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

200. Lipscomb Bisons – Last Season Ranking: 215

Conference: Atlantic Sun

Jacob Ognacevic was excellent last year and was rewarded for his play with a first team all conference selection. He led the Bison in almost every offensive category with points 18, field goals made with 221 and free throws made with 115. The big man shot over 60% from the floor and 86% from the line. On a team of guys who do not get fouled very much Ognacevic did a lot of work at the free throw line. He is going to get a heavy volume again this year and will need to lead the offense again.

199. Delaware Blue Hens – Last Season Ranking: 202

Conference: Coastal Athletic

Last season Delaware started out at 8-4 with wins over Colgate and Princeton and it looked like the Blue Hens were going to be formidable once again. Christian Ray brings toughness and elite athleticism to the Blue Hens. Last year for Delaware he shot almost 60% from the floor and nearly averaged a double double. The 6’6” wing is a gifted athlete who can do things that a lot of guys can’t. Ray can dominate a game if given the opportunity and he is going to turn into a star this year.

198. Brown Bears – Last Season Ranking: 242

Conference: Ivy League

The 2023-2024 Bears look a lot like the team from last season as they have most of their roster back from a 14 win team who finished in the top half of the Ivy League. Brown makes the Ivy League tournament this year. Kino Lilly has the talent to win Ivy League player of the year, but the list of star players in the conference is long so he may not win it but he is going to make the voters take notice. Lilly shot 40% from deep last year and shot a little under 50% from inside the arc. He is dangerous because he can score from everywhere on the floor. The guard is one of the best players in the Ivy League.

197. Montana Grizzlies – Last Season Ranking: 181

Conference: Big Sky

The Grizzlies enter the season as one of the favorites if not the overwhelming favorite to win the Big Sky they are loaded with talent as 3 of their top 4 contributors all return. Aanen Moody returns to Montana for his sixth year of basketball. Last season he led the Grizzlies in scoring with 16 a game. The guard shot 40% from deep and 85% from the free throw line. Anyone who doesn’t follow Montana should know that Moody turned it on over the last 8 regular season games last year when he averaged over 20 points per game. He found something towards the end of the year and that is what I expect his whole year to be.

196. Northern Kentucky Norse – Last Season Ranking: 157

Conference: Horizon League

The Norse are one of the best defensive teams in the country they slow teams way down on defense and Marques Warrick has already had a decorated career at Northern Kentucky. He was a freshman all American, and the Horizon league freshman of the year two seasons ago. Last season, Warrick led Northern Kentucky in scoring with just over 18 per game and he shot 38% from deep. The guard got fouled a ton and made 81% of his foul shots. That led to him being named to the All conference team. The guard picked up his play in the Horizon League tournament and earned tournament MVP. Warrick is an all time great for Northern Kentucky and if he can lead them to another NCAA tournament this year and win a game, he should have his name in the rafters forever.

195. Pepperdine Waves – Last Season Ranking: 198

Conference: West Coast

As fast as Pepperdine played on offense, they allowed their opponents to play faster on the defensive end of the floor. The Waves also allowed teams to shoot almost 50% from the floor. They never forced turnovers and allowed to many offensive rebounds. If Pepperdine cannot get the defense figured out, they are going to be bad again. Houston Mallette has already had a great career for Pepperdine as he enters year 3 in Malibu. He was the second leading scorer for the Waves and was part of a duo that did much of the scoring for Pepperdine last year. Mallette already got a high volume of looks in the offense and that will continue. The junior guard holds the Pepperdine record for consecutive games made with a three at 37 games in a row.

