NCAA Basketball: Power ranking all 364 teams for 2024-25 season
By Bryan Mauro
30. Villanova Wildcats - Last Season Ranking: 21
Conference: Big East
Villanova has yet to make the tournament under current coach Kyle Neptune, and they have not lived up to expectations placed on them over his two full seasons, either. The Wildcats are ready for year three, hoping that they can blend their returning stars and pair them with excellent transfers. Villanova can be a deep team that can run deep into March. Eric Dixon must have a huge year for Villanova to reach its goals.
29. Dayton Flyers- Last Season Ranking: 74
Conference Atlantic 10
Dayton didn’t win the Atlantic 10 regular season or tournament last year, but they did enough to make the NCAA tournament as an at-large and won a game against Nevada in the first round. The Flyers gave Arizona all they could handle in the second round before losing. Dayton heads into the season as a favorite in the Atlantic 10 and a likely NCAA tournament competitor again. Posh Alexander will bring a toughness Dayton has not had in a while.
28. BYU Cougars - Last Season Ranking: 56
Conference: Big 12
The Cougars were one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country a season ago and took a ton of threes. BYU was a joy to watch play basketball. Former coach Mark Pope is now off to Kentucky, and BYU brought in former Suns associate head coach Kevin Young to lead the program. The Cougars have a good portion of their roster returning, including many big-time transfers to mix in with many freshmen. Fousseyni Traore does a lot of damage in minimal minutes.
27. Illinois Fighting Illini - Last Season Ranking: 24
Conference: Big Ten
Illinois was a trendy pick to win the NCAA tournament last year and has been so for the last four years. This is the first year in a while that the Illini are not preseason ranked and are not a lock to finish near the top of the Big Ten. Illinois does have talent, but not the overwhelming talent they have had in the past seasons. Ben Humrichous is going to put himself on the national landscape this year.
26. Michigan State Spartans - Last Season Ranking: 3
Conference: Big Ten
Michigan State had a fantastic roster last year that never could quite live up to the expectations. Sure, they made it to the NCAA tournament and won a game, but last season, they were supposed to be a vintage Tom Izzo team that would compete for the title, and that didn’t happen. The Spartans return a lot of that roster and I do expect the two of their young potential superstars to have huge years. Coen Carr is in for one of the biggest breakout years of any player in the country.
25. Florida Gators - Last Season Ranking: 41
Conference: SEC
The Gators returned to the tournament in year two of Todd Golden's era. Last season was a typical Golden-coached team with an electric offense. Florida averaged almost 86 points a game but gave up about 80. They played track meets every game and were extremely fun to watch. This season, it will be more of the same. Florida has many players who fit perfectly with their system and will still have a great offense. Walter Clayton Jr. will be an all-conference performer.
24. Mississippi Rebels - Last Season Ranking: 71
Conference: SEC
I don’t think it will be long before Mississippi starts winning games at a high rate and finishes near the top of the SEC every year. Last year, the Rebels started out 18-3 before losing 9 out of their last 11 games. The roster is loaded with quality transfers. All of them were stars at their previous schools and will help Ole Miss win a lot of games. Matthew Murrell is already one of the best Rebels in history.
23. Cincinnati Bearcats - Last Season Ranking: 49
Conference: Big 12
The Bearcats did enough last year to make the NIT and also got a blowout win over Kansas in the Big 12 tournament. Cincinnati's first year in the Big 12 didn’t go as Cincinnati hoped, but head coach Wes Miller still led his team to 21 wins and an NIT bid. The majority of the roster returns this year, and it should be a much better year in the Big 12, but the league is deeper. Simas Lukosius takes and makes a lot of threes.
22. UCLA Bruins - Last Season Ranking: 23
Conference: Big Ten
Watching the Bruins struggle so badly on the offensive end last year was strange. It was a very weird season for UCLA under Mick Cronin. We had all grown accustomed to the Bruins competing for Pac-12 titles and getting a top-16 seed in the tournament. Was last season an outlier, or is coach Cronin having a problem getting talent to Westwood? Skyy Clark was the best player on a bad Louisville roster.
21. St. John’s Red Storm - Last Season Ranking: 27
Conference: Big East
The Red Storm got hot at the end of the year, and if they had hung on to beat UConn in the Big East tournament, they probably would have found themselves in the tournament. Head coach Rick Pitino is doing what he does best: scouring the transfer portal and fielding the best team possible. St. John’s is going to make the tournament this year, and it will do so comfortably. Deivon Smith is a triple-double waiting to happen.