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

300. Army Black Knights – Last Season Ranking: 268

Conference: Patriot League

It is hard to get quality talent to come to the service academies, hopefully new head coach Kevin Kuwik can rebuild the program. Kuwik is the perfect man to lead Army. He served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and has a great knowledge of West Point and what they have to offer a recruit. This year looks to be lean though. Charlie Peterson is the lone returning starter for the Black Knights. The big man displayed great shooting percentages and is a good rebounder. He is the only player returning who played significant minutes.

299. Fairleigh Dickinson Knights – Last Season Ranking: 354

Conference: Northeast

Jack Castleberry, who was Tobin Anderson’s right hand man, is now the coach for the Knights. I do not expect their style of play to change all that much and Fairleigh Dickinson returns 3 out of their five starters and are going to be a factor in the Northeast Conference again. Ansley Almonor is a stat sheet stuffer who can step out and hit threes. In addition to that he also takes high efficiency shots as the big man. Almonor is going to get some Northeast Conference player of the year looks. Fairleigh Dickinson should be a favorite to return to the NCAA tournament again.

298. Denver Pioneers – Last Season Ranking: 252

Conference: Summit League

The Pioneers have a good portion of their roster back from last year including star Tommy Bruner. Bruner is entering his last season of college basketball and the well traveled forward had a great first season at Denver. He averaged 15 points per game and led the Pioneers in points and assists. Bruner does turn the ball over a lot for a point guard but it’s easy to get past it when you see what he can do offensively. He demands the ball and makes Denver much better when he is aggressive and hunting shots.

297. Binghamton Bearcats – Last Season Ranking: 255

Conference: America East

The program is trending up in the America East and they are slowly working their way up the conference pecking order. Heading into this season coach Sanders was able to get some recruiting wins to fill out of the roster. The Bearcats should finish in the middle of the pack in the America East. Symir Torrence is the biggest recruiting win for coach Sanders. It is not every day that a program like Binghamton is able to get a player who was a top 50 recruit coming out of high school and played at two good power 6 programs. The guard from Syracuse doesn’t have much to show for his career at the power 6 level but he is still a talented player and good defender. He is going to help Binghamton a lot this year and he is going to be a team leader in some capacity even if he doesn’t score a lot.

296. New Orleans Privateers – Last Season Ranking: 320

Conference: Southland

The defense was so bad it was often an afterthought in their games. New Orleans is going to have to shore that up if they want to reach their full potential. Hopefully the returning experience helps in that regard. If not, it looks like yet another very disappointing season in the Southland for New Orleans. Jordan Johnson was a must see attraction in the Southland by the end of the year. The guard can get hot and really start filling it up fast. He is one of the best three point shooters in the nation shooting 48% from deep last year. He made 92 threes and is going to take them from anywhere on the floor. He is the point guard, and he will work the ball to other players to get it inside, but Johnson will shoot almost exclusively from deep and can change a game when he is going well.

295. Navy Midshipmen – Last Season Ranking: 211

Conference: Patriot League

Austin Inge is the lone starter returning and is the most experienced player for Navy. The problem is that Inge didn’t score much but good for the guard that basketball has two sides of the floor, and the defensive end is where the guard is going to show his worth. He is a great defender and with more opportunity could score enough to make a difference. Who else is going to score?

294. Robert Morris Colonials – Last Season Ranking: 299

Conference: Horizon League

The Colonials will be a middle of the pack Horizon League team. They do however have a ceiling of a top tier team in the Horizon league. Markeese Hastings heads to Robert Morris after 4 seasons with Western Michigan. The big man earned a reputation as an elite rebounder and is going to be one of the better shot blockers in the Horizon League. The Colonials play slow and force teams inside where they love to get blocked shots and lock down the paint. Those things are a specialty for Hastings, and he is going to clean up the rebound. The big man’s offensive game has gotten a lot better over his time in college and he is a legitimate double double threat.

293. The Citadel Bulldogs – Last Season Ranking: 272

Conference: Southern Conference

The Bulldogs were awful on the defensive end last year and with a young team that doesn’t appear to be getting any better. Madison Durr takes over the point guard duties for The Citadel. He didn’t score much last year because he didn’t have to, this season though he is going to have to.  Coach Conroy is going to rely on him to set up the offense and be the offense a lot.

292. Monmouth Hawks- Last Season Ranking: 251

Conference: Coastal Athletic

It was a year to forget for coach Rice. In his defense he had one of the younger teams in the country and does have some pieces to work with. Things that are hard to defend are his unwillingness to let his best players play. There were freshmen like Jaret Valencia, who were recruited by plenty of high major programs, who didn’t play a minute last season and redshirted. He is extremely talented and could have helped the Hawks a great deal. The Hawks are a year older, added some experience through the portal, but still look like a bottom tier team in the Coastal. I hope I am wrong because I do enjoy coach Rice and his teams.

