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

10. Duke Blue Devils- Last Season Ranking: 10

Conference: ACC

Duke is going to enter territory that most of us have never seen. The Blue Devils are going to have a new coach on the sideline. Coach K has retired, and his retirement tour was vintage Duke. Duke had one of the best offenses in the country led by two dominant, but completely different big men. The Blue Devils liked to run and had their normal signature wins. Duke made the final four before losing to their most heated rival North Carolina.

The loss to the Tar Heels is going to leave a sour taste in the mouths of the Duke faithful. Any time the Blue Devils lose to North Carolina it stings more than the other losses. North Carolina also spoiled the farewell game for Coach K at Cameron Indoor. Those two games aside it was a successful final ride for the legendary coach, and he now hands the program over to another Duke graduate in Jon Scheyer.

The Blue Devils likely won’t fall off much considering that the new head coach oversaw recruiting for the last few seasons. He was responsible for most of the top talent in the Duke program. Duke opens the year in the top 10, and will contend for an ACC championship with their archrivals. It will be interesting to see how coach Scheyer does on his own with no Coach K.

Dariq Whitehead is the next top 3 recruit to come to Cameron Indoor and continue the legacy of top kids to Duke every year. Whitehead was ranked number 1 in the country by Rivals, and ranked number 2 by ESPN, no matter the ranking Whitehead is going to succeed in his one year in Cameron. He was the Sports Illustrated Player of the Year, McDonald’s All-American, and the Naismith High School Player of the year. The big-bodied athletic wing is my pick for ACC freshman of the year and will lead Duke in scoring and likely will be the first college player taken in the NBA draft.

9. Arkansas Razorbacks- Last Season Ranking: 15

Conference: SEC

Coming off back-to-back Elite Eight trips, a dynamite recruiting class, tons of talent in the transfer portal, and a great coach and Arkansas is looking like a legitimate Final Four team this year. The Razorbacks find themselves in the top 10 this preseason with one of the best teams they have had in the last 20 years. The race to the top of the SEC between Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky is going to be really fun too, as they should do that.

Coach Eric Musselman has built a sustainable program. He is getting top recruits to come to Fayetteville and is developing them. Musselman has built the roster up to a top 10 preseason team which are heights the program has not seen since the Nolan Richardson days. The Razorbacks really opened eyes when they beat Gonzaga in the sweet 16 a season ago before falling to Duke in the Elite Eight. The loss to Duke left a sour taste in the coaching staff’s mouths and they are hungry.

Nick Smith Jr. is a consensus top-three recruit in the country. He is the number 1 combo guard in the country, a High School All-American and the USA Today High School Player of the Year. Smith Jr. is a decorated high school basketball player who is one of the highest-ranked recruits in Razorback history. The guard is also projected to be a lottery pick in this season’s NBA Draft. The freshman is going to start for Arkansas and is likely going to lead them in most categories. He was a great passer and rebounder in addition to being an elite scorer in High School. Smith Jr. is a stud and is going to be a huge factor in this team getting to the final four.

8. UCLA Bruins- Last Season Ranking: 6

Conference: Pac-12

UCLA made the run to the final four two seasons ago and that was just the beginning for Mick Cronin in Westwood. Coach Cronin has endeared himself to the UCLA program and the people of Westwood by doing what he was paid to do winning. When he took the job, it didn’t look like it would be a happy marriage. Cronin just didn’t play a style that the Bruins were known for playing. Believe it or not, with the history of the most prestigious program in all of NCAA Basketball he has been able to get a different type of athlete than he could get at Cincinnati.

The Bruins turned the ball over fewer times than any team in the country which meant they were able to maximize most of their possessions and see them end in a shot attempt. UCLA ran a very efficient offense in which they mostly got downhill for easy looks at the basket. The Bruins did not take many threes, but it didn’t matter because the ball was always moving, and shots seemed to always be falling. UCLA was good on the defensive end which has always been a signature of a Cronin-coached team. The Bruins are back to that blue blood status and coach Cronin has a ton of momentum and the Bruins are in the top 10 to start the season.

Tyger Campbell is the point guard for the Bruins who has run the offense for the last three seasons. Campbell never turns the ball over and is a true pass-first point guard. He can score but he provides more to UCLA when he is passing and running the offense. Through his time at UCLA, he ranks in the top 10 on the Bruins all-time assists list. Given how good this program has been historically that is impressive.

7. Baylor Bears- Last Season Ranking: 7

Conference: Big 12

The Scott Drew can’t coach crowd is silent these days. The head coach has turned the Bears into one of the best programs in the sport and he has done it by loading the team up with efficient offensive players who shoot a ton of threes, guys who rebound like crazy, and team great team defense. Baylor will press you on the defensive end of the floor, they will play a zone, they will play no middles, and a pack line.

They don’t care whatever they can do to stop their opponents from scoring. Baylor opened the year 15-0 and it looked like they were going to repeat as champs. Baylor entered the season as a one-seed and then ran into North Carolina in the second round. In that game, the Bears were down 25 points before coming all the way back and tying the game only to end up losing the game later, but it was a great game and one I will remember for a while.