194. Rhode Island Rams – Last Season Ranking: 142

Conference: Atlantic 10

Archie Miller took the job at Rhode Island knowing that it was going to be a full rebuild. The Rams were one of the worst teams in the country and ended up finishing second to last in the Atlantic 10. The roster has been completely flipped as they try to find any combination that works. Rebuilds are long hard desolate roads and the Rams are in the middle of one right now. Expect them to finish in the bottom of the Atlantic 10 again but they will be better soon. Always Wright is a transfer from Northeast Oklahoma A&M, and he has the makings of one of the best point guards in the country. Wright should be able to card some triple doubles as well. The guard scored 15 points to go along with 6 assists and 6 rebounds. He did it while shooting 50% from the field and over 40% from deep and a 3.3 assist to turnover ratio. Wright has three years of eligibility left and is the perfect player for coach Miller to build around.

193. Oral Roberts Golden Eagles – Last Season Ranking: 121

Conference: Summit League

The roster is a very good mix of young and old and it sets up nicely for the Golden Eagles to continue to be a top tier team in the Summit League. Isaac McBride is now the man for Oral Roberts. He went through a couple of seasons as the third option in the offense but now he is number 1 and expect a huge year from the guard. McBride already shot a high percentage from the floor. He is a 40% three point shooter and a good passer. The guard has shown he can put up big scoring numbers if given the volume in the offense and he will get it this year. The guard is in for a big year for a team who is looking to make another run to the NCAA tournament.

192. Fairfield Stags – Last Season Ranking: 190

Conference: MAAC

The Stags have a player who should dominate the MAAC when he returns from injury. Alexis Yetna is a transfer from Seton Hall who has not played in almost 2 seasons. He is an effective scorer from inside the paint, but his biggest asset is his ability to rebound and shut down the paint on defense. Fairfield should have their star back by the time conference season hits and when they get him back the defense should be elite.

191. Arkansas State Red Wolves – Last Season Ranking: 273

Conference: Sun Belt

Arkansas State is coming of arguably their worst season since moving to the Sun Belt. The Red Wolves hope that is a thing of the past and if the offseason is any indication as to how the season is going to go then the Red Wolves have a lot to look forward to. Derrian Ford has not done much at the college level, but the Arkansas transfer is going to get a lot of fan fare in Jonesboro. The 4 star recruit was one of the best high school players in Arkansas two seasons ago. He was used sparingly in his first season as a Razorback and decided to transfer down to the Sun Belt where he should be an immediate impact player.

190. Texas State Bobcats – Last Season Ranking: 176

Conference: Sun Belt

The Bobcats entered last year with a ton of experience and had a lot of seniors, but they could never get on a consistent run. It all ended in a year that saw Texas State finish one game under .500 and have their second worst record in conference play, second only to the first year in the league. The Bobcats enter the year with an experienced roster but not a ton of quality depth outside of their starters. Coach Johnson is a good coach but will need some guys to develop to reach their goals this year. Tyrel Morgan is a quick guard who could lead the team in scoring. He shoots at a high percentage, unless it is from three point range. The forward is a good rebounder and can pass well enough to give the coach confidence to let him run the offense. Morgan will be the leading scorer for the Bobcats this season

189. Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs – Last Season Ranking: 189

Conference: Big South

The roster does look a little different this year, but Gardner-Webb will still finish in their normal spot towards the top of the league. DQ Nicholas is a player that I featured in my mid major breakout players earlier this offseason. He is the starting point guard who is also the leading scorer. He can get into the paint and make the easy ones around the basket, and he is also one of the better three point shooters on the team. He is going to have a breakout year.

188. Pacific Tigers – Last Season Ranking: 259

Conference: West Coast

The Tigers have a lot of potential and a high ceiling, but they must get their defensive issues fixed. Coach Perry is working hard to get this program back to the NCAA tournament and even with the defensive issues the offense can be elite and can outscore teams. Pacific is trending up. It is time for the Tyler Beard show for Pacific. That is a good thing because there is not Beard can not do on the basketball floor. He is efficient on the offensive end and has the makings a great shooter. He didn’t shoot a ton of threes last year, but he is going to be asked to take on a bigger role this year. Beard has the talent to be a player who has a huge breakout on the national stage.

