330. Central Arkansas Bears- Last Season Ranking: 343
Conference: Atlantic Sun
Year one in the Atlantic Sun was overall a success for the Bears. They finished 7-9 in the league, which was in the middle of the pack, that was a huge improvement from how their last few seasons in the Southland. Central Arkansas was an extremely weird team last year given that they had a good enough offense to win a lot of games, but they were terrible on the defensive end as they gave up over 81 points a game.
The Bears must get the defense figured out to have this team reach the heights that they are capable of. Central Arkansas has some talented offensive players led by sophomore guard Camren Hunter. Hunter is going to lead a potent offense but without defense this a bottom tier Atlantic Sun team again.
329. Alabama A&M Bulldogs- Last Season Ranking: 345
Conference: SWAC
Over the last three season the Bulldogs and head coach Dylan Howard have been trending up, and last season Alabama A&M had 12 wins. Those were the most wins for the program since the 14 in 2013-2014. They also finished in the top 5 in the SWAC, which was also the first time that has happened since the 2013-2014 season. Alabama A&M won 12 games despite having one of the worst scoring offenses in the country.
The Bulldogs only averaged 61 points a season ago, were second to last in the country in field goal percentage and were awful from beyond the arc. Alabama A&M is good enough to finish in the middle of the pack in the SWAC again, but if their offense is that bad again it may not be possible. Senior Garrett Hicks returns and should find himself on the All-conference team.
328. Milwaukee Panthers- Last Season Ranking: 146
Conference: Horizon League
There is a 100% guarantee that I was not the only one who missed this badly on Milwaukee. No one would have ever guessed that five star freshman Patrick Baldwin would only play 11 games, and would have poor shooting percentages in the games he did play. Baldwin was the son of the coach last season and the overall performance of Milwaukee, who many picked to finish in the top half of the Horizon League, cost former coach Patrick Baldwin his job.
The new coach is Bart Lundy who was most recently the coach of Queens University in Charlotte. Lundy is known for winning as he won 30 games as the coach at Queens three seasons in a row. The new head man has also participated in a Final Four and an Elite Eight. Lundy is a great coach and should be able to turn the Panthers around, but they are in shambles right now. The Panthers have a new roster assembled by Lundy that has a lot of depth and experience. The current roster does not have much division 1 experience, but they have played a lot of basketball.
Even with the new roster and the new coach the Panthers look destined for the bottom of the Horizon. Jalen Johnson is one of the best forwards in the country but since he played the beginning of his career for an HBCU no one knows about him. Johnson has a 30 point game on the books against Cincinnati, he shot almost 60% from the floor overall. Johnson was voted one of the 17 best HBCU players ever. He is going to average a double double while being efficient from the floor and will be an all conference player. If he wins the league player of the year Milwaukee is going to have a great season.
327. William & Mary Tribe- Last Season Ranking: 279
Conference: Colonial
When the Tribe hired Dane Fischer to be their basketball coach the school had visions of playing in its first NCAA tournament. Instead, they are in a slight rebuild, which is to be expected when you lose the best player the program has ever see in Nathan Knight. Knight did so much for the school that it may take a bit to find your way after he leaves. William & Mary had one of the worst offenses in the country a season ago and were not much better on the defensive side of the ball. They were also extremely young and inexperienced which played a factor in the 5 win season the Tribe had. William & Mary enter this season on a 10 game losing streak and hope that by bringing in some power five transfers that it will transition to more wins on the floor.
William & Mary is still a bottom half team in the Colonial but will have more than 5 wins this season. Anders Nelson is a transfer from St. Thomas, and last season he averaged 15 points per game. He is going to be expected to come right in and produce and be the main guy on offense from the opening tip for the Tribe.
326. Charleston Southern Buccaneers- Last Season Ranking: 339
Conference: Big South
The last two seasons the Buccaneers have won a grand total of 9 games and all the momentum that the previous 10 seasons under head coach Barclay Radebaugh has built seem to have disappeared. Another bad year and Radebaugh could be in trouble. Charleston Southern has struggled to score and struggled to defend over the last few seasons. They desperately need a perimeter defender to cut off the driving lanes and it doesn’t appear that they have that player on this year’s roster.
