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NCAA Basketball: Updated way-too-early top 25 rankings for 2021-22 season

By Cody Mitchell

Apr 5, 2021; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Fans roam Georgia Street before the national championship game of the 2021 NCAA Tournament on Monday, April 5, 2021, in downtown Indianapolis. Mandatory Credit: Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar via USA TODAY Sports
Apr 5, 2021; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Fans roam Georgia Street before the national championship game of the 2021 NCAA Tournament on Monday, April 5, 2021, in downtown Indianapolis. Mandatory Credit: Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar via USA TODAY Sports /
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NCAA Basketball Trayce Jackson-Davis Indiana Hoosiers (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
NCAA Basketball Trayce Jackson-Davis Indiana Hoosiers (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

25. Virginia Cavaliers

Projected Starting Five:

G Kihei Clark
G Reece Beekman
G Armaan Franklin
F Trey Murphy
F Jayden Gardner

With Jay Huff and Sam Hauser out of the fold, Tony Bennett will be looking for Trey Murphy and his newfound transfers to pick up some of the production. Murphy is coming off of an 11.3 point and 3,4 rebound Junior season and should thrive in another year in Bennett’s system.  Armaan Franklin is coming over from Indiana with two years left of eligibility.

Shooting nearly 43% from deep last season, he gives the Cavs another scorer from inside and out. Jayden Gardner comes over from ECU averaging 18.3 points and 8 rebounds. Stepping up in competition I would expect a decline when it comes to his numbers but will give Virginia some more scoring depth.

Igor Milicic, one of the top European prospects, is someone to keep an eye on. Coming over from Croatia, it is hard to really say how much time he is going to get and how productive he is going to be.

24. UNC Tar Heels

Projected Starting Five: 

G Caleb Love
G R.J. Davis
G Kerwin Walton
F Brady Manek
C Armando Bacot

Hubert Davis takes over for Roy Williams after 18 seasons in Chapel Hill. Davis has been on record that he wants to play a more modern style of basketball contrary to Roy Williams’s two bigs approach to the game. Now his roster isn’t really equipped for that so I wouldn’t be shocked to see a plethora of lineup changes throughout the season.

Caleb Love could really send the Tar Heels over the top with a big jump in his sophomore campaign. The former five-star recruit had a decent freshman season but was always leaving you wanting just a little bit more. Coach Davis will need Armando Bacot to be a force down low and continue to put up big numbers for the program. Especially if he is going to be the only big on the court from time to time.

Oklahoma transfer Brady Manek should provide some added outside shooting and stretch the floor out on offense. Although he will need to be hidden a bit on defense, so it’ll be interesting to see how coach Davis utilizes his lineups next season.

23. Indiana Hoosiers

Projected Starting Five:

G Xavier Johnson
G Tamar Bates
G Miller Kopp
F Trayce Jackson-Davis
C Race Thompson

Indiana received a lot of criticism when they decided to go with Mike Woodson as their new head coach. And ever since that day, Woodson proved why he is deserving of being the Hoosiers head coach. First off he convinced Trayce Jackson-Davis to return to school his junior season. Coming off a 19.1 ppg and 9.0 rpg rebound season, Jackson-Davis is poised to be one of the ten best players in all of college basketball next season.

After that, he signed Xavier Johnson and Miller Kopp out of the transfer portal. Johnson is a combo guard that really has a nitch for running an offense and setting guys up for open buckets. Kopp will be inserted straight into the starting lineup and will benefit vitally from the double teams Jackson-Davis gets in the low post.

One factor that could really boost the Hoosiers up their rankings is how well Tamar Bates shows out his freshman season. The talent is there, just a matter of how fast he catches up to the college game. Indiana basketball isn’t quite back just yet but is trending in the right direction.

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