NCAA Basketball: Power ranking all 364 teams for 2024-25 season
By Bryan Mauro
150. Utah Valley Wolverines - Last Season Ranking: 169
Conference: WAC
Utah Valley finished 16-16 in head coach Todd Phillips first season. It was a masterful coaching job, considering the Wolverines had only 5% of their roster returning from the previous season. Coach Phillips is going to have to do it again this year. The Wolverines have a young roster with many transfers and question marks. Tanner Toolson is the next big star in the WAC.
149. Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks - Last Season Ranking: 114
Conference: WAC
Outside of the powerhouse programs, only a few programs are more consistent than the Lumberjacks. Stephen F. Austin has had two losing seasons in the last 22 years and has done it all without a bonafide star. Coach Kyle Keller does it with high-efficiency offense and team defense to win games. Matt Hayman steps into the leadership role this season.
148. Samford Bulldogs - Last Season Ranking: 144
Conference: Southern
Samford was 4 points away from securing a huge upset over Kansas in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs play extremely fast, shoot a high efficiency from the floor, take and make a ton of threes, and score at one of the highest rates in the country. Samford doesn’t star players for the offense to work. Julian Brown was a budding star at Wagner.
147. Bryant Bulldogs - Last Season Ranking: 220
Conference: America East
Phil Martelli Jr. took over for Jared Grasso before last season started, leading to Bryant's second-most wins ever and second-place finish in the America East. The Bulldogs will be loaded this year and push Vermont for the top spot in the league. Bryant will play extremely fast and have guys who can score all over the floor. Earl Timberlake is an easy winner of the America East Player of the Year award.
146. Cal Baptist Lancers - Last Season Ranking: 185
Conference: WAC
Cal Baptist had the same old season again last year; they finished around .500 and in the bottom four of the WAC. The Lancers are always competitive and will always play great defense. The problem for head coach Rick Croy has been the inconsistent offense and finding quality depth. This year, they are going to have the same problems. Dominque Daniels will average over 20 points per game.
145. College of Charleston Cougars - Last Season Ranking: 97
Conference: Coastal Athletic
Charleston made back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances under former coach Pat Kelsey. Kelsey is gone to Louisville, and the Cougars decided to hire Chris Mack. Mack has been out of coaching for the last two years, but his coaching prowess and his ability to win speak for themselves. Charleston has a lot of scoring from the transfer portal on its roster, and it likely won’t have much of a falloff. Derrin Boyd scored at an elite level at Lipscomb.
144. Southern Illinois Salukis - Last Season Ranking: 187
Conference: Missouri Valley
The Salukis have been part of the very competitive top of the Valley for a handful of years and have always been a tough out under former coach Bryan Mullins. Never fear Southern Illinois fans because even though Mullins is gone, the new coach Scott Nagy, has won a lot at South Dakota State and Wright State and knows how to make the NCAA tournament. Elijah Elliott was an elite scorer at UTRGV.
143. Lipscomb Bisons - Last Season Ranking: 200
Conference: Atlantic Sun
Lipscomb lost its best player to injury before last season even started, but head coach Lennie Acuff still managed to guide his team to one of the best offenses in the country and a second-place finish in the Atlantic Sun. The Bison get their best player back and return some other top scorers. Lipscomb looks like an NCAA tournament hopeful. Jacob Ognacevic's health is the difference between the NCAA tournament and home for the Bison.
142. Temple Owls - Last Season Ranking: 168
Conference: American Athletic
Temple is still trying to find the right coach and roster combination to get the Owls back to playing like one of the most historic basketball teams in the country. Head coach Adam Fisher hopes that getting some older players who have shown the ability to score at a high level will help Temple get back to the level they are capable of as a program. Jamal Mashburn Jr. is an exciting player on both ends of the floor.
141. UCSB Gauchos - Last Season Ranking: 132
Conference: Big West
The Gauchos finished seventh place in the Big West last year, their worst finish since head coach Joe Pasternack took over. The defense was far from where it needed to be, and depth was a problem outside of the starters. This year, it may be more of the same. UCSB lost a ton of talent from last year and had to replace it all in the transfer portal. That doesn’t always lead to more wins. Stephan Swenson made it to the NCAA tournament with Stetson last year.
