SEC in the last two seasons and has won 18 games in that same time frame. Head coach Jerry Stackhouse had some success last year given the way the last few years had gone for the Commodores. Vanderbilt won 11 games last year and had they not lost one of the best shooters in the country in Aaron Nesmith they likely would have won more. Vanderbilt did lose Nesmith to the draft and star Saben Lee is no longer on campus.

Stackhouse has been very good on the recruiting trail and he was able to secure a bunch of talented kids. Scottie Pippen Jr. the son of former bulls forward Scottie Pippen is the next star to play for Vanderbilt hopefully he can get them to climb out of the SEC basement.

113. South Alabama Jaguars

South Alabama has been a popular destination for transfers who want a fresh start. The Jaguars don’t just get ordinary transfers either they get players from high major schools or grad transfers who at one point were the best players on their team. It’s hard to think that South Alabama is going to finish any worse than they did last year, especially considering all of the players they lost last year.

The Jaguars are really well-coached and head coach Richie Riley has refilled this roster with the high-quality grad transfers, that he is so adept at getting. Michael Flowers becomes eligible and he will be the player that South Alabama apart from the rest. South Alabama is a top-two team in the Sun Belt.

112. Loyola-Chicago Ramblers

The Ramblers have built themselves into a Missouri Valley power under Porter Moser. It all started when Loyola made a surprise run to the final four, which kickstarted the program and there has been no turning back from there. The Ramblers get after it on the defensive end and were a top 25 defensive team last year.

Loyola is also going to be one of a trio of teams who can win the Valley this year. Cameron Krutwig returns for his senior year to lock down the paint and is a candidate for the Valley player of the year.

111. Bowling Green Falcons

It has been 53 years since Bowling Green has made the NCAA tournament and this year they have a good chance to come out of the MAC. The Falcons have a good roster this year and they are going to have one of the best offenses in the country. Bowling Green is going to have to shore up their difference if they want to come out of the MAC as the conference representative.

Justin Turner is one of the best players in the MAC can score at will at times. He is going to help the Falcons tremendously on the offensive end of the floor. Bowling Green finishes second in the MAC East.

110. South Dakota State Jackrabbits

The Jackrabbits finished tied for first with North Dakota State a season ago. This year they will likely win the title outright as no other team in the league has quite the firepower that South Dakota State does. It doesn’t matter who is coaching South Dakota State, because the Jackrabbits are going to dominate and finish at the top of the Summit League. Douglas Wilson was the best player in the league a year ago and will likely dominate again.

109. Georgetown Hoyas

Georgetown has had a tumultuous run under Patrick Ewing. The former Hoyas star has not had a lot of good luck with the talent he has brought into Georgetown. The Hoyas have struggled to stay out of trouble and a lot of the talent has transferred out due to what has been listed as a difference of opinion between the players and the Georgetown head man.

This season is not going to be a good one in DC as the Hoyas have no real good options for scoring. Jahvon Blair returns for a Hoyas team who is likely to finish last in the Big East.

108. Rhode Island Rams

Rhode Island was going to make the NCAA tournament last season, and they likely will this year as well. The Atlantic 10 is going to be much better and deeper this year than it was last year and that bodes well for everyone in the conference. The Rams didn’t do anything great, but do a lot of things well and are well-coached. They are an overall just solid basketball team.

Fatts Russell returns for his senior year and he is looking to go out with a bang. Rhode Island finishes in the middle of the Atlantic 10 pack but still makes the NCAA tournament.

107. Colorado State Rams

Head Coach Niko Medved has a superstar staff and he was a homerun hire for the Rams. Last season, he worked his magic and Colorado State flipped their season around and surprised a lot of people. The Rams were one of the best offensive teams in the country last year.

The roster has been built with quick, long, athletic, and explosive athletes who present matchup nightmares everywhere. Colorado State will likely miss the tournament, but they are a sleeper to grossly outplay their ranking. Isaiah Stevens is turning into one of the best players in the Mountain West.

106. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

Conference USA was a tightly contested conference at the top and Louisiana Tech was a really good team who many thought was going to get the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. This season the Bulldogs return a good part of their roster including two of their best players and they look to be one of the best teams in the Conference USA and should be considered strongly for the NCAA tournament.

Louisiana Tech was top 100 offense and top 35 defense a season ago. They didn’t leave much doubt in most of their wins. Amorie Archibald does a little bit of everything for the Bulldogs and he returns and is going to be a huge factor for Louisiana Tech this year. The Bulldogs are a top-two team in Conference USA.

105. Bradley Braves

Bradley won the Valley tournament two seasons in a row and qualified for the NCAA tournament two years in a row. The Braves are that team that no one knows what to expect from over the last two seasons they have not played as well as they can play in the regular season, but they turn it on when it counts come tournament time. The team this year is deeper and has much more experience.

Bradley should be a contender for the league crown from the opening jump. The Braves can also get a power school if they catch them sleeping. Bradley returns star Elijah Childs on their quest for a third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. The Braves finish in the top 2 of the Missouri Valley.

104. Washington State Cougars

The Cougars made the right hire with Kyle Smith but the rebuild of this team from Pac 12 cellar dweller to formidable opponent is going to be a long and slow one. However, the sense of optimism is that Washington State finished .500 overall last season which is tremendous progress, they still finished near the bottom of the league you have to walk before you can run.

Isaac Bonton comes back to lead this roster which has some question marks after Bonton. The Cougars are back in familiar territory in the cellar of the Pac-12.

103. Northwestern Wildcats

Make no mistake the bottom of the Big Ten was terrible last year. Northwestern beat two teams in the league last year and it was Nebraska twice and Penn State once, other than that the Wildcats lost to everyone else in the league and also lost to Merrimack and Hartford at home and had a heck of a time of scoring the ball.

Head coach Chris Collins did get his Wildcats to the NCAA tournament for the first time and win a game. Since that point, Northwestern has not been good at all. This year they don’t look to be much better but with Boo Buie they at least have a player who can get them a bucket when they need it. Northwestern finishes last in the Big Ten.

102. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Year two of the Fred Hoiberg era must go better than the first, right?  Nebraska was one of the worst defensive teams in the country last year as they allowed almost 80 points per game. They have lost 17 games in a row and the roster is completely flipped again. This flip though was done with purpose and for the acquisition of quality talent.

Nebraska has three eligible transfers and some JUCO players who are going to be a huge part of what the Huskers want to do. Teddy Allen is back home and is going to be the go-to option for the Huskers. However, if they plan on climbing out of the basement of the Big Ten, they are going to have to play better defense.

JUCO transfer Lat Mayen and sophomore Yvan Ouedraogo are going to be huge pieces on the defensive success of the Huskers. Nebraska is getting better quicker, but they are still a bottom team in the Big Ten.

101. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

The Demon Deacons had the splash hire of the offseason. They hired Steve Forbes who turned his former team, ETSU into a mid-major power. Wake Forest had one good season under former head coach Danny Manning and never saw a winning record after that. Wake Forest has been at the bottom of the ACC for too long and with the quick roster turnaround by their new coach it is clear his plan is for Wake Forest to not be on the bottom for much longer.

This year the ACC is loaded and even with elite scorer Ian Dubose set to play his final season in Winston-Salem, the overall talent discrepancy is just too much. Wake Forest finishes in last again.