291. South Dakota Coyotes – Last Season Ranking: 167

Conference: Summit League

This year the roster is going to look much different for coach Peterson. South Dakota has completely flipped the roster. The Coyotes have 6 freshmen, 5 transfers, and not a single returning player who averaged more than 10 points per game. The Coyotes are rebuilding, and this is all part of it. It could be a tough year for South Dakota as I project them near the bottom of the league. Paul Bruns is the next one in line to lead the offense, that is if last season’s numbers tell you anything. The guard is going to enter the starting lineup and see an increase in his minutes which should also increase his usage. Bruns is an effective scorer, and he is a good three point shooter. The more shots he gets in the offense the more it will pay off for South Dakota.

290. Marist Red Foxes – Last Season Ranking: 302

Conference: MAAC

Clunky offense, aggressive defense, and a bottom tier finish in the MAAC is likely in the Red Foxes future. Javon Cooley has the highest upside on the offensive end and is the likeliest guy to take over some of the production left by Gardner. Cooley is a good enough three point shooter but he shot almost 50% from inside the arc. The Red Foxes desperately need someone to shoot a high percentage and Cooley is the one who could do so.

289. Idaho State Bengals – Last Season Ranking: 346

Conference: Big Sky

Last year I had them pegged as a bottom tier team in the league, but they ended up finishing in the middle tier. This year I am going to stay safe and say that the Bengals finish in the middle tier but have a ceiling of the top half especially if their stars continue their upward trend. Idaho State has a lot of new pieces, but they do still have their star Brayden Parker. Parker is elite around the rim and good enough from deep to keep defenses honest. He is good enough to win some games in the league by himself for the Bengals.

288. Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks – Last Season Ranking: 294

Conference: Ohio Valley

The Skyhawks were one of the best rebounding teams in the nation with 39 per game. Even with a lot of new guys expect the team to get into the paint, get fouled a ton, and rebound like crazy. They are going to compete for an NCAA tournament spot from the Ohio Valley. Jordan Sears is exactly the type of player that coach Ridder loves. He makes almost half of his shots, gets to the line a ton, and runs the offense. Sears is the type of guy who can win the Ohio Valley Player of the year, and if he maintains his shooting percentages and plays like he did last year it will be an easy win for the award.

287. Saint Peter’s Peacocks – Last Season Ranking: 205

Conference: MAAC

Saint Peters had one of the worst offenses in the country. They had a terrible time putting the ball in the basket and were dreadful from deep. Even with good defense it was not a recipe for winning games. Heading into this season coach Mason has done some work on the roster and filled it with guys looking for a fresh start and some JUCO players who could score. The shooting still looks to be a work in progress, but the defense will be good, and the offense should shoot at a higher percentage. I don’t know if the Peacocks will be any better because the roster doesn’t have a ton of experience at the division 1 level. Corey Washington enters his sophomore year, and the hope is that the forward can take the next step and be the leader. Washington started last year but he didn’t do much he only averaged about 4 shots per game and made 70% of them. Washington ended up averaging 7 points per game and led the Peacocks in rebounding. There is a lot to like with the forward and when he starts taking more shots and getting more involved in the offense good things should happen.

286. Sacred Heart Pioneers – Last Season Ranking: 305

Conference: Northeast

The Pioneers have had some great point guards over the years to run this offense, but Sacred Heart usually has a bunch of guys who can handle the ball on the floor. Nico Galette is one of the premier big men in the Northeast conference. He can score from inside the paint, is a good rebounder, and a good passer for a big man. He was the leading scorer for the Pioneers last year and will repeat as an all-conference player this year.

285. Texas A&M Commerce Lions – Last Season Ranking: 307

Conference: Southland

Texas A&M Commerce may have struck gold on one of their JUCO additions. Prince Davies is a transfer from Central Arizona CC and while he was at Central Arizona, he put up some eye popping numbers. The guard led the country in scoring at 28 points per game. He also shot over 50% from the floor and had a 36 point and 4 assist game on the ledger. Davies did get hurt and only was able to play 10 games last year but if coach von Rosenberg can get that level of production it will elevate his team at every position. The Lions are in a bit of a rebuilding and their ceiling is the middle of the Southland pack again.

