ESPN updates Way Too Early Top 25 for 2023-24 College Basketball
The month is August and it may finally be the one where college basketball’s offseason movement slows down, even if it doesn’t come to a complete stop. Now that, for the most part, teams have their rosters locked in, it was time for ESPN’s college hoops writer, Jeff Borzello, to re-assess the preseason top-25.
If you’re looking for some really wacky takes, you won’t find them here, as Borzello has drawn out a pretty fair chronicle of the best teams in the country heading into the 2023-24 season, or at least the ones we all expect to rise to the top this coming year.
Without further ado, check out ESPN’s latest preseason top 25 for college basketball
1. Kansas
It’s Kansas who is this year’s blue blood that the collective college hoops media decreed the overwhelming preseason No. 1 — and for good reason. For starters, Bill Self is the best coach running the best program in the country at the moment, with no logical debate otherwise. The consistency of his success — dating back to 15+ years ago! — is remarkable, and he finally joined a club of rare elites by winning his second national title two years ago.
Last season featured another finish as a No. 1 seed and the Jayhawks got back its supporting cast of that group while adding a trio of transfers — All-American Hunter Dickinson, sharpshooter Nick Timberlake and talented Texas rookie Arterio Morris — to give the Jayhawks an established and terrific six-man core. They’ll be terrific and almost certainly a one-seed, as they have been in five of the last seven tournaments (and it would be 6/8 if not for the COVID-cancelled 2020 dance). Borzello went with a safe and worthy pick at No. 1.
Projected starting lineup:
2. Duke
This sure is giving a lot of credit to a new coach that had three top-five recruits in ’22 and made out as a five-seed with a round-of-32 exit. Kyle Filipowski, Jeremy Roach, Mark Mitchell and Tyrese Proctor are absolutely as good a four-some as any team in the nation has returning — and the recruiting class is again stellar, though not as great as the year before. Objectively, the pieces are in place to predict Duke as a top team.
What’s the missing ingredient? Well, coaching. Duke hit their stride by the end of February last season, and a five-seed is commendable in year one for Jon Scheyer. But they played in the probably worst year of ACC hoops this century, got “dragged into the mud” by Tennessee in the tournament, and still disappointed expectations after being ranked similarly in the preseason last fall. So, why the expectation for a great leap to the No. 2 overall team? It’s possible, but more established coaches and rosters await further down the list.
Projected lineup:
3. Purdue
Some college hoops fans, and certainly rival Big Ten fans, will throw sand on this ranking after the Boilermakers committed the largest embarrassment in all of sports and lost to a 16-seed in March. But discounting 2024 Purdue for that meltdown would be a slap in the face to the Great Virginia Redemption of 2019. With their same guys back in the saddle, UVA erased the pain and shame of ’18 to cut down the nets the following April.
That’s a lofty expectation for Purdue, but we do know one thing about this Zach Edey-led team: they’re darn good in the regular season. Edey’s Ming-like impact on both sides of the floor, plus a nearly unanimous returning group of surrounding pieces, should make for a similar regular season to last, which was dominant and one-seed-worthy, even if the actual tourney performance was the opposite.
Projected lineup:
- G: Braden Smith
- G: Fletcher Loyer
- F: Mason Gillis
- F: Caleb Furst
- C: Zach Edey
4. Michigan State
Tom Izzo may have one more run in him yet. The 68-year-old face of Sparty Hoops hasn’t had an elite team since the departure of Cassius Winston, but that’s all set to change in 2023-24 given the roster he has on deck. Most importantly, MSU returned its starting backcourt of slashing oversized point guard AJ Hoggard alongside more of a pure college scoring guard in Tyson Walker. This could be the best guard duo in the country.
Meanwhile, there’s a mix of talents in the front-court, with one extreme veteran in Malik Hall alongside a five-star freshman in Xavier Booker and a slew of sophomores and juniors looking to take on a bigger role as their careers progress. It’s a great roster that knows who it is: star guards running the show with a plethora of options at forward and center who could emerge. State is BACK.
Projected lineup:
- G: Tyson Walker
- G: AJ Hoggard
- F: Jaden Akins
- F: Malik Hall
- C: Mady Sissoko
5. UConn
The five spot may seem low for the reigning champ but it’s actually a tip of respect since the Huskies lost the three lead pillars (Adama Sonogo, Jordan Hawkins and Andre Jackson) off the title team and don’t have a track record of elite year-over-year success with Dan Hurley. Like in 2011 and 2014, UConn struck while the iron was hot last spring and became just the third team since 1997 to win the NCAA Tournament without being a top-three seed. The other two? The Huskies in ’11 and ’14. Centuries from now, historians will surely be baffled by this phenomenon.
