210. Tarleton State Texans - Last Season Ranking: 230
Conference: WAC
The Texans won 25 games last year and finished second in the WAC. Tarleton State will have to play extremely well to repeat that this year. Head coach Billy Gillispie lost a lot of talent from last season, and the roster is young and inexperienced this year. It could be a better year for the Texans from a wins standpoint. Freddy Hicks comes back after spending a year at Arkansas State.
209. St. Thomas Tommies - Last Season Ranking: 234
Conference: Summit League
The Tommies play a style that leads to winning. They have finished over .500 the last two seasons and won 20 games last year. This year, head coach John Tauer will have his work cut out for him if St. Thomas wants to get to .500. The roster is young and unproven and doesn’t have much scoring back from last year. Kendall Blue will have a breakout year and become the star.
208. Northeastern Huskies - Last Season Ranking: 233
Conference: Coastal Athletic
The Huskies have struggled over the last three years. They have failed to be competitive in the CAA and have not been anywhere near the NCAA tournament. Head coach Bill Coen has three out of five starters back, but the roster is not nearly as good as the rest of the top teams in the league. Harold Woods can be one of the best guards in the country.
207. Missouri State Bears - Last Season Ranking: 143
Conference: Missouri Valley
The Bears could never get over the hump and reach their expectations under former coach Dana Ford. Missouri State decided to bring in Cuonzo Martin for his second stint with the school, and he orchestrated the two highest win totals of any Bears coach ever. 2024-2025 will be a rebuilding year; the Bears are young and have a lot of unproven pieces. Allen Udemadu can average close to a double-double.
206. Evansville Purple Aces - Last Season Ranking: 339
Conference: Missouri Valley
I believe in head coach Walter Ragland and his ability to build Evansville into a Missouri Valley power. The team started 10-2 last season before finishing one game under .500. Heading into this season, the roster is loaded with talent, including former four-star Connor Turnbull. Turnbull will turn the Purple Aces into a contender in the MVC.
205. Air Force Falcons - Last Season Ranking: 171
Conference: Mountain West
Air Force plays differently than almost any other team in the country. They play at the slowest pace in the country but take almost half of their attempts from deep and shoot at a very high efficiency from the floor. The Falcons play at the same pace on defense as they do on offense, but they don’t rebound well, and they foul a lot. Air Force, like all service academies, are often talent-deficient. Beau Becker is the name to know.
204. Florida Gulf Coast Eagles - Last Season Ranking: 150
Conference: Atlantic Sun
Florida Gulf Coast has not returned to glory in the Atlantic Sun under current head coach Pat Chambers, and it doesn’t look like that will happen at any point. The Eagles must worry about the league being much better than in the past, and Florida Gulf Coast has yet to catch up talent-wise. The Eagles have a nice core of players this year but are not better than the league's top. Keeshawn Kellman should average a double-double this year.
203. Iona Gaels - Last Season Ranking: 161
Conference: MAAC
Head coach Tobin Anderson is in the shadow of two legendary coaches who made sure Iona won a lot and was the league's class. Year two looks to be better for the Gaels, but the MAAC is a lot stronger so winning it will be tougher than in years past, especially with a new roster. DeJour Reaves should have a big season for the Gaels.
202. Penn Quakers - Last Season Ranking: 211
Conference: Ivy League
Seeing the Quakers struggle so badly in the Ivy League last season was strange. It was their worst conference season, and the Quakers could have been more competitive in most of those games. Head coach Steve Donohue has Penn in a full-on rebuild, and there is little depth outside of the top two or three players. Sam Brown looks to build off an impressive Freshman season.
201. Hawaii Warriors - Last Season Ranking: 123
Conference: Big West
Hawaii had one of the oldest rosters in the Big West last year, and they turned that into a 20-win season and a 4th-place finish in the conference. Head coach Eran Ganot has some of the most consistent teams in the Big West yearly. He consistently finishes in the top of the Big West, but this season that might be tough considering all five starters are no longer on campus. The Warriors do have Tanner Christiansen who is very skilled in the paint.