Charleston Southern does have some experience which should help them in the long run, especially on the offensive end. Tahlik Chavez returns for his second year in the program to try and bring this program from the depths of the Big South.
325. Grambling State Tigers- Last Season Ranking: 308
Conference: SWAC
The Grambling program has experienced their best run of success under current head coach Donte Jackson. They have yet to make the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history, but they have taken a complete 180 as far as a program goes. Last season was the first time that Grambling did not have at least a .500 record in Jackson’s tenure, and it was due in large part to the teams inability to put the ball in the basket.
Grambling got in the paint a lot as they don’t take many threes and their offense is about getting inside. Converting those baskets to points was another story. The Tigers will need to start scoring at a better clip if they are going to reach their goals. They are a top half of the SWAC type team. Tra’Michael Moten is the point guard and it is all going to start with him, he shot under 40% from the floor last year and that needs to change if they want to have a good season.
324. New Hampshire Wildcats- Last Season Ranking: 223
Conference: America East
The last three seasons have been great for the Wildcats and head coach Bill Herrion they have finished with a record of at least .500 and have had a winning record over the last two seasons. New Hampshire also had some of the oldest teams in the country and the Wildcats were good enough to finish in the top half of the America East a season ago.
New Hampshire like so many other low major schools was active in the transfer portal, but only because they had to fill a roster that was gutted by the transfer portal as well. Head Coach Bill Herrion isn’t going to care about any of that he still wants to compete in the America East and finish in the top half again. He is going to have to get the buy in of his players on the defensive end again because this offense just isn’t good enough and has to many question marks.
Finishing in the top half still seems like a plausible outcome for New Hampshire, but I will have them in the bottom tier of the league. Herrion was able to secure two dynamic scorers from the lower divisions of college basketball. Clarence O. Daniels II is an elite scorer and rebounder for a wing. He averaged a double double last year and he continues the long line of guards and wings who could average double digit rebounds for Herrion.
323. Southern Mississippi Eagles- Last Season Ranking: 196
Conference: Sun Belt
It was a step in the wrong direction for the Eagles and coach Jay Ladner. Southern Mississippi won 7 games a season ago and only 1 game in the Conference USA. After the season the Eagles transitioned to the Sun Belt which is not nearly as deep of a conference as the previous one is, but it isn’t an easier conference at all.
Southern Mississippi is going to have a new set of challenges in the Sun Belt but with a revamped roster that addresses many of the holes in this roster it could be better news for Ladner and company. Any time a team moves to a new conference there’s always going to be a feeling out period. No one is familiar with each other and that is hard to game plan for as a team and as a coach. Southern Mississippi still finishes in the bottom tier of the league, but likely will win more than 7 games overall.
Felipe Haase is a transfer from Mercer. Haase led the Bears in scoring last year and was the best three point shooter in that conference. The guard is a great rebounder for his position and he also can pass the ball very well. He is going to start as the off guard but can also play the point. Haase is going to be a key piece this season in ensuring that Southern Mississippi can be a little more respectable in the Sun Belt.
322. Lafayette Leopards- Last Season Ranking: 290
Conference: Patriot League
It is going to be a transition year for Leopards as they have a new coach for the first time in 27 years. Fran O’Hanlon announced his retirement late last year which pushed Lafayette into a new era and have chosen former Penn star Mike Jordan as their new head coach. Head coach Jordan has spent most of his coaching career at Colgate and Drexel and has been an integral part of helping get those teams to the NCAA tournament.
Lafayette enters the year without their two best players as both of their top scorers transferred to other programs and the Leopards are in a full rebuild mode. I don’t expect Lafayette to finish much higher than the bottom tier in the Patriot League. Kyle Jenkins remains from last year’s team to lead the offense.
321. Holy Cross Crusaders- Last Season Ranking: 326
Conference: Patriot League
Holy Cross is a hard team to figure out because they do have one of the more talented players in the Patriot League. The Crusaders have had a hard time figuring it out under current head coach Brett Nelson. Holy Cross doesn’t shoot the ball from the outside at all and their shot selection inside the arc is not great, which in turn leads to low efficiency which leads to bad offense.