Baylor ran into some injuries last season to some of their best players which changed the course of the season a bit. Had the Bears had their full roster in the NCAA tournament they likely would have won it again. Baylor enters the season with the exact same preseason ranking as they had a season ago. They also enter as one of the favorites for the Big 12 title and a National Championship.

LJ Cryer was on a tear last year before he missed 12 out of the last 13 games. He had foot surgery the year before and last year gave him some discomfort in his foot that he could not play through. Cryer would have made a difference in every game he missed as he was shooting 50% from deep and 50% from the floor overall. Cryer, like so many other Baylor players, is great on the defensive side of the ball. Cryer is healthy this year and with Baylor having a lot of other key pieces back this year they should not slip too far and are going to be right there in the mix for the title again.

6. Kentucky Wildcats- Last Season Ranking: 13

Conference: SEC

After one of the worst seasons in Kentucky history in 2020-2021, the Wildcats were back as one of the premier teams in the country last season. Coach John Calipari built the roster from top freshmen and a few top transfers like he always has. The only difference over the past year was that he was able to get the most out of his players in the regular season.

Let’s talk about the obvious elephant in the room. Kentucky had a great regular season and ended up earning a 2 seed in the NCAA tournament where they were given Saint Peter’s as a matchup. The rest is as you say history. Kentucky could never shake the Peacocks and kept letting them hang around which eventually led to a loss in overtime. That loss to the Peacocks was one of the biggest upsets in the history of the game and it set in motion the run to the Elite Eight for the Peacocks. That loss started a lot of chatter about coach Calipari and his job security. That talk is ridiculous and coach Calipari is safe and is likely going to get his team a one-seed this year.

Oscar Tshiebwe was the unanimous player of the year last season. He won all six recognized awards for the player of the year and is the first Kentucky player to ever win the unanimous player of the year award. He also won the Kareem Abdoul Jabbar center of the year, SEC Player of the Year, and a National Defensive player of the year finalist. Tshiebwe would have been a lottery pick had he decided to enter the NBA draft. The encore for the star is going to be hard to top as the big man shot 61% from the floor, and corralled 6 offensive rebounds per game, with 2 blocks. Overall, that was good for 18 points and 15 rebounds.

5. Creighton Bluejays- Last Season Ranking: 52

Conference: Big East

Over the last 5 seasons, the Bluejays have experienced some of the best seasons in their history. They have recently made their first sweet since the tournament expanded to 64 teams. Head coach Greg McDermott has brought in the highest-ranked recruits in Creighton history and has gotten this program rolling. Last season Creighton won games differently than they have in years.  The offense was not it normally was only averaging about 70 points per game. That is not surprising given that Creighton had a lot of freshmen last season.

What was surprising is how well the Bluejays played defense. Last season was one of the best defenses coach McDermott has ever had and that defense was able to get them in to the tournament and keep them in the second-round game against National Champion Kansas. Heading into this season and the expectations have never been higher for Creighton they find themselves in the top 5 and are an absolute threat for their first final four and to take it a step further the National Championship.

The Bluejays bulked up the offense in the transfer portal, and the defense this year may be better. Creighton has defenders everywhere, especially in the middle of the floor where they protect the rim. Anyone who has watched Creighton knows how they are going to play. They are going to play as fast as possible, shoot threes, and score a ton of points. They love to play “let it fly” as the media in Omaha call it and it works for them. Creighton is the clear winner of the Big East, and they are likely looking at a 30-win season.

Baylor Scheierman had a fantastic career in the Summit League. In fact, the guard is one of the best players to ever play in the Summit League and is the best player to play for South Dakota State. Scheierman is the reigning Summit League Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Lou Henson award with is the national player of the year among all mid-major programs. The guard held averages of 16 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. The rebounding and assist numbers led the Summit League. He was the only player in Division 1 to lead his conference in rebounding and assists.

The guard changes the story for Creighton, before the Bluejays were still going to be an elite eight team but putting a player as talented as Scheierman in the offense with the rest of the players already on this roster makes Creighton one of the best teams in the country. It is never going to hurt to add a 50% three-point shooter to your roster.

4. Kansas Jayhawks- Last Season Ranking: 2

Conference: Big 12

The National Champion team Kansas were the best team all year long. It should never be a surprise when the Jayhawks win the National Championship the countries one of the premier programs is consistently great every year. Love or hate head coach Bill Self, he always has Kansas playing well. They win the recruiting trail every year, go ahead and insert your joke about how he cheats on the recruiting trail, and they continue to get the best of the best high school players.

Sometimes teams will win the title because they get hot and are playing over their head, but that was not the case with Kansas. They had the talent, and they were the best team in the country for most of the year, even if that was not reflected in the rankings. The Jayhawks had it all, two guards who were elite scorers, a lockdown defender, and two great big men. They were impossible to match up with and that is why they ended up winning the National Championship.