140. Duquesne Dukes - Last Season Ranking: 84
Conference: Atlantic 10
Duquesne got unbelievably hot at the end of the year to win the Atlantic 10 tournament and won a game against BYU before finally losing in the second round. Former coach Keith Dambrot retired, and the Dukes program is now in the hands of Dru Joyce. Joyce has a lot coming back from the previous season and acquired a lot of scoring in the transfer portal. Jahsean Corbett had a great career at Chicago State and can score.
139. Oregon State Beavers - Last Season Ranking: 176
Conference: West Coast
The Pac-12 era is over, and Oregon State has now joined the West Coast Conference for at least this year. Head Coach Wayne Tinkle hopes the move to the WCC will allow him to reset and get more talent in the pipeline. It was so hard to stay consistent in the Pac-12, but in the WCC, the Beavers should be able to compete and finish near the top every year. Demarco Minor was a star at SIU-Edwardsville a season ago.
138. Fort Wayne Mastodons - Last Season Ranking: 305
Conference: Horizon League
The Mastodons were a thing of beauty on offense last year. Fort Wayne won 21 games and 11 games in the Horizon League and finished in 7th place. Fort Wayne will be good again this year, as four starters are back, along with most of the quality depth. The Mastodons have a team that could make some noise nationally. Jalen Jackson has a good shot at Horizon League Player of the Year.
137. Richmond Spiders - Last Season Ranking: 130
Conference: Atlantic 10
Richmond was a huge surprise last year, as they won the regular season in the Atlantic 10. Chris Mooney is a coach who has figured out how he wants to coach and the type of players he wants to have at Richmond. Heading into this season, Richmond loaded up on players in the transfer portal who will help them win. Don’t be surprised if they finish atop the Atlantic 10 again. Dusan Neskovic was a top player in the Ivy League.
136. California Golden Bears - Last Season Ranking: 147
Conference: ACC
Year 1 in the ACC for the Golden Bears after a decade of being one of the worst teams in the Pac-12. Head coach Mark Madsen has been tasked with rebuilding the California program and is doing it utilizing the transfer portal. California is still a few years away, but they are getting better. The move to the ACC will take a lot of work to rebuild. BJ Omot can do a little of everything for California.
135. Kent State Golden Flashes - Last Season Ranking: 120
Conference: MAC
It was a down year for Kent State, only finishing at 17-17, and coach Rob Senderhoff demanded better from his team, especially after making the tournament two seasons ago. The Golden Flashes are ready to make another run at the NCAA tournament this year, with most of their scoring and depth back from last season. They were able to get a lot of good transfers to help as well. Jalen Sullinger can go for 30 almost every night.
134. Chattanooga Mocs- Last Season Ranking: 208
Conference: Southern
The Mocs are fun to watch, and head coach Dan Earl is using that to win games and build Chattanooga into a top-of-the-league team in the Southern Conference. Coach Earl can also use it to his advantage on the recruiting trail. Chattanooga shoots a ton of threes, plays fast, and runs an efficient offense. They are loaded this year and are my favorite in the Southern Conference. Honor Huff is the best guard and player in the Southern Conference.
133. Towson Tigers - Last Season Ranking: 141
Conference: Coastal Athletic
Towson head coach Pat Skerry made this team commit to defense, which paid off. The Tigers had one of the country's best defenses last year, leading to them winning 20 games and allowing under 65 a game. Coach Skerry kept the roster together, and Towson is one of the favorites in the CAA. Nendah Tarke is going to have a big season.
132. UC San Diego Tritons - Last Season Ranking: 244
Conference: Big West
The Tritons put it all together last year and finished second in the Big West. UC San Diego looks to have turned a corner last year. Head coach Eric Olen did lose a lot of talent from last season but has enough returning to still finish near the top of the league. Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones will be a first-team All-Conference player this year.
131. Troy Trojans - Last Season Ranking: 228
Conference: Sun Belt
Troy won 20 games and finished third in the Sun Belt. The offense was efficient, and the defense was good. The Trojans were good but fell in the conference tournament, leaving a sour taste in their mouths. As a result, head coach Scott Cross could keep all his eligible players and add them to the portal. Tayton Conerway can win the Sun Belt Player of the Year.