The ball doesn’t move in the offense as they like to play a lot of one on one. Holy Cross needs to start moving the ball and getting the ball into their best players hands. The other troubling thing is the amount of high efficiency shots they give to their opponents which makes it hard to win games or keep a lead. Gerrale Gates is one of the best players in the Patriot League and he should average 20 points per game this year.
320. New Orleans Privateers- Last Season Ranking: 319
Conference: Southland
The Privateers were one of the most exciting teams in the country a year ago and it was because of their backcourt. The backcourt accounted for almost half of the New Orleans points a year ago and one of the guards Derek St. Hilare was one of the best scorers in a country a season ago. Those two players are gone, and the Privateers do not have a single player on the roster that has averaged over double digits last year. I was very shocked that New Orleans did not make the NCAA tournament as they had the best team in my eyes.
This season will be different for the Privateers as they are in a slight rebuild and have to find out what they have. They should still finish in the middle of the Southland pack as the bottom of the league is bad. Tyson Jackson returns to man the paint and he shot 60% from the floor a season ago. The offense is going to go through him.
319. North Alabama Lions- Last Season Ranking: 233
Conference: Atlantic Sun
Two seasons ago the Lions were in the Atlantic Sun title game, and they have fallen since then. Last year was the worst season that North Alabama has had in their brief stint as a member of Division 1. The Lions were extremely talent deficient last year and they were a mess on the offensive end of the floor. They shot under 40% as a team and to compound that North Alabama took a ton of attempts from deep, but only made slightly over 30% of their shots from three. It is never going to produce results if you play as fast as North Alabama does, takes as many threes as they do, and shoot under 40% from the field.
The Lions have a lot of their roster back from a season ago, but with the league they play in being so competitive especially at the top it is going to be hard for them to climb out of the basement. They will be better but will still finish in the bottom half of the league. Daniel Ortiz was on the freshman all conference team last year. He dominated touches on offense for the Lions and likely will again. If the guard continues to develop, he will be a star in the Atlantic Sun.
318. Bethune-Cookman Wildcats- Last Season Ranking: 353
Conference: SWAC
The inaugural season in the SWAC did not go as planned for the Wildcats. Outside of three players they had a terrible time trying to score the ball. Second year head coach Reggie Theus is hoping to improve in his second season in the SWAC and it can all start on the offensive end. They shot a little over 40% for the season and that is going to have to improve for the Wildcats to get better. The SWAC is a competitive conference again and star Joe French may have to score 20 a game for Bethune-Cookman to climb out of the bottom tier in the conference.
317. Columbia Lions- Last Season Ranking: 341
Conference: Ivy League
Columbia always seems to have one or two players who are stars in the Ivy League, and yet every year they are overmatched in the league. The Lions enter the year on a 12 game losing streak and losing 13 out of their last 14 overall. Columbia is still one of the worst defensive teams in the country and that is holding them back from reaching their ceiling. All signs are pointing to another last place finish in the Ivy League again this year, but hopefully they can improve on their 1-13 conference record and their 4-22 record overall. The Lions may be one of the worst teams in the country again. Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa enters his sophomore season as one of the best scorers in the Ivy League.
316. McNeese State Cowboys- Last Season Ranking: 332
Conference: Southland
McNeese State is a very interesting case study. They are a blast to watch play basketball because they run full speed all the time and want to get teams in to track meets. As a result of the way they play the Cowboys were one of the top scoring teams in the country, they were a fantastic rebounding team, but they turned the ball over way too much and didn’t shoot a great percentage from the floor. I am not as concerned with the defense for the way that the Cowboys play as they want teams to run up and down the floor.
The Cowboys do return a lot of the key pieces from last year and in year two of the John Aiken tenure I expect things to be better. They are still going to play fast and get their shots up at the rim, hopefully with a full year of familiarity in the offense they start making shots. McNeese State could be that team in the Southland this year. I like them to finish in the top half and Christian Shumate has Southland player of the year potential.
315. Little Rock Trojans- Last Season Ranking: 295
Conference: Sun Belt
Little Rock finished dead last in the Sun Belt last year, but they also were a team who saw every one of their original starting five get injured and most of those guys were lost for the season. The Trojans were already transitioning to a new coach that they just could not survive the injuries that they endured. Little Rock also didn’t experience a ton of turnover from last season, and it will be interesting to see if they with a little extra motivation with the lost season.