187. Southern Illinois Salukis – Last Season Ranking: 123

Conference: Missouri Valley

Southern Illinois is going to be lacking a little in talent this year and will finish near the middle of the pack in the Valley. Xavier Johnson enters his final year of college basketball, and this will likely be his best year yet. He has offensive upside for the Salukis as he is an efficient scorer and doesn’t take bad shots. Johnson is going to take over the lead guard duties this year and is going to have a huge role on the defensive end. If he does take the next step in his development for Coach Mullins, he will lead the team in scoring.

186. Louisiana Ragin Cajuns – Last Season Ranking: 145

Conference: Sun Belt

Louisiana lost a lot of talent from the team last year and the enter the year with a younger roster and some question marks. Coach Marlin consistently wins in the league and will likely have a team that will win close to 20 games. Themus Fulks entered the transfer portal in the offseason but decided he was going to come back and play this season under coach Marlin at Louisiana. Fulks is one of the best passers in college basketball and that was on full display in the NCAA tournament went he went for 11 assists against Tennessee. Fulks coming back is a huge win for Marlin, because he would have had a lot of offers in the transfer portal. Every team needs a point guard who can score and pass and Fulks had a 3-1 assist to turnover ratio last year. His passing ability borders on elite.

185. Cal Baptist Lancers – Last Season Ranking: 164

Conference: WAC

Arguably the most talented player in the short division 1 history for Cal Baptist has decided to leave and go play professional basketball in Australia. The rest of the roster looks good and will be competitive in the WAC. There are some high quality transfers with tons of experience. Kendal Coleman spent last season at LSU, but the previous two seasons he spent at Northwestern State where he was one of the best big men in the country. In the southland he averaged 15.4 points and 10.1 rebounds before leaving for the SEC. He is back in a mid major now and coach Croy hopes his big man can channel some of that talent we saw at Northwestern State.

184. Florida International Panthers – Last Season Ranking: 234

Conference: Conference USA

Last season was the worst season that Coach Ballard has had since at Florida International, and the Panthers still finished sixth in the league. Heading into this season they are looking for more success in the revamped Conference USA and hoping to finish in the top tier and earn a postseason appearance. Arturo Dean was named the Conference USA freshman of the year last season and he is going to build on that and turn into a star. He is a good offensive player, but his biggest asset is on the defensive end. Dean set a freshman record for steals with 82 and that was also the tops in the Conference USA. Dean has all the makings of a future Conference USA Player of the Year.

183. Western Carolina Catamounts – Last Season Ranking: 286

Conference: Southern

I missed on Western Carolina last year; they were a good team and finished in the top half of the Southern Conference. Head coach Justin Gray ran his fast paced heavy three point offense extremely well and was able to recruit the proper players for his system for them to succeed. The Catamounts bring most of the roster back from last year and that should mean good things for Western Carolina. The Southern Conference is tough at the top but if the Catamounts continue to play like they did a season ago they will have no problem finishing in the top half of the league again. Tre Jackson is a three point specialist and he makes over 40% of the shots he takes. He will not provide much else in the way of counting stats, but he can really stretch a lead when he is making his shots. Western Carolina is a dangerous team this year.

182. McNeese State Cowboys- Last Season Ranking: 316

Conference: Southland

Anyone who hires Will Wade to be their head coach knows exactly what they are doing. They are trying to go all in to make the NCAA tournament and maybe go on a little run. That is exactly who McNeese State hired and the hope is that coach Wade will get the Cowboys to the NCAA tournament. Christian Shumate initially entered the transfer portal, but then decided to stay at McNeese. Coach Wade is happy he did because Shumate can do everything on a basketball court. The forward shoots 60% from inside the arc, 34% from deep, and is one of the best offensive rebounders in the sport. Shumate almost averaged a double double a season ago for a bad team. If coach Wade can get him coached up, he could average numbers that would put him as the unanimously voted Player of the Year in the League.

