300. Eastern Michigan Eagles- Last Season Ranking: 300
Conference: MAC
Eastern Michigan was in desperate need of a spark, and they got that when they hired Stan Heath. Heath has given this team a shot of energy and while the team only won 10 games a season ago, the Eagles have certainly won this offseason. Eastern Michigan struck it rich in the transfer portal with a lot of kids who were born in the state of Michigan who were looking for a fresh start.
One of those players was Emoni Bates from Memphis. Many compared Bates to the next LeBron James coming out of high school but with injuries and off the court concerns that never panned out. If Eastern Michigan can take the needed strides on the defensive end and eliminate distractions, they do have a chance to finish in the top half of the MAC. Noah Farrakhan had one of the best freshman seasons in Eagle history and he is looking to cement himself as one of the best players in Eastern Michigan history.
299. Robert Morris Colonials- Last Season Ranking: 288
Conference: Horizon League
The last two seasons have been a mess for the Colonials and head coach Andrew Toole. Robert Morris has seen players leave in the middle of the season and they have fallen off considerably from the program we all expected them to be when they headed to the Horizon League. Robert Morris does have their top three scorers back from last season but given how last season went that doesn’t elicit a lot of confidence.
There are going to questions around are all of these players going to be committed to Robert Morris? Will they all stay for the year and see this out? If the Colonials can stay healthy and all stay committed on both ends of the floor, they will have a chance to turn it around. Robert Morris still has a ways to go and will likely finish in the bottom of the Horizon league pack. Kahliel Spear returns to lead the Colonials and hopefully he can pull them from the bottom of the Horizon League.
298. Coppin State Eagles- Last Season Ranking: 302
Conference: MEAC
Coppin State is one of those schools who have perennially been at the bottom of the College Basketball, but head coach Juan Dixon is trying to get his Eagles back to relevance. Coach Dixon was a hot name for some open jobs last year, even though he never really had a shot at any of those jobs.
Coppin State was a team who many picked to win the MEAC last year and make the NCAA tournament, none of that happened because they couldn’t defend, and they could not score. They were one of the worst shooting teams in the entire country as they shot under 40% from the floor for the season and under 30% from deep. The Eagles took almost 30 threes per game, so they are going to have to make them to be successful.
If Coppin State wants to reach their goals, they are going to have to shoot the ball better and if they can do that this team has the talent to make noise in the MEAC, especially once they secured the commitment of a 1,700 point scorer as a transfer. They could sneak into the top half of the MEAC. Nendah Tarke returns and is a star in the MEAC and the Eagles have one of the best backcourts in the country.
297. Radford Highlanders- Last Season Ranking: 246
Conference: Big South
Radford had a little mini dynasty going in the Big South, they may have only made one NCAA tournament in that time, but they were the class of the Big South. The Highlanders are going through a rebuild now under coach Darris Nichols. Nichols is in his second season as the head coach of the Highlanders, and he was in desperate need of offense. Radford had one of the worst offenses in the country last year and to compound things many of the players that were on the team last season are no longer on the team this year.
Radford has supplemented the roster with seldom used transfers from power schools and a few JUCO kids. The rest are freshman. It may be a tough year for Radford, but coach Nichols is going to get his kids playing hard and hopefully some of the power five transfers can develop into scoring options that Radford can rely on every night. As of now, Radford looks like a bottom tier team in the Big South.
Bryan Antoine, who is a former five star recruit, has battled injuries his entire career. He is healthy now and is going to be the player with the highest ceiling for the Highlanders if he can put the injuries behind him and show he can still play it will be good news for Radford.
296. Merrimack Warriors- Last Season Ranking: 238
Conference: Northeast
Merrimack has been in division 1 long enough for us to know how coach Joe Gallo is going to play. He is going to play an extremely slow, grind it out style. The Warriors hang their hat on the defensive end, and they are very comfortable as team playing games in the 50’s and low 60’s. Sure, that may be a boring brand of basketball for some, but for Merrimack and head coach Joe Gallo it has worked and has secured wins.
The Warriors have been a top tier team in the Northeast since they became Division 1 four seasons ago. The one thing that everyone wishes for is a better offense. Merrimack has been anemic on that end of the floor for most of their tenure as a member of the Northeast conference. This season isn’t going to be much better on the offensive end for Merrimack and they are going to have to rely on defense. They have a ton of new pieces intermixed with their two stars from a season ago.