284. Omaha Mavericks – Last Season Ranking: 333

Conference: Summit League

Frankie Fidler enters his third season at Omaha and the Bellevue, NE native has been showing out for his city the first two years. The junior wing is not a great shooter from deep, but he doesn’t have to be. He lets his athleticism take over a lot of games and he can get into the paint and get the tough baskets for Omaha. FIdler is likely going to improve this year as he has in the first two years.

283. High Point Panthers – Last Season Ranking: 214

Conference: Big South

No one has any expectations for High Point this year but that is a fanbase that is starving for a winner and a great year. Liam McChesney decided to transfer from Illinois State, and he chose the perfect destination for him. Coach Huss is known for his development of big men and McChesney has a ton of untapped potential. McChesney is a 6’10” big man who is a gifted athlete. He can stretch the floor, is a good rebounder, and can protect the rim. Once he gets some development with his new head coach, he may be in for a breakout season.

282. Montana State Bobcats – Last Season Ranking: 172

Conference: Big Sky

Montana State enters the season without expectations for the first time in a few seasons. Coach Logie has a roster that is almost all new players, and it may take a bit for them to mesh well. All new coaches are going to utilize the transfer portal and that is how the new head coach at Montana State was able to get some talent quickly. Even with the new roster the Bobcats are more talented than over half the Big Sky. They probably won’t make the tournament again this year but should still finish in the top three of the Big Sky. Brian Goracke followed his coach from Point Loma to Montana State. He was a good player for coach Logie and is going to be relied upon to do a lot this year. The guard will need to lead on the floor because he knows what coach Logie expects and how he likes to do things. Goracke also has the trust of the coaching staff to score and do the little things it takes to win.

281. Cal St. Bakersfield Roadrunners – Last Season Ranking: 253

Conference: Big West

The defense will win Bakersfield some games in the conference, and they should still finish in the middle of the Big West even if they struggle to win double digit games. Kaleb Higgins only played 13 games last year, but he was able to lead the Roadrunners in scoring over those 13 games and he did it by taking a large volume of shots. Even still the coaching staff trusts him with the ball in his hands and to make things happen. The offense is better with his decision making on the floor.

280. South Carolina Upstate Spartans – Last Season Ranking: 304

Conference: Big South

The guards do most of the heavy lifting on offense. They are also great passers and ball handlers who can enable the Spartans do a lot of different things on offense. Justin Bailey was on the Big South all-Freshman team a season ago and it was well deserved. Bailey is a three level scorer and rarely turns the ball over. The guard is going to see his role expand this year and don’t be surprised when he leads Upstate in scoring and has some high major’s lurking around in the offseason.

279. North Florida Osprey – Last Season Ranking: 221

Conference: Atlantic Sun

North Florida lost most of their production from a season ago and may be in for a tough year. The Atlantic Sun is a tough conference and is not easy for teams lacking talent. Jake van der Heijden is a transfer from Bucknell who can play multiple positions and has a ton of range. van der Heijden shot 41% from deep last year and can get hot shooting from deep. If the forward gets hot from downtown, he can carry a team. He has the perfect game for North Florida and coach Driscoll. He will shine in the offense.

278. Kansas City Kangaroos – Last Season Ranking: 295

Conference: Summit League

This year the Kangaroos have some proven scorers from the JUCO ranks who should help this offense a great deal. Jamar Brown is about as decorated as they get from the JUCO ranks. He was the national player of the year for his division, led his conference in points with 23 a game, finished third in his conference with 10 rebounds per game. He did this all while being a 6’5” guard who shot 50% from the field, 44% from three, and over 80% from the foul line. He has the makings of a big time scorer in the Summit League who is filled with guys who can score.

277. American Eagles – Last Season Ranking: 301

Conference: Patriot League

The Eagles hit a home run with their hire when they hired Duane Simpkins. Simpkins is a legend in the DMV, and he is going to be able to recruit kids to come and play for American. The Eagles return a lot of their roster from a season ago and do look like a team who can finish in the top half of the Patriot League. Matt Rogers returns for his final season of college basketball, and we are all lucky that happened. The forward shot 65% from inside the arc and 41% from deep. He was a 61% shooter from the floor overall and couple that with his ability to rebound and you have a star. The big man can win the Patriot League player of the year if American has a good season. He is going to need to be huge this year for that to happen though.

276. UMBC Retrievers – Last Season Ranking: 265

Conference: America East

There are going to be growing pains without the top 7 contributors from a year ago but has loaded this team with Freshman who all have high ceilings and should all have good careers in the America East. I do like coach Ferry and think he will always keep UMBC competitive in the league. Marlon Short is a transfer from Stanislaus State and while he was there, he scored over 15 points while shooting close to 50% from the floor. Short is the most talented offensive player on the roster right now.