NCAA Basketball: Power rankings of all teams (363-1) for 2022-23 season

40. Saint Louis Billikens- Last Season Ranking: 102

Conference: Atlantic 10

The battle at the top of the Atlantic 10 between Saint Louis and Dayton is going to be great to follow all year. The Billikens will finish at the top of the Atlantic 10 and depending on who you ask, it will be either first or second in the league. Head coach Travis Ford has built a roster that is full of talent and has a ton of depth. The other thing that Saint Louis has is the best point guard in the country, one of the best shooting guards in the country, and one of the best wings in the country.

To put this another way, Saint Louis is good, they are likely going to be ranked this season and will be in the top 3 of the mid-major top 25 rankings all year. The Billikens likely won’t lose much and barring a complete meltdown they will make the NCAA tournament easily. Saint Louis is a good team, and they are going to finish in the top tier of the Atlantic 10. There are a lot of key players to focus on for Saint Louis as all 5 starters return and they are ready to run it back from the 23 win 5th place finish a year ago. This year though the Billikens will be much better because of the return of one player.

Javonte Perkins was injured in the preseason a season ago and that changed the outlook for the Billikens a little bit last year. Perkins returning for his sixth year is a big reason that Saint Louis has such high expectations.  Perkins is one of the best Billikens to ever wear the Blue and White. He is a career 45% shooter from the floor and 36% from deep. In his last full season, he averaged 17 points per game and was even better at Chaifetz Arena. Perkins is a huge asset to this program but isn’t the best player on the team.

The point guard Yuri Collins may be the Atlantic 10 player of the year, but Perkins is the most important player to the success of Saint Louis. If the Billikens want to get where they want to go Perkins needs to stay healthy.

39. St. John’s Red Storm- Last Season Ranking: 36

Conference: Big East

There was a lot of talk coming out of Jamaica, Queens this offseason. The Red Storm believe they have a tournament team, and they believe they are a top tier team in the Big East. I am all for confidence, and every team should be this confident, but you also must be realistic. St. John’s has some flaws, and they lost a ton of talent last year.

Head coach Mike Anderson did get some big time names in the transfer portal these players are going to help them. The Red Storm do also have one of the most polarizing players in the country on their roster and can potentially have one of the best backcourts in the Big East. Coach Anderson isn’t going to win any awards for coaching, but the Red Storm could do much worse. St. John’s is going to need to shoot the ball from deep a lot better if they truly want to get back to the NCAA tournament.

The backcourt was dreadful shooting the basketball last year and that turned the Red Storm into a very one-dimensional team which led them to take over 40 two point shots a season ago. The Red Storm love to get in track meets as they averaged 67 shots per game last year, that is a lightning-fast pace and no one could slow them down from getting shots up. The Red Storm are going to do what they do, personnel do not matter, and they will still finish in the middle of the pack in the Big East.

Posh Alexander is one of the best point guards in the Big East because of his passing ability and perimeter defense. He, like so many other players from Brooklyn, has a game that is predicated on defense and passing. The former Big East Freshman of the Year is one of the best dribble-drive players in the country when he gets going downhill, he is impossible to keep out of the lane and he shot 60% from inside the arc last year, but only 21% from three.

The 21% from three is a tough number, and that must improve. I am not saying that Alexander must shoot 40% from deep but 30% would be a huge improvement for him and the Red Storm. The word is that Alexander is a better shooter than he showed, and he is ready to lead the team on offense and on the defensive side of the ball.

38. Florida Gators- Last Season Ranking: 28

Conference: SEC

Mike White is off to Georgia to try and rebuild that program and the Gators hired one of the best young coaches in the game when they decided to hire Todd Golden and lure him away from San Francisco. When coach Golden took the job in San Francisco that program was reeling and coach Golden was able to build them up enough to get them back to the NCAA tournament last year.

Coach Golden should be a welcome sight for Florida fans. The roster is built to run, has athletes who can run, yet former coach White decided that it was best for this team to play at a slower pace and not get to much out in transition. The other downfall for the Gators last year was their complete inability to shoot the ball from deep. Florida shot just a shade over 30% from deep and that is never going to get it done, especially in the SEC. Golden loves to play as fast as possible, loves to shoot threes and loves athletic guards for his guard centric approach.

The new coaching staff went out and bulked up the roster, especially the guards and if Florida doesn’t make the NCAA tournament it will be a huge upset. The team is going to be in the top 25 a lot this season. The SEC is loaded this year and should get around 8 teams the tournament. The Gators will likely be one of them.

Kyle Lofton is set to play his last season in the blue and orange after having a great career at Saint Bonaventure. Lofton was the best player for a Bonnies team who played in the NCAA tournament two seasons ago and were preseason ranked heading into last season. Lofton comes into the year a 1,600-point scorer who also racked up over 650 assists.

He is going to get his teammates set up, play fantastic defense on the perimeter, and be able to score at will some nights. Lofton was one of the best transfers in the market last year and it just so happens he close Florida for his final season. The Gators are going to love him.