Expect another season where Merrimack finishes in the top half of the league. Jordan Minor is the best player on the floor most nights for Merrimack. He is one of the true elite shot blockers in college basketball. The Warriors big man averaged 15 points per game last year on 54% shooting, 9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. He should be a first team all-conference player this year.
295. Kansas City Kangaroos- Last Season Ranking: 262
Conference: Summit League
The transfer portal and graduation destroyed the Kangaroos chances of having two seasons of a top half finish in the Summit League. Kansas City was a team with a ton of helium heading into last season and I didn’t buy it because they were in prove it mode for me. They did prove it and used an experienced team to finish in third place in the Summit League. Most of those players from that team are gone and have either transferred or graduated. Billy Donlon is a great coach who runs good offense and gets his kids to buy in on the defensive end, but this year Kansas City isnt going to have the talent.
Kansas City doesn’t ever turn the ball over and if you can do that you should be able to win a lot of games. The bottom of the Summit League is not very good, so the Kangaroos should still be able to finish in the middle of the league pack. Anderson Kopp shot over 40% from deep a season ago, and he is going to be the main option on the offensive end for Coach Donlon.
294. Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks- Last Season Ranking: 347
Conference: Ohio Valley
I believe in Ryan Ridder as a coach and he built up the Bethune-Cookman program to be a perennial power in the MEAC, he can do the same with the Tennessee-Martin program. Last year was a tough year and coach Ridder was put in an impossible position as it was two years after former coach Anthony Stewart passed away and he is the third coach in the last three seasons.
The Skyhawks have their top scorers returning, but the one glaring weakness they had was they were awful from beyond the arc. They hope to help mitigate that with the return of Parker Stewart to play his last season of college basketball. The Ohio Valley is going to be a lot less competitive this year without Belmont and Murray State, and the Skyhawks should finish in the middle of the pack. KJ Simon dominates enough of this offense that he very easily could lead the league in scoring.
293. Morgan State Bears- Last Season Ranking: 239
Conference: MEAC
I picked Morgan State to win the MEAC last season, and with good reason. The Bears under head coach Kevin Broadus play at one of the fastest paces in the country. The roster is also loaded with athletes who can play multiple positions. The Bears had a good portion of their roster return from the previous season and I did believe that they were ready to take off in the MEAC. Morgan State did finish in the top half of the MEAC, but they didn’t reach the lofty expectations is more so a result of the overall depth of the MEAC than it is a slight on Morgan State. The Bears scored a lot of points, but they were not very efficient from the floor overall.
This year Morgan State beefed up their roster on the defensive end and has some of their top players returning from the last two seasons. The Bears are putting themselves in prime position to finish in the top half of the league again. There are five legitimate teams that could claim the MEAC crown this year and that speaks to the overall depth of the league. Malik Miller returns and hopes to stay healthy all year. Miller shot about 60% from the floor a season ago and provides this offense a shot in the arm.
292. UTSA Roadrunners- Last Season Ranking: 234
Conference: Conference USA
The post Jhivvahn Jackson era has not been kind to the Roadrunners and the offense has suffered because of it. The team is usually going to look different when you lose a scorer and overall player the caliber of Jackson. As the Roadrunners try to move on and climb out of the basement of Conference USA it is becoming evident that they are in a full rebuild.
The Roadrunners is a fitting name as UTSA still plays at one of the fastest paces in the country, the difference is where those shots are coming from. Most of the shots now come inside the arc, whereas before they would come from outside. The Roadrunners have never been able to play much defense under head coach Steve Henson, if his team can ever figure out the defense, they have a chance to reach their ceiling.
This year the UTSA program appears destined for a bottom half finish in the Conference USA. Jacob Germany is 6’11” and is the focal point of this offense. He is going to get his points, but he doesn’t shoot at a very high percentage. He needs to improve his effectiveness and if he does that, he can average upwards of over 20 points per game. Germany will dominate touches in the offense.
291. Portland State Vikings- Last Season Ranking: 224
Conference: Big Sky
11 transfers, 1 freshman, and two returners are the makeup of the Vikings roster this year. Head coach Jase Coburn is a great basketball mind, and he will be able to get these guys playing as one before the end of the year. This many new faces means that all Portland State fans are going to throw out whatever numbers happened last year and start fresh.
There are some things that we do know. Coburn is going to like playing with as much athleticism as he can on the floor. He does not usually run the traditional lineups, but may run three big men at a time, or four guards and a big, or even the extreme five guard lineup. He is going to put whatever lineup he can on the floor that is going to give Portland State the best chance at winning. His tempo and play style are also going to be adjusted by the lineup he has on the floor.
