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

180. UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros

The race within the WAC is usually the race for second place as the conference has been dominated by one team for a handful of years. The Vaqueros are one of those teams this year in the mix for the second spot in the league.

They bolstered the roster this year with some significant grad transfers and were able to get some of their sit-out transfers eligible. These players are going to help in every facet for Rio Grande Valley and they are all going to make star Javon Levi that much better.

179. East Carolina Pirates

East Carolina has not had much success on the basketball floor, and many think it is a job that is impossible to win at. However, head coach Joe Dooley who is now in his second stint with the Pirates turned Florida Gulf Coast into a dominant power in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Pirate fans are hoping he can do that in a much more competitive conference.

East Carolina does have one of the best players in the country in Jayden Gardner if they could only find another piece to build around him.

178. La Salle Explorers

Ashley Howard took the job at La Salle knowing it was going to be a full rebuild project and last year was a giant step in the right direction for the Explorers. La Salle should be right about the same this year as they lost some key pieces to their team last year. David Beatty is back for his senior year to hopefully help the Explorers rise up the Atlantic 10 standings. The league is so deep, and it is going to be a few more years for La Salle to not finish in the bottom half.

177. Delaware Blue Hens

Head coach Martin Inglesby won 20 games overall for the first time as the head man for the Blue Hens and Delaware finished just outside the top 3 in the Colonial Athletic last year. This year the Blue Hens are better. Delaware should easily win 20 games are going to be a factor in the race to the top of the Colonial. Senior guard Ryan Allen is one of the most prolific shooters in Delaware history and arguably may be the best shooter in that league.

176. Southern Jaguars

Southern has been one of the better teams in the SWAC over the last decade. The Jaguars had a good season last year and they did it by playing ultimate team basketball. They didn’t have a star and the Jaguars didn’t have a single double-digit scorer on their roster. Sophomore Ahsante Shivers is going to be a breakout player for Southern and will be a SWAC all-conference player.

175. Howard Bison

What to make of Howard this year?  The Bison were one of the worst teams in the country last year as they only won four games. The Bison then won the recruiting trail this year as they were able to load their roster with some major transfers and were also able to secure the commitment of five-star big man Makur Maker.

Howard is going to be a huge story if they can really turn it around, but they have the pieces to be one of the best HBCU’s in the country, and with Maker on their team they will get coverage.

174. North Carolina A&T Aggies

The Aggies made a coaching change in the middle of the year from Jay Joyner to current head coach Willie Jones. Once A&T went that direction they really took off and finished in their rightful spot in one of the top two spots in the MEAC.

The Aggies have the nations assist leader and the leader in triple-doubles in Kameron Langley. Langley is a game-changer and drastically changes the way A&T plays. The North Carolina A&T is going to be back where they belong at the top of the MEAC.

173. Toledo Rockets

The Rockets had a very disappointing season by all accounts a season ago. Under head coach Tod Kowalczyk, Toledo has been mediocre and last year was another mediocre year. It is hard to predict what exactly the Rockets will do this season as they won 17 games a season ago and 20 plus games the year before that.

Toledo does have their star Marreon Jackson back for his senior year and with Jackson back the Rockets offense could be one of the best in the MAC again. Toledo has an advantage by having the best player in the MAC East and having most of their roster back; whereas other teams in the east are in a bit of a rebuild. Toledo finishes second in the MAC East.

172. Nicholls State Colonels

The Colonels are the one team who can never seem to get over the hump. Under current head coach Austin Claunch they have always had very competitive teams but they are never good enough to win the Southland.

That is a tall order considering who dominates that conference of late. Nicholls is going to be really good again and have a team with some high profile transfers that can give some bigger teams a run. Andre Jones is a really good player and has all-conference talent.

171. Georgia State Panthers

The Panthers are an extreme sleeper both in the Sun Belt and nationally. Georgia State is coached by one of the best mid-major coaches in the game in Rob Lanier and they have a very explosive roster who can run some teams out of a gym when they get going.

The Panthers averaged 80 points per game a season ago and have their top scorer and all-conference type player Kane Williams back. It speaks volumes to how good the rest of the Sun Belt is if Georgia State is a middle of the pack team.

170. South Dakota Coyotes

I will admit I am much higher on South Dakota than I probably should be especially considering what they lost in the offseason. The Coyotes were one of the highest-scoring teams in the country last year averaging about 80 points per game and they had a ton of seniors who are no longer on the roster.

South Dakota was able to get a lot of quality JUCO players and head coach Todd Lee is one of the best coaches in the country when it comes to developing talent. Star Stanley Umude is going to lead this team into battle every night, but he is going to have a lot of help. South Dakota finishes in the top two in the Summit League.

