Busting Brackets
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NCAA Basketball: 5 biggest winners from 2021-22 preseason KenPom rankings

By Benjamin Zacher

DURHAM, NC - OCTOBER 30: Paolo Banchero #5 of the Duke Blue Devils looks on during their game against the Winston-Salem State Rams at Cameron Indoor Stadium on October 30, 2021 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 106-38. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC - OCTOBER 30: Paolo Banchero #5 of the Duke Blue Devils looks on during their game against the Winston-Salem State Rams at Cameron Indoor Stadium on October 30, 2021 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke won 106-38. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
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NCAA Basketball Patrick Baldwin Jr. Baldwin Hamilton
NCAA Basketball Patrick Baldwin Jr. Baldwin Hamilton /

Milwaukee

No team made as steep as a climb in the KenPom rankings between the end of last season and this year’s preseason ratings than the Milwaukee Panthers, in what could essentially be chalked up to being the Patrick Baldwin Jr. effect.

With his father at the helm of the Panthers since 2017, Baldwin Jr. committed to Milwaukee as the top shooting forward recruit in the nation, opting to become the highest-ranked high school recruit to ever sign with a Horizon League program over offers that consisted of programs such as Duke, Kentucky, UCLA, North Carolina, and Michigan, among other high-major institutions.

But Baldwin Jr. is not the only weapon that the Panthers will have this year, considering Boston College transfer Vin Baker Jr. looks to be healthy this season after sitting out last year, while a slew of other transfers – including UCF’s Moses Bol and San Francisco’s Samba Kane – should be significant contributors for Milwaukee.

On top of all of that, Baldwin returns two offensive weapons in Tafari Simms and DeAndre Gholston, the latter of whom led the Panthers in last year’s COVID-shortened season, logging team-best marks of 16.8 points and 33.1 minutes and recording clips of 43.9% (FGs) and 37.4% (3PTs).

All that being said, however, Milwaukee has much to prove this season.  The Panthers limped to a 10-12 record last year, falling to Kansas State by one in their season-opener and going 2-9 during an 11-game stretch in Horizon League play through January and February.  If anything, however, the Panthers ended on an optimistic note, reaching the Horizon League semifinals after knocking off second-seeded Wright State in overtime, ultimately falling to top-seeded Cleveland State by six.

Last season saw Milwaukee make the gradual climb from 284th – their 2021 preseason ranking – to 216th.  Now, with Baldwin Jr. on board, the Panthers have skyrocketed to their now-preseason rating of 119th, which currently ranks second among all Horizon League teams, trailing just Wright State (107th).

Milwaukee’s jump of 97 spots is the most of any team, 15 spots ahead of Rider’s mark of 82 – and that improvement speak monuments to how much of an impact Baldwin Jr. will have on the Panthers and their postseason hopes – something they hope to achieve for the first time since 2014.

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