The Vikings are going to have a penchant for playing fast and pushing the tempo, but they may slow it down as well if the game calls for it. Patience will be needed with Coburn, but the players do like him. Cameron Parker is going to finish out his playing days at Portland State. Parker is not going to likely score much but he will be one of the best passers in the Big Sky and should easily lead the conference in assists.
290. Northern Illinois Huskies- Last Season Ranking: 323
Conference: MAC
It is never easy to be rebuilding in the MAC as it is always packed at the top with seemingly the same teams, and this year will be more of the same. The Huskies hired a well-traveled, well respected coach last season in Rashon Burno and the Northern Illinois program was committed to the rebuild. The team was not great on the offensive end, and that is even with slowing the pace way down.
Northern Illinois has some new faces on the roster and one of them is a transfer from a smaller school who did nothing but score. Northern Illinois is still a bottom of MAC team but if they can find some offense, they can surprise some people. Keshawn Williams is a pure scorer and is going to be the go-to guy on the offense again for Coach Burno.
289. Canisius Golden Griffins- Last Season Ranking: 247
Conference: MAAC
It is hard to know what to make of Canisius this season. They were a bottom tier team in the MAAC a season ago and that team had a ton of seniors. Those guys are now gone and head coach Reggie Witherspoon went and found a lot of JUCO players to fill those ranks. He did get accomplished JUCO players, but will it translate over to winning at the Division 1 level? That remains to be seen.
The Golden Griffins like to shoot threes, but they don’t very many of the ones they shoot. Canisius shot exactly 30% from deep and 40% overall from the floor. Those types of numbers are not ever going to be good enough on the offensive end. Those numbers are especially concerning when the Golden Griffins play at one of the fastest paces in the country and love to get out in transition.
Coach Witherspoon went out and got three point shooters to fill his roster holes if the threes fall Canisius can climb out of the basement. They start the season as a bottom tier MAAC team. Jordan Henderson takes over the point guard duties for the Golden Griffins this year. He is not only going to score but be expected to get the ball to the shooters.
288. Bucknell Bison- Last Season Ranking: 293
Conference: Patriot League
Last season was the worst season the Bison have had for quite some time. They were a mess all over the floor. The biggest weakness for Bucknell was their inability to stop anyone on the defensive end of the floor. The Bison gave up 80 points per game and to take it a step further they gave up 64 shots per game on the defensive side of the ball and allowed teams to shoot 47% from the floor. It is going to be hard to win any games when you give up that many points. The offense for the Bison was a typical coach Nathan Davis offense. They played fast, took threes and shot at a high efficiency inside the arc.
This season may be another bad one for the Bison as they lost their top scorer and didn’t have anyone to replace him with. I am still very suspect of the ability of this team to play defense. Bucknell finishes in the bottom half of the Patriot League again. Xander Rice is going to see a huge increase in his shots in the offense and he is a good shooter. If he can be more efficient the offense should still be very good.
287. Stony Brook Seawolves-Last Season Ranking: 183
Conference: Colonial
First year of Colonial basketball for Stony Brook. They were previously in the America East, and the last season in the America East was a contentious one. The Seawolves were prohibited from competing in the postseason during their last year in the former conference. It was not done by the NCAA but by the America East conference, who was upset that one of their perennial top teams in all sports decided to jump ship and head to the Colonial. The conference office decided to ban Stony Brook from competing in the America East conference tournament.
Heading into the first year in the Colonial and it still looks like the Seawolves are going to have an overall winning record and a team who is going to transition nicely in the Colonial. The league has good teams and Stony Brook is going to provide some quality depth and now for the Seawolves they are going to have more opportunities for quality wins and the recruiting will increase. Head coach Geno Ford has a roster that can finish in the middle of the Colonial pack.
Aaron Clarke is a transfer from Sacred Heart that is one of the best passers in the country. Clarke led the Northeast conference in assists at just over 4 per game. To go along with those assists he also scored 16 points per game. A point guard who can pass and can score is a tremendous asset to have especially one as experienced as Clarke is.
286. Western Carolina Catamounts- Last Season Ranking: 305
Conference: Southern
Western Carolina started a rebuild a season ago and like so many other teams going through a rebuild they had a terrible time defending anyone as they allowed just a shade under 77 points per game. That is never going to be a recipe for success. This year, which is also the second year for head coach Justin Gray, is a year that still may be a tough one for the Catamounts as they are still working through the rebuild process.