37. Michigan State Spartans- Last Season Ranking: 40

Conference: Big Ten

Michigan State has not been as good as they have been in the past, but they are still a consistent NCAA tournament team every year. The Spartans came out of the gates like gangbusters opening the year at 17-4, making the finals of the Battle 4 Atlantis, and averaging around 75 points per game. Then the calendar turned to February and the problems started for Michigan State. Michigan State went 4-8 over the last month of the regular season and what at one point looked like a team who was going to receive a top 12 seed in the NCAA tournament ended with a 7 seed and almost lost to the Davidson Wildcats in the first round of the tournament.

The Spartans and head coach Tom Izzo are still one of the basketball blue bloods. They can make a run at any time during the season or postseason, and they are always going to get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to seeding and being on the wrong or right side of the bubble. They get top Freshman, top transfers, and are picked near the top of the league every year. Coach Izzo has done enough to deserve it. The Spartans are a top tier team in the Big Ten again this year.

Jaden Akins is ready for a breakout. He got his feet wet last year as a true freshman, but it is tough to make an impact in only three shot attempts per game. Akins is a gifted player who can create a shot from anywhere on the floor. He is a fantastic long range shooter and he is going to get the Breslin Center hopping when he throws down one of his electric dunks. Akins may be the best dunker in the Big Ten. It is finally time for the point guard to shine for coach Izzo.

36. Memphis Tigers- Last Season Ranking: 14

Conference: American Athletic

I owe the Memphis fanbase an apology and it all stems from how critical I have been of Penny Hardaway. He was not a good coach and made bad in game decisions his first few years coaching the Tigers. Memphis is always going to get top talent on the recruiting trail, and they are a popular destination for transfers. Coach Hardaway has clout and players like to play for him. Memphis had not made the NCAA tournament under Hardaway until last year.

The Tigers made the NCAA tournament last season and showed very well. Memphis won the first game and then gave Gonzaga all they wanted in the second round. Now that coach Hardaway has the monkey off his back, he looks poised to bring Memphis back to the tournament for many years to come.  The Tigers enter the year as one of the oldest teams in the country and barring a complete collapse will find themselves in the NCAA tournament again this year.

Kendric Davis was the best transfer on the market this year and with good reason. He won the AAC player of the year and was named on the all-conference team last season as the point guard for SMU. It only took the guard 58 games to score 1,000 points and last season he averaged 19 points per game to go along with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Davis is extremely athletic and will fit perfectly in the Memphis system. He shot 37% from the three last year to go along with 44% overall from the floor. The point guard is looking for back-to-back AAC player of the year awards and will likely get it.

35. USC Trojans- Last Season Ranking: 29

Conference: Pac 12

Heading into last season I knew USC would be good, but I never thought the Trojans would start the year 13-0 before ending the season 26-8 and playing one of last season’s best NCAA tournament game when they fell to eventual Elite Eight member Miami. Head coach Andy Enfield has got USC rolling, the head man has been able to get top talent to USC again and has made the NCAA tournament two seasons in a row.

Coach Enfield has turned the Trojans into one of the premier programs in the state of California. USC doesn’t do anything great, but they do a lot of things well and coach Enfield runs a balanced offense that sees all five starters get a ton of looks at the basket. They have a lot of talent that is developing well and being put in a position to succeed. It is amazing what coaching and talent can do together. Coach Enfield was the head coach at Florida Gulf Coast when they upset two teams in the NCAA tournament and dunk city took the world by storm. His teams don’t shoot a ton of threes but they are all extremely athletic and love to dunk the basketball. That is one way to explain 4 five star centers in four straight recruiting classes for the Trojans.

We all may have to wait to see the prized freshman recruit this year as he collapsed in some workouts in June and was deemed to have had a cardiac arrest. Even without their prized recruit the Trojans have a lot of production back from last season and are likely going to compete near the top of the Pac 12 and should make the tournament for the third season in a row.

Drew Peterson is going to likely start at point guard this year for the Trojans. The 6’9,” yes, 6’9” point guard is also likely going to lead the USC offense on the scoreboard as well. There are a handful of teams who even have a 6’9” guard, the list of teams with a point guard that tall is shorter. Peterson is a great rebounder and facilitator and he shot 47% from the floor. The guard is explosive and can get to the rim easily. Peterson does so much for USC he is almost irreplaceable.

34. Oklahoma State Cowboys- Last Season Ranking: 41

Conference: Big 12

The Oklahoma State program has been through the ringer the last few seasons. They were the first school to receive sanctions in the FBI scandal and it resulted in a one season NCAA tournament ban. Last season was the year that ban went into effect and subsequently with nothing to play for the Pokes had their worst season under head coach Mike Boynton. Oklahoma State finished 8-10 in the Big 12 which was good enough for fifth in the league.

