NCAA Basketball: Preseason top-25 mid-major power rankings for 2021-22 season
1. Gonzaga Bulldogs
There will always be some that believe Gonzaga has outgrown the “mid-major” label, especially after making the national title game for the second time in five years. Yet “mid-major” describes the conference and resources, not how good a program actually is on the court.
And no program, mid, low-level, or power conference has had more talent on its roster than the Bulldogs. Even after losing a pair of All-Americans and top-15 NBA Draft picks (Jalen Suggs and Corey Kispert), the WCC juggernaut has plenty left over, including another All-American and last season’s leading scorer and rebounder Drew Timme. He’s considered to be the best returning player in the country and preseason National Player of the Year favorite as well.
Alongside him in the frontcourt is Chet Holmgren, the No. 1 overall class of 2021 prospect and a 7’1 forward that can play and shoot on the perimeter, while also being an elite rim protector inside. There are so many ways Gonzaga can use him and Timme in the frontcourt and thoughts and prayers to the rest of the WCC when it comes to creating defenses to try and stop them.
Then there’s the backcourt, which is so loaded that they likely will have a five-star freshman recruit coming off the bench (Hunter Sallis and Nolan Hickman), or incoming transfer Rasir Bolton, who led Iowa State in scoring last season (15.9 ppg). Returning starter Andrew Nembhard enters this season as the lead guard after sharing duties with Suggs. He’s one of the best passers in the country and will have a ton of weapons to work with and it wouldn’t be a shock if he was top-5 in assists in the country.
Top 25 preseason power rankings for 2021-22. dark. Next
This alone makes them the undisputed (and unanimous) No. 1 mid-major team in the country. And that doesn’t even include former top-100 recruits Julian Strawther, Dominick Harris, Ben Gregg, Anton Watson, and freshman Kaden Perry, who’ll all see minutes in one way or another in the rotation. The question as of right now isn’t whether the Bulldogs will win the WCC, but rather will anyone be able to give them a fight.