NCAA Basketball: Should Gonzaga, Houston, or North Carolina be No. 1 for 2022-23?

Gonzaga pros of being No. 1

One of the most consequential returning players from the NBA Draft was Drew Timme, a two-time All-American and last season’s WCC Player of the Year Award winner. He averaged around 19 ppg on 60% shooting and in nine NCAA Tournament games has averaged 22.7 ppg. Timme is one of the best post scorers in the country and gives Gonzaga the ultimate security blanket.

Julian Strawther was the best draft prospect of the team and for good reason. He’s a 6’7 wing and sharpshooter that teams looking to contend for a title need. His return sews up the small forward, while Rasir Bolton, a 5th-year guard that shot 46% from three-point and gives Gonzaga a lethal and consistent deep threat.

The backcourt was already set before also adding Malachi Smith, a transfer from Chattanooga and SoCon Player of the Year. The 6’4 guard averaged nearly 20 ppg and 4.0 apg last season and had several big outings. Even if he’s a 3rd or 4th option on offense, Smith is a great pickup for the Bulldogs, who can and will play all three perimeter positions.

This group of four is already good enough to contend but they also landed former five-star prospect Efton Reid, a 6’11 center transfer from LSU that has real defensive promise. He can provide the interior defensive presence whenever Timme isn’t on the court and that could prove pivotal in March.

And if a couple of other former five-star prospects have sophomore breakout campaigns in Nolan Hickman and Hunter Sallis, Gonzaga would easily have the best 8-9 man rotation in the country next season. This team not only has the highest ceiling of any team in the country but having veterans such as Timme, Bolton, and now Smith gives them a fairly high floor too.