The Catamounts did bring in some transfers but none of them had a huge role on their last team but perhaps a change of scenery will help them. Vonterius Woolbright is going to have to step up and take over games for Western Carolina. They are a bottom-tier team in the Southern Conference.
285. VMI Keydets- Last Season Ranking: 237
Conference: Southern Conference
VMI under head coach Dan Earl was so much fun to watch on offense. They led the country in three point makes, they were second overall in attempts, and they had a roster where every player on the floor was a threat to shoot the ball from deep. Coach Earl has moved on to Chattanooga and the Keydets have decided to hire Andrew Wilson who was with Mark Byington at James Madison for the last two seasons. Wilson has been on staffs that have won a lot and have been credited with rebuilding programs.
This season the VMI program is going to have its work cut out for it though as the roster is almost entirely brand new. There is not a single player returning for VMI who averaged more than 10 points per game last season. The Keydets are going to be a bottom tier team in the Southern Conference again this season. I do have confidence that Wilson will be able to turn them into a winner but not this season. Sean Conway is the lone returning starter for the Keydets. He is a good rebounder for a guard, but he shot under 40% from the field for the team last year. How will he do with a bigger share of the offense?
284. Albany Great Danes- Last Season Ranking: 283
Conference: America East
Albany was once a perennial power in the America East. Lately the Great Danes have fallen on some hard times and are in full rebuild mode. Albany hired a great recruiter and good player developer at the start of last season to guide them through the transition and that was Dwayne Killings who was most recently an assistant at Marquette.
As we have all seen, the quickest way to infuse a program with talent is to scour the transfer market and quickly fill the roster with players from other programs who have experience at the division 1 level. The Great Danes have done that and went out and got an elite scorer from the Division III ranks. Albany is still not going to be very good but they should be better. They are still a middle of the pack America East team as the bottom of the league is bad. Gerald Drumgoole Jr is a transfer from Pitt who only played one game last year due to injury. If he is healthy, he will be an all America East player.
283. Western Illinois Leathernecks- Last Season Ranking: 269
Conference: Summit League
Head coach Rob Jeter has turned the Leathernecks around quickly. When he took over the program three seasons ago Western Illinois was one of the worst programs in the Summit League. Instead in two seasons he built a team that plays at one of the fastest paces in the country, take high efficiency shots both from inside the arc and outside the arc.
The Leathernecks are a great rebounding team and their ability to play fast, rebound well and take high efficiency shots enabled them to secure a program defining win when the Leathernecks were able to beat the Nebraska Huskers by one point in Lincoln. It was a huge win for Western Illinois. Western Illinois ended up finishing with a .500 overall record. That was the best record the program has had since the 2012-2013 season. Trenton Massner is going to be in the mix for the Summit League player of the year, but he is going to lead this team to a top half of the Summit league finish.
282. Lehigh Mountain Hawks- Last Season Ranking: 282
Conference: Patriot League
Lehigh returned 94% of their minutes and 95% of their scoring last season and they were able to put together the best season they have had in the last three years. If that is any indication the Mountain Hawks could be in for a good season again this year. They return a lot of their production including their top scorer from last season. Lehigh was one of t
he best three point shooting teams in the country last year making almost 40% of their attempts from deep.
The Mountain Hawks did lose two great shooters, but they still have a lot of shooters on the team to keep those numbers where they are. The Mountain Hawks need to find a way to get to the line as their inability to get to the line can sway a game. Lehigh has star Evan Taylor coming back to try and get this team into the top half of the Patriot League.
281. Wagner Seahawks- Last Season Ranking: 190
Conference: Northeast
Wagner finished last season at 21-6 and they missed the NCAA tournament and the NIT due to the Seahawks not being able to beat Bryant. No one is happier to see Bryant leave the Northeast conference than Wagner. After the losses to Bryant, Wagner saw their head coach Bashir Mason take the job at Saint Peter’s, then on top of all that the two leading scorers and one of the best players in NEC history graduated and are no longer on campus.
Enter new head coach Donald Copeland. Copeland is very familiar with the Wagner program as he was an assistant there for 9 seasons before leaving for one season to join the Seton Hall staff. The Seahawks shouldn’t change much as Copeland is very familiar with recruiting and what it takes to run a successful program in the NEC. Wagner is in good hands and likely won’t fall much in the conference.
Even with the losses the Seahawks are still a threat to win the league and make the NCAA tournament. Delonnie Hunt is the next man up for Wagner. He was the freshman of the year in the conference two seasons ago. He is good enough to win the conference player of the year. Hunt now takes over as the permanent point guard and at 6’0” he is one of the shorter players in the league. Hunt is a talented player who has only scratched the surface of how good he can be.
