NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 358 D-I programs for 2021-22 season

180. South Dakota Coyotes – Last Season Ranking: 170

Conference: Summit League

I had a ton of faith in South Dakota a year ago to finish near the top of the Summit League and they did, and part of the reason was due to them having two of the best players in the league. The Coyotes didn’t have a lot of depth after those two guys and those players dominated the offensive touches and the scoring.

South Dakota under head coach Todd Lee was extremely efficient from beyond the arc as they shot almost 40% as a team from deep and they finished in the top 50 overall with 47% field goal percentage. They never turned the ball over on offense and shot 80% from the free throw line. The Coyotes take a lot of high percentage shots either from deep or within the restricted area in the paint, they do not take a lot of spot-up jumpers and that leads to the high-efficiency mark.

On defense, South Dakota doesn’t do much special, they don’t block a lot of shots and they don’t force turnovers, but they also don’t allow the opponents’ offense to move the ball with much efficiency so the teams take a lot of shots without passing the ball. AJ Plitzuweit and his 20 points per game return for an offense that is going to get him the ball. South Dakota is likely a middle-of-the-pack Summit league team this year.

179. Duquesne Dukes – Last Season Ranking: 125

Conference: Atlantic 10

The Dukes are in full-on rebuilding mode this season. They do not have a single player returning this season who averaged double-digit points last year. Even if they did have the players returning Duquesne was a bad shooting team last season from all points on the floor. They shot 41% from the field overall and 29% from three. Those numbers are never going to get it done.

Head coach Keith Dambrot is trying to not be the worst team in the Atlantic 10 this season so he went and scoured the transfer portal and find all kinds of players who were good scorers and shooters at their last team. If these guys do appear to gel well together and if it continues it would bode well for the Dukes.

The Atlantic 10 is a good conference so even if they gel well together it still won’t help them crawl from the bottom tier of the league. Rodney Gunn Jr. averaged almost 20 points per game a season ago at Lenoir-Rhyne University. He is a very intriguing player.

178. Bellarmine Knights – Last Season Ranking: 293

Conference: Atlantic Sun

Year one at the Division 1 level was a huge success for the Knights and head coach Scott Davenport. The Knights were an extremely efficient offensive team as they made 57% of their two-point shots and made 38% of their shots from deep. It doesn’t matter the league or division those types of numbers are going to play anywhere. Bellarmine was a force on the defensive end as well.

They gave up under 30 rebounds for the season, and while they were not a great rebounding team themselves, they were able to minimize it by making their shots and keeping their opponents off the glass.

Bellarmine did lose star Pedro Bradshaw but returns a good portion of their roster after him. Senior guard Dylan Penn looks to become the team leader this year.

177. Northeastern Huskies – Last Season Ranking: 247

Conference: Colonial

Northeastern always seems to make noise in the Colonial especially over the last few seasons. Last year they ran through the regular season to finish in a tie for first place only to lose in the conference semifinals to eventual tournament champion the Drexel Dragons. Head coach Bill Coen has done a tremendous job with the Huskies and has turned them into a perennial threat in the conference.

This season may be a crapshoot though as Northeastern has a lot of new pieces and they also lost their best player Tyson Walker to Michigan State. Jahmyl Telfort came off the bench last season and was a freshman All-American. He has the skill level to be one of the best players the Colonial has ever seen.

176. Arkansas State Red Wolves – Last Season Ranking: 277

Conference: Sun Belt

The Sun Belt is always a tough conference to make it to the top in. They like so many other mid-major conferences have the perennial contenders and everyone else is just hoping for that one good season where everything comes together so they can make some noise. Arkansas State has a chance to be that team as they have their top three scorers back from a season ago.

The Red Wolves don’t have much depth behind that, but they did not have much roster turnover so with the chemistry a lot can happen. Arkansas State is another team that didn’t take many threes last year but made about 40% of the ones they did take. If they can repeat those numbers and everyone improves just with more familiarity with the conference and the scheme. Head coach Mike Balado may be sitting on a sleeper in the Sun Belt. Marquis Eaton returns for a team with tremendous upside.

175. Louisiana Ragin Cajuns – Last Season Ranking: 253

Conference: Sun Belt

The Cajuns were a lot better than I thought last season, and that is no surprise as they are an extremely well-coached team. Head Coach Bob Marlin always finds a way to win games, especially in one of the better mid-major conferences out there, in the Sun Belt. Louisiana wasn’t great at anything, but they were good at many things last year and that ended up in a 4th place finish in the Sun Belt.

The Ragin Cajuns lost a ton of production from last year’s team and have a young team heading into this season. They still will likely be good enough to finish in the middle of the pack in the Sun Belt. Big Man Theo Akwuba is back and will likely average a double-double.

174. Bradley Braves – Last Season Ranking: 104

Conference: Missouri Valley

I was high on Bradley last year given that they had won the Missouri Valley the last two seasons. They started out the year well last year and then went on to lose 12 out of their last 15 games. That losing streak ended any hopes the Braves were going to have of making the NCAA tournament. Bradley was not a good offensive team last year at all, they were a bad shooting team from deep and they only shot about 14 free throws per game, which is one of the worst numbers in the country.