The Trojans may be one of those teams who gets the most improved in the Sun Belt, but that league always has two or three very strong teams at the top and those teams do change year after year. Little Rock is good enough to finish in the middle of the pack of the Sun Belt, but likely finishes near the bottom again. Deantoni Gordon only played 8 games last year and is looking for some redemption. The guard is the type of dynamic player who can win some games for the Trojans by himself.
314. Stetson Hatters- Last Season Ranking: 195
Conference: Atlantic Sun
I had a lot of faith in Stetson the last few seasons because of the talent that roster had, as well as I trusted coach Donnie Jones to help rebuild the Hatters and start to make them a relevant force in the Atlantic Sun. The complete opposite has happened. Stetson is back to finishing in the bottom half of the league and they look no closer to the NCAA tournament than they were before Jones took over.
I am not one to say it is impossible to win anywhere but looking at the list of coaches who have coached the Hatters it looks like it is going to take a miracle at this point to get this team to their first NCAA tournament. Stetson lost a ton of production last year as their three top scorers and team leaders are no longer on campus. The Hatters are destined for the bottom half of the Atlantic Sun again and offense is going to be a huge struggle for this group. Mahamadou Diawara has the highest ceiling of any player for the Hatters. The big man has gotten worse each year of his career but was on the Atlantic Sun all-freshman team. He will need to play at the level to really help the Hatters.
313. Cal State Northridge Matadors- Last Season Ranking: 289
Conference: Big West
The Matadors have never been able to get over the hump in the Big West, they did have some decent years under former coach Mark Gottfried and Northridge has seen a lot of talent come through the program over the last couple of seasons. Then enter Trent Johnson who was going to have a full rebuild ahead of him, but no one expected the offense to be as bad as it was. They struggled to score over 60 points most nights and while they did go out and get some transfers from JUCO programs and one from Murray State they still have a lot of problems. Johnson is a good mid major coach and will hopefully get the Matadors program built up.
Northridge does have some motivation this year as Matador player Nick Hermann passed away in August of this year after a long battle with Cancer. The season is dedicated in his honor and crazy things always seem to happen when those types of things are present. Atin Wright returns for his third year in the Matador program, and he hopefully has a better supporting cast around him this year.
312. Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks- Last Season Ranking: 356
Conference: MEAC
Head coach Jason Crafton may have found something with his team last year. As the adage goes, Defense wins championships, and we have all seen that teams who are committed on the defensive end can overcome a lot of offensive deficiencies. That is exactly what the Hawks did last year.
They were good on the defensive end and it was hard to get a shot up and much less a quality one. Eastern Shore only allowed 66 points per game last year and were able to finally win double digit games for the first time in a long time. Offense was clunky for the Hawks and was extremely balanced as everyone predicted. Da’Shawn Phillip returns to lead the team on both ends of the floor and hope to get the Hawks closer to the top half of the MEAC.
311. Jackson State Tigers- Last Season Ranking: 249
Conference: SWAC
If you need any more evidence that the SWAC basketball conference changes every year look no further than Jackson State. The Tigers were undefeated in the league in 2020-2021, along with three other teams, and then last year with a lot of the same players back from that undefeated SWAC team went 9-9 and finished in 6th place. Jackson State had a horrible time trying to score last season as they averaged just a shade above 61 points per game, which would put them in bottom tier of total offense. The Tigers under head coach Wayne Brent didn’t shoot a ton of threes anyways.
Well coach Brent is gone and now enter former Alabama State head coach Mo Williams to take over the reins at Jackson State. The new Tigers head coach went out and got some great JUCO players and the leading scorer from Alabama State to bring with him to try and get Jackson State back to the NCAA tournament. There are a lot of question marks with the Tigers this year and they are a middle of the pack SWAC team. Keionte Cornelius, is a transfer from Schoolcraft College, where he scored 26 points a game last year. He is an elite scorer, but can he transfer that to the division 1 level?