200. Illinois State Redbirds - Last Season Ranking: 180
Conference: Missouri Valley
Illinois State was one of the worst shooting teams in the country. Couple that with a team that already plays at one of the slowest paces in the country, and you get a team that struggles to score 70 points a night. The Redbirds' good thing was that they played great defense, and head coach Ryan Pedon kept them right around .500. Illinois State improved the roster by adding some shooting from the portal. Boden Skunburg will be the star of the offense.
199. Tulane Green Wave - Last Season Ranking: 91
Conference: American Athletic
Ron Hunter teams run crisp offenses, shoot at high efficiency, and usually win many games. Last year was an outlier, though, because for as good as the Green Wave were on offense, they were one of the worst teams in the country on defense. The roster is young and unproven this year. Tulane must get the defense fixed to be successful. Michael Eley had a good season at Siena last year.
198. Quinnipiac Bobcats - Last Season Ranking: 249
Conference: MAAC
The Bobcats were 3 points away from securing their first NCAA tournament appearance in school history last year. Quinnipiac won the MAAC outright in head coach Tom Pecora’s first season with the Bobcats. The expectations are high again in Hamden, and the Bobcats have a team that looks like a MAAC champion and NCAA tournament contender. Amarri Monroe is good enough to win the MAAC Player of the Year.
197. Southern Utah Thunderbirds - Last Season Ranking: 257
Conference: WAC
Head coach Rob Jeter's first year did not go well, but that is to be expected given that it was his first year at a new program, and he returned 4% of the minutes from the year before. The Thunderbirds should be much improved this season and got much better in the transfer portal. Dominique Ford and his 16 points a game are a great building block for a young team.
196. Longwood Lancers - Last Season Ranking: 225
Conference: Big South
Last year, Longwood made it to the NCAA tournament for the second time in school history. Houston beat them, but the Lancers went on the run in the Big South tournament and earned their spot. Head coach Griff Aldrich has built a powerhouse Big South program, and it seems he just reloads every season, even when it should be a bit of a rebuild. Michael Christmas is looking to build off his breakout season from a year ago.
195. Kansas City Kangaroos - Last Season Ranking: 278
Conference: Summit League
The Kangaroos were one of the hottest teams in the country last year, heading into championship week. Kansas City got beat in the Summit League tournament, but coach Marvin Menzies has something to build on. It helps a lot that the Kangaroos are getting their best players back and are ready to finish in the top half of the Summit League again. Jamar Brown is my pick for Summit League Player of the Year.
194. Montana State Bobcats - Last Season Ranking: 282
Conference: Big Sky
The Bobcats were another team that I misjudged last season. Montana State got hot at the end of the year and made the NCAA tournament for the third year in a row. The Bobcats are going to build a Big Sky power. They head into the season with 3 of 5 starts back and get their sixth man back from injury. Brian Goracke returns to build off his breakout year.
193. Northern Colorado Bears - Last Season Ranking: 253
Conference: Big Sky
Northern Colorado plays an exciting brand of basketball; they play fast on both ends of the floor and their games usually result in a shootout. Head coach Steve Smiley knows the types of players he likes to recruit and gets them to come to Greeley to help win basketball games. The Bears are going to be a team who finishes near the top of the Big Sky again. Taeshaud Jackson is an elite rebounder from the guard position and should average a double-double.
192. San Jose State Spartans - Last Season Ranking: 167
Conference: Mountain West
Last year was the year San Jose State consistently flirted with the top of the league. I was wrong, and they only won nine games. Heading into this season, coach Tim Miles has filled the roster with transfers who all have high ceilings and play multiple positions. The Spartans could be a sleeper. Sadaidriene Hall can do everything on a basketball court.
191. Wright State Raiders - Last Season Ranking: 134
Conference: Horizon League
Not all coaching changes are the same. Sometimes, you lose a coach who builds the program and coaches some of the best offenses in the country. Scott Nagy turned the program over to his top assistant Clint Sargent, and the Raiders will be in good hands. Wright State has a good chunk of their roster returning from a team averaging 88 points per game. Brandon Noel is a walking double-double.