I have mentioned numerous times before that the Big 12 is the deepest league in the country and is going to again. The Cowboys are fighting for consistency. They had a slew of great wins. The Cowboys beat Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU, and Iowa State. Oklahoma State can win those games again, but they can also lose to all of those teams again as well. One game they looked great and the other game they looked bad. Consistency, once they find it this team will take off.

The Cowboys have most of their roster back from last year and they are going to fighting to get above .500 and shoot the ball better overall. The Pokes shot under 30% from three a season ago. That must be fixed for Oklahoma State to win games. The Big 12 is still the deepest league in the country but Oklahoma State should still finish in the middle of the pack in the league and battle for a tournament bid.

John-Michael Wright transfers to Oklahoma State after a successful career at High Point. The Cowboys lost their point guard at the end of last season and now they can get another one from the transfer portal. Wright scored over 1,400 points at High Point. The guard will help the problem that Oklahoma State has shooting the basketball from deep as he shot 37% from deep last year and does a 20 points per game season on his record. Wright is an elite scorer and will help Oklahoma State on that end of the floor immediately.

33. Iowa State Cyclones- Last Season Ranking: 117

Conference: Big 12

Find me a person who Iowa State ranked in the top 50 in the preseason last year and I will find you a person who is lying to you. The Cyclones were not nearly as bad as their ranking, and it all goes back to the decision to change coaches from Steve Prohm to current coach TJ Otzelberger. Iowa State used a roster full of transfers to start the season 12-0 and wound up using their aggressive defense to make the sweet 16.

Coach Otzelberger has gotten some big time players to come play for the Cyclones this year and while it was almost impossible to get a shot up against Iowa State last year, this year it is going to be harder. Iowa State added two of the best shot blockers in the NCAA. Coach Otzelberger does not have to score a ton of points to win games. The Cyclones are very comfortable keeping games in the 60’s and winning a lot of them. Iowa State will be a bubble team and likely tournament team again this year.

Osun Osunniyi has already had a decorated career over the last four seasons at Saint Bonaventure. The big man is a two time conference defensive player of the year, he was the Atlantic 10 player of the year, and is the school’s all-time leader in blocked shots. Osunniyi is not just blocked shots and defense. He has scored over 1,000 points in his career to go along with 800 rebounds. He is an extremely efficient offensive player who is going to have a great season in the Big 12. Osunniyi is going to be a fan favorite at Iowa State just like he was at Saint Bonaventure.

32. Iowa Hawkeyes- Last Season Ranking: 69

Conference: Big Ten

No matter the makeup of the roster there are going to be things that always remain true about Iowa basketball under head coach Fran McCaffrey. The first thing is Iowa is going to play extremely fast regardless of the score and regardless of the personnel that the Hawkeyes have. They play fast and they like to play fast.  When teams try to speed the Hawkeyes up to make them go faster, they tend to blow teams out. Iowa is not a team who slows down much either.

The second thing is the Hawkeyes are loaded with guys who can shoot from all over the floor so it’s impossible to force them into threes because they like to play that style, and if you slow them down, they will just drain the shot clock and then make a three at the end to blow teams out. The last sign of a Fran McCaffrey coached team is lighting up the scoreboard on the offensive end. Iowa scored over 83 points per game a season ago and usually most coach McCaffrey teams do not play much defense which means their games truly are track meets.

The Hawkeyes have lost their two top scorers in back to back years. Those scorers also happened to lead the Big Ten in scoring each season and were All-Americans. There will likely be another player for Iowa who steps up and leads the conference in scoring. Kris Murray is the next likely guy to step up and lead the conference in scoring. He is big and athletic and shoots at high percentages from the floor. He is finally going to get his opportunity to hunt shots for the Hawkeyes.

31. UConn Huskies- Last Season Ranking: 23

Conference: Big East

Dan Hurley has gotten it rolling again in Stoors with back-to-back tournament appearances after a four year hiatus. The Huskies have gotten the recruiting going again as well. They are now a popular destination for top recruits again especially those who go to school in New England. The Huskies are one of the premier programs in college basketball, even when UConn is bad, their name still holds weight on the national recruiting scene.

UConn took a little hiatus from getting some of the top names on the recruiting scene. It makes sense that the program took a break given how badly Kevin Ollie messed the program up. The Huskies are looking to make it three tournament appearances in a row and are looking to take it to the next step by getting coach Hurley his first win in the NCAA tournament. UConn looks like a tournament team this year again. They are going to have one of the best frontcourts in the country and while one of those players is a returning player the other one is a freshman.

Donovan Clingan has a chance to be a lottery pick this year. He had a great high school career and during his senior season he averaged 30 points, 18 rebounds, and 6 blocks. That is pure domination. I know that Clingan is 7’2” but he is so much more than a tall guy. He has great feet, plays fantastic defense on all positions, can shoot from outside, and is a good passer for his size.

In the high school regular season, the big man set Connecticut records with 51 points and 31 rebounds in a game. The center is going to dominate in the Big East and is my pick for the freshman of the year.