Kansas has a great recruiting class coming in like usual. They are one of the only teams in the country who have multiple McDonald’s All-Americans on the roster. The Jayhawks currently have three.  Kansas finds themselves in the top five heading into this year and are going to get a challenge at the top of the league from Baylor but that race to the finish in the deepest league in the country should be awesome.

Dajuan Harris is not a guy who is going to score a ton, but he likely doesn’t leave the floor much for Kansas. He is a pass-first point guard who is one of the best defenders in the country. The Jayhawks best teams have had a guy who can take a player out of the game on defense. Harris also averaged 5 assists per game a season ago. He is a great passer and elite defender and is likely going to win the Big 12 defensive player of the year.

3. Gonzaga Bulldogs- Last Season Ranking: 1

Conference: West Coast

I have zero regrets about picking Gonzaga to win the National Championship last year. I was always on the Bulldogs were better last year than they were in 2020-2021 train. That clearly was not the case, but Gonzaga was still good the whole season. In the NCAA tournament, the Bulldogs didn’t play very well and got exposed a bit. Something happened to the Bulldogs in that game last season against Saint Mary’s in Moraga when they got dismantled on the defensive end, but Gonzaga figured it out and ended up winning the deep West Coast Conference and making the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.

Gonzaga had the best offense in the country a year ago, they made more shots than anyone and were the most efficient team in the country from the floor. The Bulldogs played one of the toughest schedules in the country and went into the tournament with a 26-3 overall record, and while that is more losses than they have experienced over the last three seasons they were still excellent.

Drew Timme and his incredible mustache return to Spokane looking for the best hardware of all which is a National Championship trophy. Timme has already had an illustrious career as he was a two-time All-American, West Coast Conference Player of the Year, and an all-NCAA tournament player. Timme shoots 62% from the floor over his career. The big man is not a great three-point shooter or free throw shooter but he is deadly inside the arc and is athletic enough to get the ball anywhere outside the paint and make things happen. Timme gets one final shot at the National Player of the year and heads into this year as one of the favorites to win that award.

2. North Carolina Tar Heels- Last Season Ranking: 18

Conference: ACC

Safe to say that the first year for Hubert Davis was a success. North Carolina was the National Runner Up and looked mighty impressive getting to that point. It was hard to know where to place the Tar Heels heading into last season, they did have a lot of talent but with a new coach, who had never been a head coach before, and some question marks in the backcourt it was warranted. I knew they were going to be a top-20 team but did not know where exactly to place them. I never thought the ceiling for the Tar Heels was a title.

The backcourt was great all year and took huge strides. The frontcourt was also fantastic, especially in the NCAA tournament. The Tar Heels enter the season in the top three and one of the favorites to win the NCAA championship they have a lot of talent back from last season. In typical North Carolina fashion, the Tar Heels were able to secure whatever freshmen they wanted and have a top class. The ACC runs through Chapel Hill this year.

Armando Bacot is back for his fourth season, and he was fantastic in the NCAA tournament. If the big man had not sprained his ankle on a loose part of the floor North Carolina may have been the National Champion. Bacot has 1,300 points and 1,001 rebounds to go with 127 blocks over his career at North Carolina. The big man is one of two Tar Heels over the last 50 years to average a double-double over his career. Bacot is going to pick up right where he left off last year, will still average a double-double, and is the favorite for the ACC player of the year.

1. Houston Cougars- Last Season Ranking: 16

Conference: American Athletic

Welcome Houston to the top spot in the preseason rankings. It is nice to be on top, but with great expectations comes great responsibility. The Cougars are going to have a target on their back the entire season and everyone is going to want to knock them off. I can guarantee that head coach Kelvin Sampson knows that and is going to have his guys ready to play every game.

Last season Houston was ravaged by injuries, especially to their point guard and all they did was go on to win the American and made the Elite Eight where they lost to Villanova. Houston is great on the defensive end and allowed less than 60 points. Coach Sampson is one of the best coaches in the country and now he can finally add a National Championship to the resume. Houston isn’t going to get challenged much in the American Athletic and with their offense will rack up a ton of points.

Marcus Sasser was on pace to have an All-American campaign-type season but got hurt 12 games into the season when he broke his foot. The point guard is healthy this year and ready to pick up where he left off last year. When Sasser got hurt, he was shooting 44% from the floor and from deep. He was passing the ball well and playing fantastic perimeter defense. If you get a chance to watch Houston play this year Sasser is going to jump off the screen because of his ability to get to the rim, shoot from deep, and get his teammates involved. He is an X factor in the American race and the race for Houston to win the National Championship if he stays healthy the Cougars will go a long way. If he gets hurt, it could be dicey for Houston to win the title.

That puts a bow on the preseason content.  The comprehensive team power rankings are where I think teams will end up. Find your team and let me know what you think.  After countless hours of film study and analysis these were completed.  It is a daunting project every year and I thank you for reading along with me.  Let the games begin!