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

10. Connecticut

The defending nations are still fresh from celebrating that fifth title in program history. It took an incredible effort and season from Dan Hurley’s bunch but they got the job done in the end, winning in impressive fashion. There’s still a lot of momentum for the Huskies even with a few big names gone from last year’s team.

Namely, the Huskies will have to find ways to replace Adama Sanogo and Jordan Hawkins, who both averaged greater than 16 points a game and were impactful weapons throughout their careers. Now sophomores, big men Alex Karaban and Donovan Clingan will be even more important, while the Huskies are glad to get Tristen Newton back for one last season. The freshman class includes 5-star guard Stephon Castle and Top 50 piece Solomon Ball.

While they lost significant production, getting a second season out of Clingan and Karaban could turn both of them into monsters in the frontcourt. The Huskies have young talent all over the court, but get to lean heavily on Newton’s veteran leadership to run the offense again. This is clearly not the same team as last year and they’ll miss Sanogo and Hawkins more than they think, but they’ve retained more talent than a lot of other teams and should be in contention again.