NCAA Basketball: Power Ranking every team (362-1) for 2023-24 season

20. San Diego State Aztecs – Last Season Ranking: 25

Conference: Mountain West

Head coach Brian Dutcher has turned San Diego State into the one of the best mid majors in the country and has built the program into a powerhouse. That experience and ability on the defensive end was enough for the Aztecs to play in the National Title game. It was huge for the Mountain West and for the game to see San Diego State make the title game. Darrion Trammell will be in the Aztecs record book forever. He was the player who hit two free throws in the final seconds to beat Creighton in the Elite Eight. In other words, those free throws sent San Diego State to the Final Four for the first time in program history. The point guard is a better shooter than he showed last year, and I do believe his efficiency will increase closer to 40% from the floor. If he does that, he should average close to 15 points per game and find himself on the first team all-conference.

19. Alabama Crimson Tide – Last Season Ranking: 19

Conference: SEC

The Crimson Tide have a ton of momentum and are reloading instead of rebuilding. Alabama starts the year in the top 25 and that is where they will stay all season long. The Crimson Tide will finish at the top of the SEC and will get one of the protected seeds in the NCAA tournament. Grant Nelson enters his first season at Alabama, and he is what many would describe as a unicorn. Nelson transferred to Alabama from North Dakota State, and while at North Dakota State the big man was all over the floor. He was taking the ball up and running the point, can shoot the ball from deep, and is a fantastic rebounder. Nelson is a great ball handler and can protect the rim among the best in the country.

18. Kentucky Wildcats – Last Season Ranking: 6

Conference: SEC

The roster this season currently has the number 2,3, and 4 ranked high school players. The Wildcats are one of the teams from the SEC ranked in the preseason top 25 and will finish near the top of the league. Tre Mitchell has big shoes to fill as the center for Kentucky. The graduate transfer from West Virginia is taking the spot left by former player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe. Mitchell has a much different game than the former center and that is okay. Mitchell is going to stretch the floor a little more, is a much better passer, and will still offer rebounding and rim protection. Mitchell doesn’t have to be great he just needs to be what he is and let Kentucky’s freshman take over. The center is good enough to average double figures in points and close to that on rebounding.

17. Texas A&M Aggies – Last Season Ranking: 28

Conference: SEC

The Aggies have a ton of expectations this year and find themselves ranked in the preseason top 25 and project to be one of the top teams in the SEC. Coach Williams has his best team he has had in College Station and the Aggies are going to make some significant noise nationally this year. It doesn’t hurt that they have the best guard in the country. Wade Taylor IV is the point guard for the Aggies, and he already had a great season last year but his expectations for this year are through the roof.  Taylor IV is going to get a lot of looks for the National Player of the Year and is the best guard in the country.He has still not reached his ceiling and the point guard is one of the five best players in the entire country, he will be a first team All-American, and is going to be in the mix for a lot of national awards.

16. Baylor Bears – Last Season Ranking: 7

Conference: Big 12

Baylor heads into the season ranked again and looks like a team who can win the Big 12 and make a deep run into March. RayJ Dennis comes to play his final year of college basketball for coach Drew from Toledo. Dennis was the Unanimous MAC Player of the Year, a finalist for the Lute Olson Player of the Year, and the Mid Major Player of the Year. He was part of a Toledo team that won three straight MAC regular season championships and that had never been done in the conference before. Dennis is dynamic passer averaging just under 6 assists per game to go with his 19 points. The point guard is a great shooter from deep and plays good defense. He is exactly what Baylor is looking for in the point guard position he is a playmaker first and a scorer second. Dennis is the type of guy who makes everyone on the floor better.

15. Texas Longhorns – Last Season Ranking: 11

Conference: Big 12

The Longhorns are a preseason top 25 team and are going to finish in the top half of the Big 12. Max Abmas didn’t need to play his final year of college; he has already been one of the best college players in the sport over the last four years. His four year career at Oral Roberts was a good one and he heads to Austin with a lot of records. He is the current leading scorer in the NCAA with over 2,500 points which means he has averaged over 20 points per game in his career. He is the reigning Summit League Player of the Year and conference tournament MVP. Abmas is going to score a lot of points in his final year with Texas and is going to get some votes for the all-conference team. How many times is coach Terry going to have a chance to acquire a 3,000 point scorer in the transfer portal?

14. Arizona Wildcats – Last Season Ranking: 14

Conference: Pac 12

Arizona finds themselves ranked again to start the season and they will likely find themselves in the top 5 at some point this season. Caleb Love is a player most college basketball fans are already familiar with. The point guard was a three-year starter at North Carolina and was huge in the Tar Heels run to the National Title game. The point guard is going to end as a 2,000-point scorer and is one of the best three-point shooters in North Carolina history. He scored 27 points in their latest exhibition game and if he scores like that all year Arizona will be a title contender.

13. Arkansas Razorbacks – Last Season Ranking: 9

Conference: SEC

The Razorbacks have loaded up on talent in the transfer portal and they were also able to keep some key pieces on the team. Is this the year that Arkansas finally makes the Final Four? Tramon Mark transfers to Arkansas after two very successful years at Houston. Mark was a contributor on a Final Four team and on the team who entered the NCAA tournament number 1 in the country last season. The guard will be a fan favorite and will make some plays on both ends of the floor that win the Razorbacks some games.

12. Florida Atlantic Owls – Last Season Ranking: 191

Conference: American Athletic

The Owls enter their first year in the American as the favorite to win the league. Florida Atlantic returns all five starters and most of their bench. It is going to be hard to replicate the success they had last year but they are going to start the year in the top 25 and there is good chance they make the NCAA tournament again. Head coach Dusty May is building something special in Boca Raton. Johnell Davis was not the player everyone thought would be the main catalyst to the run to the Final Four. The guard had one of the best seasons in Florida Atlantic history and will forever be listed in the NCAA tournament record books. Davis led the Owls in scoring and finished second on the team in rebounding. Davis is going to be my frontrunner for American Player of the Year and if he plays like he did last year he is going to win it.

11. Miami Hurricanes – Last Season Ranking: 26

Conference: ACC

Miami has 3 out of their 5 starters returning and were able to secure a transfer from another ACC school. The Hurricanes are a favorite in the ACC this year and are going to make the NCAA tournament and will likely get a top seed in the event. Norchad Omier is one of the best rebounders in the country and that was on full display in the ACC last year. Omier is also the fastest player in NCAA history to reach 1,000 career rebounds. Omier will be huge for the Hurricanes yet again this year in their quest for back-to-back ACC titles and Final Fours.