20. UCLA Bruins
Not many thought the Mick Cronin hire would work in Westwood. It was primarily due to the style the coach likes to play. Cronin likes to play sloppy slow defensive games and he has been playing that way for a long time.
The Bruins took a while to come together last year but once they did, they played some of the best basketball in the country. Over their last 10 league games, UCLA was 9-1 and they had done enough to likely make the NCAA tournament which made year one under Cronin a successful one.
This year UCLA has another year of learning the system and learning how their coach wants them to play, without having to replace a whole lot from last season’s roster. UCLA is ready to get back to the top of the Pac 12 Conference. Chris Smith returns to lead this offense. The Bruins are a top-two team in the Pac 12.
19. Auburn Tigers
Bruce Pearl is someone that has gained the trust of the entire Auburn fanbase, and he should have gained the trust of the media as well. The Tigers were one of the last undefeated teams in the country and opened the year with 15 wins in a row. The roster last season was very experienced and had five seniors. All of those seniors played a significant role for Auburn.
In true coach Pearl fashion, he had a great recruiting class and is going to have another class of freshmen who only play one year in college. The Tigers are going to have to ride the freshman to get their wins because the roster has some unproven pieces. Freshman Sharife Cooper is not unproven and he is likely going to be the leading scorer for Auburn. The Tigers are a middle of the pack SEC team.
18. Alabama Crimson Tide
Nate Oats is brilliant when it comes to in-game adjustments and overall coaching philosophy. Oats also proved this year that he is going to be a big name when it comes to recruiting. Alabama has acquired big-name talent over the last year and a half and this year is going to be the best Crimson Tide team many have seen in a long time.
Alabama has a big portion of their roster back from last year and bolstered the roster with some quality transfers and highly ranked freshmen. Jaden Shackelford is a future NBA lottery pick and with a good year, he may only be in Tuscaloosa for one more season. The Crimson Tide are a top-three team in the SEC.
17. Louisville Cardinals
The Cardinals are not currently ranked in the preseason rankings and that is an injustice at least to me. Yes, Louisville lost a ton of guys from a season ago. They also returned a lot of high ceiling guys who are now going to get a chance to prove it. They also have arguably one of the best coaches in the game in Chris Mack.
Like so many other championship-caliber squads the Cardinals played great defense last year and were led by the all ACC type player Jordan Nwora and a group of experienced seniors. This year Louisville has superstar Malik Williams back on campus and he does have ACC player of the year potential. Along with Williams are a group of sophomores with tremendously high ceilings.
Louisville may have a lot of question marks, but their talent is going to push them to a top 25 ranking and a spot in the NCAA tournament. The Cardinals are a top 4 team in the ACC.
16. Oregon Ducks
The Ducks won the Pac-12 last season by one full game over UCLA and this year they may be better than last year. Dana Altman has turned Oregon into a powerhouse team in the Pacific Northwest. He gets star players, they win a ton, and they are starting to be ranked every single year.
Oregon is another one of those teams that are going to be a pesky and tough out for anyone they play they have a lot of pieces. They have great shooters in Will Richardson and Chris Duarte and perhaps the piece they have this year that was missing last year is a do-everything player who can score, distribute, rebound, and play defense in Eugene Omoruyi from Rutgers. Omoruyi is a good player who should be the X-Factor for Oregon this year.
The Ducks are a top 20 team but they have the ability to make a deep run into March and have Final Four capability.