181. Cleveland State Vikings – Last Season Ranking: 275

Conference: Horizon League

The Vikings are going to be a team who is going to compete for another postseason bid out of the Horizon League. The Vikings hope it is the NCAA tournament. Tristan Enaruna is a former top 100 player who is now in his second season for the Vikings. The former Kansas and Iowa State player had a great year in the Horizon League. He was a first team all conference selection who led Cleveland State in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage. Enaruna has played in the NCAA tournament at his two previous stops and when watching Cleveland State, you can see how much the rest of the team looks to him to lead. He knows what it takes to get to the tournament, and he leads by example.

180. Illinois State Redbirds – Last Season Ranking: 217

Conference: Missouri Valley

They enter the season with 4 out of 5 starters returning and a key bench piece. Illinois State bolstered this lineup with transfers who are going to displace some starters and help the overall depth for Illinois State. Coach Pedon is well on his way to making this roster competitive in the Valley. They are not a tournament team this year, but they are going to be much improved. Hopefully the Redbirds can celebrate a winning record this year. Myles Foster is a transfer from Monmouth, and he is exactly the type of player that coach Pedon loves. He is a wing with a ton of upside. Foster shoots a high percentage from the floor, crashes the glass, and can play multiple positions. He doesn’t shoot threes much but his ability to get into the paint and get fouled is something that coach Pedon is going to love. Foster is not a good free throw shooter and that needs to improve for him to reach his max potential. All in all, the forward is a player the Redbirds are going to love.

179. Cal State Fullerton Titans – Last Season Ranking: 188

Conference: Big West

Coach Taylor will have his work cut out for him this year if he wants to have the same success as last year. Max Jones returns, and he is going to be the horse in this offense. He is the starting point guard who can get to the rim with ease.  He is a good three point shooter but he doesn’t take a lot of shots from downtown. He may have to change that this year given that he is the best returning shooter. Jones was an honorable mention for the all-conference team last year. That will change this year and he will make the all-conference team this year.

178. New Mexico State Aggies – Last Season Ranking: 133

Conference: Conference USA

As the year went on last year something didn’t seem right with New Mexico State. It turns out all the suspicions were right. Enter coach Jason Hooten who is ready to lead a new era of Aggies basketball. New Mexico State begins play in the Conference USA this season. There is not a single play on the New Mexico State roster who recorded a minute for the Aggies last year. Femi Odukale is one of my favorite players in college basketball. The point guard plays hard, is a great defender, and will score in double figures. Odukale is not going to do anything flashy isn’t a real great shooter or offensive player but still finds ways to impact a game. Usually, he does it with his defense. He has quick hands and can fill his stat sheet with steals, and he is a good passer. He is from Brooklyn and only knows how to play basketball the Brooklyn way. He is tough and gritty and is instantly going to be a fan favorite.

177. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers – Last Season Ranking: 82

Conference: Conference USA

Western Kentucky decided to part ways with Stansbury and hire Steve Lutz. Lutz was most recently the head coach at Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Terrion Murdix had quite a two years playing for coach Lutz at Corpus Christi. He was the Southland Defensive Player of the Year and that is only beginning to describe the impact he had on the league. Murdix led the league in assists, assist to turnover ratio, and steals. He finished in the top 15 in steals per game with 2.3 and in the top 25 in assists with 5.4 per game. He is the only player in Corpus Christi history to have a game with 15 or more points and 15 or more assists in the same game. The guard is comfortable with coach Lutz system and will help acclimate everyone to it quickly. Murdix will likely get a late start to the year as he tore his MCL, PCL, and ACL in the conference tournament last season. All reports are that he should be ready to go by Christmas.

176. Oregon State Beavers – Last Season Ranking: 224

Conference: Pac 12

Head coach Wayne Tinkle has won a lot of games for the Oregon State program and has done good things for the Beavers it is only right to give him a long leash as he is desperately trying to rebuild the program. Jordan Pope had a breakout season last year for the Beavers and he needs to continue to develop, and he can turn into a star. Pope can shoot from outside and get into the paint, finish, and draw a foul. He has the confidence of the coaching staff to make a play or get a huge basket when they need it. Pope should average close to 15 points per game this year.