The Braves lost a lot of production from last season but were able to add a pass-first point guard. They didn’t do much to address the shooting woes, or really the lack of quality depth on the team. Bradley looks like a middle-of-the-pack Missouri Valley team. Rienk Mast should be the team leader this season.

173. Saint Peters Peacocks – Last Season Ranking: 219

Conference: MAAC

The Peacocks are one of the best defensive teams in the nation. They make it a chore to score on the offensive end of the floor. Saint Peter’s was one of the best shot-blocking teams in the country and there is nothing to suggest they won’t be this year either.

The Peacocks are still a ton of fun to watch even though they themselves are awful on the offensive end. Saint Peters held teams to the lowest two-point FG% in the country and they were third overall in overall FG%. Teams shot well under 40% against them for the season. KC Ndefo is a two-time MAAC Defensive Player of the Year and he led the country in blocks a season ago. Ndefo has the Saint Peters record for blocks in a season and career. Ndefo is an all-time great for the Peacocks.

172. Montana State Bobcats – Last Season Ranking: 231

Conference: Big Sky

Head coach Danny Sprinkle has done a tremendous job in the first two years at Montana State and has turned the program around. The Bobcats played in the conference title a season ago and have most of the team back from last season. Montana State had a penchant for getting fouled and getting to the foul line.

The Bobcats went to the line about 22 times per game which was good for 21st overall in the country. It’s one thing to get to the line but Montana State made teams pay for putting them on the line. They shot 76% from the line as a team which was also one of the best in the country.

Don’t be surprised when Montana State builds from their year last year and finishes in the top half of the Big Sky. Amin Adamu is a really good player who no one knows about but if Montana State makes a run again, more and more people will start to know about him.

171. Oakland Golden Grizzlies – Last Season Ranking: 204

Conference: Horizon League

Greg Kampe has been the only coach that Oakland has ever had at the Division 1 level and last year may have been one of his worst as the coach of the Golden Grizzlies. They could not defend anyone and gave up over 81 points per game. With defense that porous it is going to be hard to beat anyone.

Those of you who have never watched Oakland play, you will see a team who runs the floor and tries to get shots up at a frenetic pace, and a lot of those shots come from deep. Kampe loves to have his team shoot the ball from deep, and they do make a lot of them as well. Oakland got fouled a lot last year and only made 70% of them. If the Golden Grizzlies don’t change their philosophy as they allowed teams to rack up 22 assists a game on them a season ago and they gave up about 30 threes per game. Those are never going to be good recipes for winning.

Kampe is a good coach and should be able to draw up some creative on-ball defense. Jalen Moore might lead the country in scoring this year.

170. Abilene Christian Wildcats – Last Season Ranking: 211

Conference: WAC

The Wildcats had the best season in school history last year when they won the Southland conference and beat Texas in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Things have changed a lot since March for Abilene Christian as former head coach Joe Golding is now the head coach at UTEP and the Wildcats are now entering their first year as members of the WAC. New head coach Brette Tanner was already on the staff and was the ringleader behind one of the best defenses in college basketball last year.

The Wildcats ranked first in turnovers forced per game with 20 and they also were able to finish in the top 3 in steals per game with 10. The defense was real, and it gave Texas a fit in the NCAA tournament, so much so that Abilene Christian was able to win the game. Coach Tanner is going to make sure the defense is up to snuff, but the Wildcats lost a lot on offense.

With a new head coach and having to replace some key guys, a little regression is expected, especially when headed to a tougher conference. Coryon Mason and his ability to hit a lot of threes returns for Abilene Christian.

169. Evansville Purple Aces – Last Season Ranking: 343

Conference: Missouri Valley

Given the absolute failure that the coaching hire of Walter McCarty was for Evansville, last season which was technically season 2 for Todd Lickliter was a success. At one-point Evansville was right in the thick of the conference race at 6-4 and 8-8 overall. Then they went on to lose 8 of their last 9 games to finish the season with a 9-16 record but did finish fifth in the conference.

All in all, a pleasant surprise, especially for a team who was at times anemic on offense only scoring 65 a game for the season. Year three under Lickliter should hopefully be better as the top three scorers all return. Evansville star Jawaun Newton is back to help the team on the offensive side of the ball.

168. Seattle Redhawks – Last Season Ranking: 208

Conference: WAC

Seattle finished one game over .500 overall last season and diving deeper into the numbers it appears that they played to their numbers of being average. They were an average offensive team when it comes to scoring, but those numbers would look a lot different if It wasn’t for the free throw shooting. The Redhawks fouled a lot and forced a good number of turnovers on defense.

On the offensive side of the ball, they went fast and rarely turned the ball over. They were just not overly efficient when they did get some shots up. Seattle finished right in the middle of the conference last year, the WAC is a lot better this year so it is going to take a much better effort for Seattle to finish in the middle again, they are destined for a low middle to bottom tier finish. That is even with 20 point per game scorer Darrion Trammell returning.

