NCAA Basketball: 5 takeaways from Nolan Hickman committing to Gonzaga
5. No question as to who the preseason No. 1 team for next season
These past few days have gone a long way in determining who will be on top when the first preseason power rankings arrive for the 2021-22 season. With the arrivals of Holmgren and Sallis and the expected returns of Nembhard and Timme, the Bulldogs were pegged as the very early No. 1 team in many various rankings.
There has been plenty of talk about who could overtake them this offseason with the Duke Blue Devils being the top possible option. They already had three five-star prospects joining the team in Trevor Keels, Paolo Banchero, and AJ Griffin. It was nearly four, with top-5 overall prospect Pat Baldwin Jr. choosing between Duke and Milwaukee this past week. In the end, the forward recruit opted to play for his father, leaving the Blue Devils with a rare recruiting defeat.
Duke certainly will still have a formidable roster for next season and we’ll get to see them face off with the Bulldogs around Thanksgiving. But on paper, the depth gives Gonzaga the edge in a head-to-head matchup. There isn’t really any other team in the country that can compare, with the exception of maybe Michigan and UCLA. And even those teams don’t have the starpower at the top.
Next. WTE hot seat rankings for 2021-22. dark
A year ago, Gonzaga was in a three-way fight with both Baylor and Villanova to get the No. 1 preseason ranking. This time around, the Bulldogs shouldn’t be splitting many votes at the top with the voters, unless Johnny Juzang returns for the Bruins and Emoni Bates decides to play for college. This Bulldogs team might not be as good as last year’s squad (stay tuned for a future debate on that) but they’re every bit a favorite to win a national title.