310. Southeast Missouri State Redhawks- Last Season Ranking: 273
Conference: Ohio Valley
The Redhawks were able to finish in the top half of the Ohio Valley a season ago, but Southeast Missouri State was not a good basketball team overall. They were great on the offensive end, but terrible on the defensive end. Southeast Missouri State has been trending up under current head coach Brad Korn and they head into this season with expectations. The revamped Ohio Valley is not going to be nearly as good and if the Redhawks can get their defense figured out they will have as good of a chance of anyone as finishing near the top of the league.
Southeast Missouri State takes a ton of threes and they couple that with getting to the line a lot. Those things are very conducive to great offense. Phillip Russell is a great shooter and already took a lion share of the shots in the offense. If he has a good season, it will go a long way towards making sure the Redhawks have a great offense again.
309. Prairie View A & M Panthers- Last Season Ranking: 218
Conference: SWAC
The season could not have started any worse for the Panthers last season. Prairie View started out 0-11 before they finally got on the board. That was a drastic change for coach Byron Smith as he had worked hard to get the Panthers to be the class of the SWAC. A lot of things went wrong for Prairie View last year. They are used to causing a lot of turnovers and havoc with their style of aggressive pressure defense, last year they were one of the worst defensive teams in the country. The Panthers are also used to having a steady hand at point guard to guide this team through rocky times, and they just didnt have that last season at all. Prairie View is chomping at the bit to get going this year because they are going to come out tenacious and ready to go.
The coaching staff is going to make sure everyone is bought in on the defensive end and the pressure is ready to come back and wreak havoc on the SWAC. The Panthers are going to have something to prove this year. The question remains as to who is going to play point guard for coach Smith.
Jeremiah Gambrell is better utilized as an off guard and this year he will be able to play that position. He is one of the best true shot creators in the SWAC and one of the best pure shooters in the league as well. Gambrell is going to provide this team with the needed scoring punch to get over the hump on offense. The guard will have an outside shot at the player of the year if the Panthers have a good season.
308. Elon Phoenix- Last Season Ranking: 213
Conference: Colonial
Elon has never made an NCAA tournament and to be honest they are not close to making the event any time soon. The hope is that new coach Billy Taylor will be able to get the Phoenix closer to achieving that goal. Taylor has won everywhere he has gone; he was most recently on the Iowa staff for the last three seasons and oversaw some of the best Hawkeye teams in recent memory. The Phoenix have not quite hit rock bottom but there is nowhere for them to go but up.
Heading into the season they lost a lot of production from the team last year and have a lot of unproven pieces who are going to be put into a starting role to try and turn the program around. I was a lot higher on Elon last year than I should have been, but I did trust former coach Mike Schrage and I believed in the back court for the Phoenix. The talent never developed and that is where the problem lies for Elon. Coach Taylor likes to play fast and shoot a lot of threes, he is also a good player developer, and the hope is he can develop and recruit enough to get this rebuild done quickly.
Sean Halloran comes to Elon from Belmont Abbey where he had a fantastic career over five seasons. Halloran is going to get the first look at the lead guard in this offense. Halloran had a reputation for being a great passer as well as a scorer. He ended his career with 502 assists over four years and shot over 50% from deep last year. He has experience even if not at the Division 1 level he should still be able to guide this offense for the entire year.
307. Texas A&M Commerce Lions- Last Season Ranking: N/A
Conference: Southland
Texas A&M Commerce enters year 1 in Division 1 in the Southland conference. It is hard to peg exactly how good the Lions will be given that the Southland is not a big conference, and it isn’t an overly competitive one either. Texas A&M Commerce plays slow as they shoot about 55 shots per game, but they also take a ton of threes as almost half of their shot attempts are from deep. The Lions have always had a reputation for being a pesky team and they should provide ample competition for their Southland foes. Demarcus Demonia returns and is ready to lead the team as the feature on offense.
306. Central Michigan Chippewas- Last Season Ranking: 303
Conference: MAC
The first year under Tony Barbee did not go well for the Chips, they started the year 2-13 before they were able to get their footing a bit and win 4 of their next 5 games. Central Michigan couldn’t defend anyone, and they had a terrible time scoring most nights as well. Last season provided a glimpse into how the Chips would play under head coach Barbee. They are going to take a ton of threes and as the team gets more experience, they will hopefully gain some efficiency on both ends of the floor.