280. St. Thomas Tommies- Last Season Ranking: 342
Conference: Summit League
The Tommies first year on the major circuit did not end nearly as it started. Once St. Thomas got into the Summit League, they lost 13 out of their last 15 games and struggled mightily on the defensive end. The Tommies play one speed, and it is as fast as possible, and they live and die by the three. They were top five in attempts from deep and made 36% of the shots they made.
The struggle on the defense end with the speed of the game at the Division 1 level is always a struggle for teams transitioning and it won’t be hard for St. Thomas to shore up their defensive problems and I guarantee the Tommies are going to make their threes. Guard Riley Miller returns for his fifth year and he is a fantastic three-point shooter and could shoot close to 50% from deep this year.
279. SIU- Edwardsville Cougars- Last Season Ranking: 311
Conference: Ohio Valley
Edwardsville has been a Division 1 school for 14 years and they have never had a winning record. The 11 wins recorded last season was the second best team the Cougars have ever had and it is trending up from there. Head coach Brian Barone has assembled the most talented roster that Edwardsville has had, and they look to be a middle of the pack Ohio Valley team.
This could be one of the teams no one expects to be good in that conference but could surprise a lot of people with the overall talent they have. Ray’Sean Taylor was on pace to be the highest-scoring freshman in the country last year, but he tore his ACL for the second time. When he comes back, he will be one of the best players in the Ohio Valley and maybe the country.
278. Bowling Green Falcons- Last Season Ranking: 143
Conference: MAC
A few seasons ago Bowling Green was a team many thought would win the MAC, now they are lucky if they finish above the bottom tier of the league. The window for the Falcons has closed and coach Michael Huger is left with a rebuild project. Bowling Green had some good last year as they had one of the best offenses in the country as they averaged 80 points per game. In those 81 points per game, they played extremely fast, were one of the best rebounding teams in the country and got to the free throw line a lot where they shot 74%. That is a lot of good.
Here is where the bad comes in and the reason why Bowling Green finished in the bottom tier of the MAC last year. The Falcons were awful on the defensive end as they gave up 81 points per game. It is going to be hard to win any games when the defense gives up that many points. The Falcons allowed teams to take 28 three point shots in which they made 35% of them and allowed teams to shoot 53% from inside the arc. Those numbers are astoundingly bad. If the defense does not get fixed Bowling Green is going to be spinning their wheels.
The Falcons lost four starters from a season ago and a lot of scoring, is this defense really this bad or is coach Huger going to figure out a way to provide some resistance on that end? Samari Curtis has hopefully finally found a home at Bowling Green. He started his career at Nebraska, then transferred to Evansville, until he reached his destination of Bowling Green. Curtis is finally going to be the alpha in the offense and will be given the keys to the offense. He has shown he can be an effective shooter from inside the arc, but can he defend, and can he hit his threes? Those are the questions.
277. Tennessee State Tigers- Last Season Ranking: 330
Conference: Ohio Valley
The Tigers had a huge improvement from the year before and a lot of it can be attributed to their senior leadership. The Tigers were one of the oldest teams in the country and a season ago. That team was efficient on the offensive end and held their own on the defensive end. They were good enough to finish in the middle of the Ohio Valley and this year they should be able to finish in the top half, especially considering the Ohio Valley is wide open this year.
Head coach Penny Collins went out and got some experienced players who have had success at their previous schools. Jr. Clay comes over from Tennessee Tech and is a player who is going to be relied on to score and provide the senior leadership for the Tigers.
276. Sacramento State Hornets- Last Season Ranking: 296
Conference: Big Sky
Sacramento State had one of the best offseasons that no one is talking about. The Hornets went and hired a great coach who can turn this program around and they also were able to acquire a lot of proven talent at the mid major level. Sure, they didn’t get five stars everywhere, but the Hornets have done enough to place themselves in a solid position to be the ultimate sleeper in the Big Sky. New Head coach David Patrick has a reputation as a recruiter, and he has brought in a lot of talent to Sacramento State. He is also going to coach a smothering defense that is always hard for teams to crack.
Do not be surprised if Sacramento State knocks off a few power five schools. They are going to play slow and deliberate and force teams to keep games low scoring and they are going to win. Sacramento State finishes in the top half of the Big Sky this year. Hunter Marks who is a very experienced forward transfer from Hartford, will drastically change the course of the Hornets and should be an all-conference Big Sky player.