NCAA Basketball: Baylor rises, Kentucky falls in latest 2023-24 WTE power rankings

14. Saint Mary’s

It’s hard to find a better long-term coaching job done at the mid-major level than what Randy Bennett has done in Moraga for more than two decades. The Gaels have advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament each of the last two seasons and remain a dynamic program despite being second fiddle to Gonzaga in the WCC.

Even though the Gaels lose Logan Johnson, their top scorer from last year, they return their three other scorers who were above 11 points a game. Aidan Mahaney had a standout freshman season and they’ll hope for more of the same from him, while also getting Alex Ducas and Mitchell Saxen back for more. There’s no major influx of talent for the Gaels; they simply return nearly all of the pieces from last season.

Saint Mary’s boasts one of the best sophomore guards in the nation and they’ll lean even more heavily on Mahaney this season. There’s a lot of talent coming back to Moraga, though they’ll have to piece together how to replace Johnson’s contributions. At the end of the day, Saint Mary’s has retained a significantly greater amount of talent than a number of other teams on this list and Bennett will have them gel at the right time again.