Central Michigan is going to be young again this year as coach Barbee tries to find the right combination to start winning on the floor. The Chippewas do have two young stars on this team and are led by Sophomore guard Kevin Miller. Central Michigan is still going to struggle this year and should be a bottom tier team in the MAC.
305. Sacred Heart Pioneers- Last Season Ranking: 260
Conference: Northeast
Sacred Heart is entering their 24th year at the Division 1 level and they are still waiting for the first NCAA tournament appearance. The Pioneers have had some great Northeast teams but have never been able to get over the hump and claim the Northeast conference automatic bid. Last season the Pioneers were very experienced as they returned all their roster from the previous season. Sacred Heart struggled as they had a heck of a time on the defensive end, and to make matters worse the Pioneers lost their two top scorers.
Sacred Heart heads into the season experienced again and they did add some solid players to help make up for the loss of their top scorers. Nico Gallette is undersized for a big man, but he doesn’t play like it. He should average close to a double double this year.
304. South Carolina Upstate Spartans- Last Season Ranking: 344
Conference: Big South
The Spartans entered last year with a lot of question marks, but they did have a very experienced roster and were able to way overshoot their ranking, finish in the top half of the Big South and play in the Basketball Invitational postseason tournament. This was their first postseason tournament since 2016-2017 when USC Upstate played in the CIT.
This year the Spartans enter the season with more question marks as they have a virtually new roster but have a lot of talent that transferred into the program. That talent is hoping to find some magic as they pair with reigning Big South Freshman of the Year Jordan Gainey. The Spartans have enough talent to finish in the middle of the pack in the Big South.
303. Texas Southern Tigers- Last Season Ranking: 232
Conference: SWAC
The Tigers have been the class of the SWAC for a long time, and it is always easy to pencil them in as one of the top teams in that league every year. Head coach Johnny Jones is a huge reason why Texas Southern has had so much success. Texas Southern has become a hot transfer destination for kids looking for a fresh start or for one final chapter of their college careers. Players that play there know they are going to go to a program that wins a lot and is going to make sure you get involved in the game plan.
The Tigers don’t have a star, but a lot of guys who are good players and they all work as one cohesive unit on both ends of the floor to win games. They don’t do anything flashy on offense and they don’t shoot threes. Texas Southern does preach ball control as they rarely turn it over and they don’t foul much. They do two things great on the defensive end of the floor and that is rebounding and blocking shots. They were one of the best rebounding teams in the country a season ago and they averaged over 5 blocks per game.
The Tigers are the only team in the SWAC who is going to start two extremely athletic big men who dominate. John Walker III returns for one final year at Texas Southern. He isn’t likely going to win any player of the year awards, but he is going to play great defense, take smart shots, rebound, and protect the rim. Those are all things that have made him a staple for the Texas Southern team.
302. Marist Red Foxes- Last Season Ranking: 264
Conference: MAAC
The Red Foxes play a lot of isolation and one on one basketball as evidenced by their single digit assists numbers a season ago. Marist is also a team who has been trending up in the MAAC over the last few seasons under head coach John Dunne. The Red Foxes had the freshman of the year in the conference last season who decided to transfer to a bigger school and that left the coach Dunne scrambling for scoring. He did go out and secure some transfers, two of which were outside Division 1 and were players who put up big numbers at their last schools.
Marist heads into this season with a lot of freshmen and a lot of question marks. Coach Dunne is going to have his work cut out for him. Patrick Gardner is 6’11” and is going to be one of the tallest players in the MAAC. Gardner also put up over 20 points and over 10 rebounds per game at Saint Michael’s College and Marist is hoping that will translate over to the Division 1 level.
301. American Eagles- Last Season Ranking: 280
Conference: Patriot League
Over the previous three seasons American has been one of the most consistent middle to top half of the Patriot League team. The Eagles never do anything flashy; they play at one of the slowest paces in the country, take very few threes, and take efficient shots inside the arc. American rarely gets fouled or gets to the foul line. The Eagles like to play games in the 60’s and if you can speed them up most of the teams are going to have a very good chance at winning the game.
This season expect a team to play competitive games that have very little fouls. Somehow, American will still finish in the middle of the Patriot League pack without doing anything flashy. Colin Smalls returns to lead the offense, he shot over 50% from inside the arc last year.