167. South Florida Bulls – Last Season Ranking: 124

Conference: American Athletic

It feels like you could rinse and repeat this every year when it comes to South Florida. They are always one of the worst offensive teams in the country. They have talented offensive players, but the offense always seems disjointed and clunky. The Bulls didn’t have much on the defensive end a year ago either.

Entering this season, it is going to be a very interesting year for head coach Brian Gregory as he has a roster that is loaded with transfers and freshmen and most of the production from last year’s team is no longer on campus. The Bulls were one of the most inefficient teams in the country last year, so a lot of the transfers are guys who have shown they can be efficient.

South Florida was a great rebounding team a season ago and they also made sure they were able to secure some guys who are going to be able to secure rebounds as well. Caleb Murphy had a nice freshman season last year and is ready to take his game to the next level and lead this team.

166. Campbell Fighting Camels – Last Season Ranking: 307

Conference: Big South

Campbell has been on the verge of an NCAA tournament berth for quite a few years. They got hot at the end of the year winning 9 of their last 10 games and finishing as the Big South runner-up. The Camels shot almost 60% from inside the arc last year and shot about 40% from deep last year. Those numbers are both astounding, and it is no wonder that they exceeded a lot of expectations they had last year.

I ranked Campbell way too low a season ago and they enter this year as one of the favorites to win the Big South and return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1991-1992. Cedric Henderson Jr. is likely going to win the conference player of the year and is a good scorer.

165. UC Riverside Highlanders – Last Season Ranking: 201

Conference: Big West

The Highlanders have big-time sleeper potential in the Big West this year. They have always had a tremendous defense and make it extremely hard for the offense. The Highlanders had one of the best defensive teams in the country last year without one of their best players who elected to opt-out due to the Covid 19 pandemic last season. Riverside takes a lot of threes and they made a lot of them as well, to go along with their prowess on the defensive end and overall physicality it makes playing the Highlanders a chore.

This year the Highlanders return their top scorers and shooters as well as big man Callum McRae who changes the way Riverside can play underneath. The Highlanders should finish near the top of the Big West.

164. East Carolina Pirates – Last Season Ranking: 179

Conference: American

The Pirates did beat Houston last season but didn’t do much else notable throughout the rest of the season as they finished the year losing 10 of their last 11 games and outside of one player who dominated and took over the games, didn’t have anyone score more than 10 points per game.

East Carolina has no basketball tradition, but head coach Joe Dooley has had some minimal success as their head coach. East Carolina doesn’t shoot the ball a lot from deep as they try to get the ball inside and get easy lay-ins and dunks. Coach Dooley was the head coach of Florida Gulf Coast and their Dunk City mantra before he took the job at East Carolina.

The Pirates don’t have much this year and are likely going to finish dead last in the American again. Hopefully, the two transfers help them a little bit. JJ Miles is the best player for a bad East Carolina team.

163. Hofstra Pride – Last Season Ranking: 116

Conference: Colonial

Hofstra is a team that has a ton of talent, and a lot of the talent was returning, but they also bolstered their roster in the transfer portal. The Pride also has a new coach. That coach is a Hofstra legend, and former NBA player Speedy Claxton. Claxton had been on the roster for the last eight seasons and he had a huge part in turning this program around and getting them back to a consistent performer at the top of the Colonial.

The new head coach has a great reputation of developing guards into all-conference performers. The Pride have arguably the best guards in the entire conference and have two players on the roster who could easily score 20 per game.

I have said this a lot but the Colonial is wide open, but Hofstra still has enough talent to finish in the top three of the league overall. Jalen Ray makes up one-half of the duo who are likely to each score 20 per game.

162. UTEP Miners – Last Season Ranking: 214

Conference: Conference USA

The Miners hired the best of the best, as far as the game’s young coaches go, when they decided to hire Joe Golding. It might take a season or two for UTEP to take on the identity of a Golding team. That is a team that is relentless on defense and is extremely efficient on the offensive end while taking a lot of threes. Every guy on the court can shoot and if you want to play you have to buy in on the defensive end.

UTEP is in very good hands and this year they should be much better than they were last year. Former head coach Rodney Terry was always a guy who seemingly never lived up to expectations with his team. Souley Boum returns to play for Joe Golding and he is a guy who can average 20 points per game.

161. Appalachian State Mountaineers – Last Season Ranking: 224

Conference: Sun Belt

Head coach Dustin Kerns is one of the best young up-and-coming coaches in the game. It will not be long before he gets a power job. The Mountaineers got hot at the right time last year and qualified for the NCAA tournament for the third time in school history. Appalachian State was not great at anything on offense, and they played great defense without fouling.

They averaged 13 fouls a game last year which was one of the lowest numbers in the country. Appalachian State has a three-guard lineup that can arguably be considered one of the best in the Sun Belt and all of them can score, rebound, and distribute when needed.

Adrian Delph is the best guard of the bunch and Appalachian State is going to build off that confidence from their NCAA tournament run a season ago and finish in the top half of the Sun Belt.