169. Iona Gaels

The Gaels are a perennial tournament team from the MAAC. It isn’t really March until Iona makes their annual run through the MAAC tournament regardless of their seed and then plays their hearts out against a top seed before losing the game. Former coach Tim Cluess had to resign due to health reasons, but never fear as the Gaels likely won’t experience much losing post Cluess era.

Iona decided to hire Rick Pitino, yes that Rick Pitino, and he hit the ground running in recruiting. The Gaels may struggle a bit this year but once they get their footing, they are going to do what all of Pitino’s teams do and that is win, and likely win a lot. Asante Gist is going to take his game to a new level with Pitino running the show. Iona is a top-two team in the MAAC.

168. UC Davis Aggies

The Aggies have endured a slight rebuild over the last two seasons but this year they are going to take the next step in that rebuild and are going to get back closer to where they are comfortable and winning 20 or more games and competing for a conference title. Davis is going to be competitive this year and is going to be a team no one wants to play. Sophomore point guard Ezra Manjon is going to be the league’s breakout star.

167. George Washington Colonials

Honestly, how the Atlantic 10 race plays out is anyone’s guess. The league doesn’t have a single dominant team but a lot of teams who are very good and are going to make the top of the league one of the best in the mid-major ranks.

George Washington is an interesting team as well as they could finish at the bottom third or if their key transfers pan out in the middle. The Colonials are quickly rebuilding this roster using transfers like former Siena forward and three-point shooter Sloan Seymour.

166. Portland State Vikings

The Vikings are a team that I think will well outperform their expectations and will finish as one of the top two teams in the Big Sky. How could that be when they lost so much talent a season ago?  Portland State is extremely well-coached, and they replenished their roster with some transfers and JUCO players.

The transfers didn’t work out at their last schools but are talented enough guys who can really help out the Vikings. JUCO transfer Alexis Angeles will likely lead this team in scoring and has an outside chance to lead the Big Sky in scoring.

165. NJIT Highlanders

Welcome to the America East Highlanders!  NJIT will forever live in infamy as the team who beat Michigan in Ann Arbor, but the Highlanders have evolved a lot since then. The Highlanders drastically underachieved last year in a tough Atlantic Sun conference and decided to make the move to the America East.

The move is going to be good for both parties, NJIT has a roster that is going to contend in their new conference right away, and the America East is finally going to get some much-needed competition for their top team. Expect a huge bounce back for NJIT and they have a bona fide breakout star in Souleymane Diakite to pair with their two stars Zach Cooks and San Antonio Brinson. NJIT finishes in one of the top two spots in the America East.

164. Temple Owls

After last season it can never be understated how much having a hall of fame coach at your program can change things. Fran Dunphy retired and the transition from Dunphy to Aaron McKie did not go well. McKie inherited a great roster that had most of his scoring and production returning and he could never get this team going. They ended up as a bottom-three team in the American.

This year could be worse for the Owls as most of the production from last year’s team is gone and the Owls are having to rely a lot on transfers. Jake Forrester leads the Owls and is hoping the transfers pan out. Temple is a bottom-three team in the American.

163. Stetson Hatters

The Hatters enter year two of the Donnie Jones era and the expectations for the Hatters could not be higher. Last season behind a pair of freshmen the Hatters climbed up the Atlantic Sun ranks and their 16 wins were the highest total for the school since the 2007-2008 season.

Stetson also went into Columbia, South Carolina, and upset the Gamecocks which is the biggest win the program has ever had. The Hatters have what some would consider the favorite for the Atlantic Sun player in the year in Rob Perry.

162. UNC Asheville Bulldogs

Asheville had one of the youngest teams in the country last year and no one really knew what to expect. They proved they can score at an elite level and had five players score in double digits a season ago. The Bulldogs return all of those players including star Devon Baker. The Bulldogs need to shore some things up on the defensive end, but they are still a top tier Big South team and are going to make a run at the league title. Don’t be surprised if they win it.

161. North Carolina Central Eagles

In Levelle Moton we trust. He is building a dynasty at North Carolina Central and has no desire to leave for bigger jobs. It is so hard to bet against the Eagles not winning the MEAC every single year especially given the run of success they have had under Moten.

The MEAC is going to be a lot tougher and a lot deeper this year especially at the top of the conference. Star CJ Keyser is back to run Moten’s offense. The Eagles play slow and don’t make mistakes, they know how to win, play smothering defense and the first NCAA tournament win is going to come soon under Moten.