190. UNC Asheville Bulldogs - Last Season Ranking: 100
Conference: Big South
If not for an incredible season by High Point, the Bulldogs would have been the back-to-back champions in the Big South. Head coach Mike Morrell will have Asheville back up on top of the league again this year. They did lose the best player in program history, but the Bulldogs got many wins in the transfer portal and will still dominate the league. Sage Tolentino has the talent to be the next Drew Pember.
189. Georgia Southern Eagles - Last Season Ranking: 239
Conference: Sun Belt
Charlie Henry will be a good coach for the Eagles, but not even he could overcome the youth on the roster last year. Georgia Southern started 0-12 and only won nine games all season. The defense was bad, but the offense was very three-point-heavy and inefficient. The Eagles have a lot of their roster back from last year and should improve this year. Eren Banks had a promising freshman year and shot 40% from deep.
188. Nicholls State Colonels - Last Season Ranking: 322
Conference: Southland
I missed Nicholls last year because there were many questions surrounding the roster and how well coach Tevon Saddler would do. Those questions were answered, and the Colonels looked like one of the league's best teams all year. This year, Nicholls is good, and they have four out of five starters back. Rob Brown is a Southland Player of the Year candidate.
187. Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders - Last Season Ranking: 151
Conference: Conference USA
Middle Tennessee did have a key injury that hurt their depth and set them back. Head coach Nick McDevitt hopefully alleviated that problem in the transfer portal this year. He took experienced transfers who averaged double digits at their previous school. I like the Blue Raiders team this year. Jestin Porter will be first-team All-Conference USA this year.
186. Cleveland State Vikings - Last Season Ranking: 181
Conference: Horizon League
Cleveland State was a team that I had high hopes for due to its senior leadership and depth. The Vikings had a good year and won 21 games but could not get over the hump against the best teams in the Horizon. Heading into this season, the Vikings brought back two starters but lost over 60% of their scoring. Tahj Staveskie is a stat stuffer who will fit well in the offense.
185. South Dakota State Jackrabbits - Last Season Ranking: 121
Conference: Summit League
South Dakota State showed the powerhouse they are in the Summit by sweeping the regular season and league tournament titles last year. It is hard to believe, but this is the first time in a long time that South Dakota State has not been the favorite to win the Summit League. The Jackrabbits have a very young and unproven roster, but head coach Eric Henderson will still be able to get the most out of this team. Matthew Mors is the most experienced Jackrabbit.
184. Georgia State Panthers - Last Season Ranking: 205
Conference: Sun Belt
The Panthers have taken a step back in the two years under head coach Jonas Hayes. Georgia State hopes that year 3 will be the year that things start to get back to normal for the Panthers, and they return to the top of the Sun Belt again. The roster is loaded with talent from the transfer portal and the Division 2 ranks. Coach Hayes has good building blocks in place for a good season. Darnell Evans averaged 23 points a game last season.
183. UNC Greensboro Spartans - Last Season Ranking: 107
Conference: Southern
The Spartans have been among the best teams in the Southern Conference over the last decade. Current coach Mike Jones enters his fourth season as the coach of UNC Greensboro and has had back-to-back top-two finishes in the league. The Spartans have a lot of new pieces this year and won’t be as good, but they will still be competitive. Donovan Atwell returns to lead the Spartans.
182. Brown Bears - Last Season Ranking: 198
Conference: Ivy League
Brown was one point away from making the NCAA tournament last season. It was the first time Brown had ever qualified for Ivy Madness, and it would have been the first time they had made the NCAA tournament since the 1985 -1986 season. As a result, most of the roster is back, and the Bears will make another run toward the tournament. Kino Lilly Jr. is the best player in the Ivy League.
181. Jacksonville Dolphins - Last Season Ranking: 248
Conference: Atlantic Sun
The Dolphins were one point away from playing for a chance to attend the NCAA tournament last season. They got hot at the end of the season, and head coach Jordan Mincey had Jacksonville playing good basketball. The Dolphins have a lot of their roster back and added some quality depth. The Dolphins may make another run in March this year. Robert McCray V will carry them on offense.