NCAA Basketball: Power Ranking every team (362-1) for 2023-24 season
By Bryan Mauro
70. LSU Tigers – Last Season Ranking: 41
Conference: SEC
LSU has some more talent this year but will it result in more wins? Either way the Tigers find themselves in the bottom of the SEC for the second year in a row. I really want to like the roster but there is not much there that that makes me confidently say they will be better. Jalen Cook became a star at Tulane last year. He averaged 19.9 points per game and led the Green Wave in scoring and assists. A good point guard is essential to a successful team. If the Tigers are going to be successful it all starts with Cook. Cook has the single game record for assists at Tulane with 14 in a game against Cincinnati. The guard scored 30 twice last year and scored over 20 most nights. He is going to be the leader of the offense for LSU and if he has a great season he can win the Tigers some games.
69. Arizona State Sun Devils – Last Season Ranking: 78
Conference: Pac 12
The Sun Devils head into their final Pac 12 season as a team who is expected to make the NCAA tournament. Frankie Collins started his career at Michigan and transferred because playing time was not going to be what he wanted. Collins became a starter from day 1 at Arizona State and the point guard had a huge season last year. Collins was huge on the defensive end for Arizona State, and he led the team in assists with over 4 per game. The point guard has offense that is a work in progress, but coach Hurley will let it come along slowly if he continues to play defense and pass the ball like he is capable.
68. Virginia Tech Hokies – Last Season Ranking: 30
Conference: ACC
The Hokies are going to be a bubble team but are likely destined for the NIT if they qualify for a postseason tournament at all. Sean Pedulla averaged 15 points per game last year and that is a 9.6 point per game jump. The point guard scored in double figures 18 games in a row including 5 games of over 20 points. He is a good three point shooter and had over 150 assists last year. Pedulla is going to run the offense and is going to be relied on to score for the Hokies. Expect a lot of threes from the guard.
67. Colorado State Rams – Last Season Ranking: 88
Conference: Mountain West
I am high on the Rams again this year. Coach Medved is going to get it figured out on the defensive end and Colorado State is going to be a factor in the Mountain West this year and I am picking them to make the NCAA tournament. Isaiah Stevens has had a decorated career as a Ram. He is the school leader in assists. He enters the season with 618 overall. The point guard never turns the ball over and has a 3-1 assist to turnover ratio. That was one of the best numbers in the country. There are not many guys out there who are going to end their college careers with 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 700 assists and 150 steals. Stevens has a chance to do that and that will make him arguably the best player in Colorado State history. There is a reason that Stevens is the preseason player of the year in the league.
66. Wake Forest Demon Deacons – Last Season Ranking: 65
Conference: ACC
Coach Forbes is a great coach who has won everywhere he has ever been, he will get this roster to maximize its potential. Unfortunately, Wake Forest got some bad injury news this week that one of their star players won’t be ready for the season. Good thing for Wake Forest that they have enough reinforcements to replace them in the starting lineup. I had the Demon Deacons as a bubble team last year and that appears to be where they are going to be this year. Wake Forest will be firmly on the bubble all season. Hunter Sallis is the best player to ever come out of the state of Nebraska. That earned him a scholarship to Gonzaga where he was a key piece to two deep NCAA tournament runs. Sallis is going to show he was a huge addition to this Demon Deacons team he is going to provide a lot of stability at the point guard role and make everyone else better around him.
65. Boise State Broncos – Last Season Ranking: 91
Conference: Mountain West
The opponents must earn every point they score against a coach Rice team. Boise State heads into the 2023-2024 season as one of the favorites in the Mountain West; they have their three top scorers returning and are going to make the NCAA tournament again for the third year in a row. Can they finally win a game in the event? The Broncos are 0-9 all time in the NCAA Tournament. Tyson Degenhart has only been on campus for two seasons and has already made his mark in the Mountain West. He was named the Mountain West Freshman of the year and was a first team all-conference player last season. Degenhart shot 54% from the field which was good for 59th nationally. Degenhart is a great defender and can score from anywhere on the floor. He is a tough matchup for most of the Mountain West and is going to be in the conversation for the league player of the year.
64. North Carolina State Wolfpack – Last Season Ranking: 113
Conference: ACC
NC State enters the season hoping to replicate their success of last year. They played at one of the fastest paces in the country and took a lot of threes. NC State uses their guards to set up their offense and everything runs through them. The Wolfpack finish in the top half of the ACC and make the NCAA tournament again this year. DJ Burns Jr. is a former Big South Player of the Year at Winthrop. The big man carried that over to the Wolfpack where he shot almost 60% from the floor. Burns Jr. is 6’9” and weighs 260 he plays great defense and is a load underneath the basket. Even though the offense runs through the guards, the big man is one of the most important players on the floor for the Wolfpack. He lets NC State do a lot of different things on offense and is going to have a much larger role in the offense. Burns Jr. will be an all conference player this year.
63. Vanderbilt Commodores – Last Season Ranking: 69
Conference: SEC
Coach Stackhouse found something in the conference last year and figured out a way to get his team to win. If that continues it won’t be long before Vanderbilt finds their way back to the NCAA tournament. Tyrin Lawrence has been through a lot in his college career. He tore his ACL seven games into his college career and then his sophomore year when he returned, he only averaged 3 points per game. Then last year was the breakout year for the guard. He scored 13 points per game and was efficient doing it. The guard shot over 50% from the floor and 36% from deep. The guard had some of his biggest games of the year against the best teams in the league. He has made some huge shots in his years in Vanderbilt and this year he likely leads the Commodores in scoring.
62. Ohio State Buckeyes – Last Season Ranking: 27
Conference: Big Ten
Ohio State returns a lot this season and I can confidently say I don’t think they are a lock for the postseason. The talent level doesn’t seem good enough to me to consistently compete in the league unless some players take a drastic leap forward. Scotty Middleton is the one and done for Ohio State this year and he is going to be like every other one and done that coach Holtmann has had. He is going to lead Ohio State in scoring and the offense is going to be centered around him. Middleton played on one of the most talented high school teams ever. Sunrise Christian plays a National Schedule and the guard helped get his team to the finals of the Geico Nationals after a win over Montverde. Middleton averaged 12 points and 2 assists and was rated as one of the best defenders in high school. He is going to have a big role from the opening tip, and he will do big things at Ohio State but can the rest of his team pick up the slack?
61. Oklahoma State Cowboys – Last Season Ranking: 34
Conference: Big 12
The Cowboys look destined to the NIT again. Bryce Thompson enjoyed a lot of success in the Oklahoma State roster last year. The guard started his career at Kansas where he was used sparingly. He transferred to Oklahoma State two seasons ago and his first season in Stillwater he had a breakout season. The guard was able to build off of that success last year and showed that he is a reliable three point shooter. He shot 37% overall and 39% in the conference. Thompson stepped his game up even further in the NIT when he scored 16.5 per game. Thompson will lead the Cowboys in scoring this year.