NCAA Basketball: Top 25 preseason power rankings for 2021-22 season

Forget mid-majors, it’s rare for top-tier power conference programs to lose their Conference Player of the Year, let alone two players that were named All-Americans in the season prior, and still be viewed as a consensus preseason national title contender the next year.

That’s the case for Gonzaga, who lost WCC Player of the Year and elite sharpshooter Corey Kispert and star freshman point guard Jalen Suggs to the NBA Draft. Both were national stars, while Joey Ayayi was one of the best all-around players in the country as well.

But they do have a returning All-American in center Drew Timme, coming off a breakout campaign of 19.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg last season. The 6’10 big man was the best post scorer in the country, scoring at least nine points in every game, including a 30-point effort against Oklahoma and dominating future top-3 NBA Draft pick Evan Mobley in the NCAA Tournament.

And yet, Timme may not even be the best frontcourt player for the Bulldogs. That could be Chet Holmgren, the No. 1 overall recruit and is a “unicorn” in the basketball world. He’s a 7’1 and 195-pound skinny forward, with an incredible skillset on the perimeter, and can score in every way. He’s also a tremendous shot-blocker and interior defender. He can play both forward positions and will be a matchup nightmare in the WCC.

The perimeter lost a lot of talent yet brought in just as much, thanks to incoming top-20 freshmen, Hunter Sallis and Nolan Hickman. Both of them would certainly start on any other Gonzaga roster but one or even both of them may end up coming off the bench. That’s because senior Andrew Nembhard will be the lead guard this season, joined by Iowa State transfer Rasir Bolton, who led them in scoring at nearly 16 ppg.

This doesn’t even include the group of underclassmen (Julian Strawther, Dominick Harris, Ben Gregg, Anton Watson, and Kaden Perry) that will factor into the rotation. The Bulldogs have the starpower at the top and the depth overall to claim the top preseason spot. And considering that they were the consensus No. 1 pick from every single voting contributor, it’s no surprise who the team to beat once again is in NCAA Basketball.