130. Loyola Marymount Lions - Last Season Ranking: 89
Conference: West Coast
I thought Loyola Marymount would be one of the best teams in the West Coast last year and put them right behind Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga. I was wrong; the Lions finished 6th in the league but were not great overall. Head coach Stan Johnson lost a lot of talent from last year but does still have a lot returning and was able to secure great talent in the transfer portal. Alex Merkviladze led Loyola Marymount in scoring a season ago.
129. Charlotte 49ers - Last Season Ranking: 174
Conference: American
Charlotte had everything going against it heading into last year. They lost their best players, breaking in a new coach, and were transitioning to a new conference. Charlotte still managed to win 19 games and finish in the top 3 of the league. They find themselves in a similar position with the roster this season. Nik Graves returns to build from his 10 points per game last season.
128. Davidson Wildcats - Last Season Ranking: 154
Conference: Atlantic 10
The Wildcats have not been nearly the force they were with their once legendary coach, and his son Matt is still trying to find the right recipe to win. The 2024-2025 roster has many question marks and very high-ceiling players. Davidson should finish around .500 again. Connor Kochera is the leader on and off the floor for the Wildcats.
127. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers - Last Season Ranking: 177
Conference: Conference USA
Western Kentucky's head coach was Steve Lutz last season, and the Tops made the NCAA Tournament. This year, JUCO coaching legend Hank Plona is coaching Western Kentucky, and they are the favorite in Conference USA to make the tournament again. Every eligible player returns for coach Plona. It is extremely rare for everyone to stay after a coaching change. Don McHenry is the favorite for the Player of the Year in the league.
126. Rhode Island Rams - Last Season Ranking: 194
Conference: Atlantic 10
In the two seasons Archie Miller has been at Rhode Island, he has left much to be desired. Building a program is hard and takes time. The Rams won 12 games last season, but things are very different in Rhode Island. The roster is much better and has a lot of scoring. Jamarques Lawrence is a versatile player who played a big role at Nebraska.
125. Akron Zips - Last Season Ranking: 98
Conference: MAC
The Zips have made the tournament two out of the last three seasons, and head coach John Groce has turned Akron into the premier team in the MAC over the last decade. Akron lost all five starters from last season and came into the year with freshmen and many transfers. Isaiah Gray had a big year for Cornell and hopes to continue that for coach Groce.
124. Drake Bulldogs - Last Season Ranking: 77
Conference: Missouri Valley
The Bulldogs made the tournament for the second season and finished near the top of the Valley again. That led to former coach Darian DeVries leaving for West Virginia. Drake hired Ben McCollum, who had great success at Northwest Missouri State. The roster for the Bulldogs has been completely flipped, and Drake has many former Northwest Missouri State players to build around. Mitch Mascari shot almost 50% from deep last year.
123. Seattle Redhawks - Last Season Ranking: 125
Conference: WAC
Seattle did win a postseason tournament last season—the CBI. It wasn’t an NCAA tournament appearance, but head coach Chris Victor will use it as a building block for the future. The Redhawks enter the 2024-2025 season having lost a lot of talent from the CBI title team, but coach Victor got some talent in the transfer portal that will help Seattle right away. John Christofilis leads the Redhawks on the offensive end of the floor.
122. Appalachian State Mountaineers - Last Season Ranking: 136
Conference: Sun Belt
It was a tough pill to swallow for the Mountaineers last season, winning 27 games and running the table in the Sun Belt to lose in the conference tournament and stay home. That was the best chance for Appalachian State to get to the NCAA tournament. The team heading into the season this year is young and unproven and lost a lot of scoring. Myles Tate has a lot of talent. Can he finally become the star?
121. East Carolina Pirates - Last Season Ranking: 131
Conference: American
It won’t be long before East Carolina becomes a team people talk about in the American. Head coach Micahel Schwartz has the Pirates trending upward and has assembled a roster with a ton of talent. East Carolina has become a popular transfer destination for graduate transfers and good mid-major players looking for a new start. RJ Felton will be on the All-Conference team.