As for next season, while UConn lost their top three stars, they return the surrounding contributors in Donovan Clingan, Alex Karaban and Tristen Newton. With the appropriate leaps, we could be talking about those first two as the top front-court in the country, with the 7’2″ Clingan drawing Edey comparisons if he develops the way folks expect. Add in Cam Spencer from Rutgers, who can fill any role on the perimeter, plus a couple of top-40 freshmen, and this is a serious contender once again.
Projected lineup
6. Houston
What an exciting year for Houston hoops. After a tremendous last half-decade under Kelvin Sampson, the Cougars are getting thrust into the best current hoops conference in the country in the Big 12. Stylistically, it’s where this iteration of UH belong. Like most of last year’s top B12 teams, the Cougs boast tough, veteran guards and possess a defense stronger than Fort Knox.
Once again, the guards are elite, despite Marcus Sasser’s departure. In his place is Baylor import and super-shooter LJ Cryer — who could very well follow in Sasser’s All-American footsteps under Sampson. Plus, Houston gets back point guard Jamal Shead — who won’t have to tussle with Sasser and Tramon Mark over ball-handling duties any longer — while sophomore Emmanuel Sharp is in there to do one thing: shoot the ball.
With less ball-handlers and more shooting in the backcourt, plus a returning rebounding anchor in J’Wan Roberts, expect another Kelvin Sampson team to earn a top-four seed.
Projected lineup:
7. Gonzaga
There may be no top team with more questions than the program up in Spokane. The Zags are replacing longtime leader Drew Timme along with other starters, while brining in a terrific transfer haul and hoping their own returners take leaps. It’s a strong roster, with guys like Anton Watson and Nolan Hickman who could make leaps as upperclassmen. Then there’s transfers like Steele Venters, Graham Ike and Ryan Nembhard that all look good on paper.
But who’s the guaranteed stud here? Ike? He averaged 19 points a game two years ago but that was at Wyoming and he’s a 6’10 guy who just missed a whole season with a foot injury. What about Nembhard? He’s a good candidate but needs to take a step up to be a true star. Watson could shine but he’s not leading you to the promised land, and neither is Venters or Hickman. Still, a collection of tremendous talent, but so unknown, unlike the Timme-led teams of recent years.
Top 10
- 1New
Lamont Butler
Injury update on Kentucky star
- 2Hot
DeMarco Murray
PSU eyeing OU assistant
- 3
Seven QBs in first 3 rounds
New NFL mock draft
- 4Trending
Bracketology
Big movement after turbulent week
- 5
Paul Finebaum
CFB struggle to catch NFL
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
Projected lineup:
8. Tennessee
You look at the roster, the coaching staff, the recent success, the tournament results last spring — it’s all the same for Tennessee from year to year. They play great defense, struggle to put the ball in the basket themselves, and narrowly win a bunch of 59-51 rock fights to earn a top-five seed and inevitably lose before the Elite Eight.
Here we go again, with Santiago Vescovi back as a starter for year No. 5, as is Josiah-Jordan James, while backcourt mate Zakai Zeigler slides in for his third season. With those three plus Barnes orchestrating his air-tight defense, the floor is very high for Tennessee. They’ll certainly be a top-20 team, very likely top-10… but one who will threaten to make a Final Four run? History suggests otherwise. But then again, history’s always changing.
Projected lineup:
9. FAU
Think FAU made a fluke Cinderella run to the Final Four? Think again! Because this team told us all year they were great. The Owls lost just one of their first 22 games, finished 28-3 in the regular season and beat Memphis, Tennessee and Kansas State before losing by one point in their Final Four matchup vs. San Diego State. 2023 FAU was a great basketball team from start to finish.
And now they return everyone, almost literally. There is just ONE player from last year’s team who is not on the roster for 2023-24. In the transfer portal and NIL era, for a school like FAU to leap into the national spotlight with a Final Four run and return all of their players and the head coach… Well, it would seem impossible. Credit this group and their commitment to each other. With the experience and talent like FAU has, it’s completely fair to rank them in the top-10 to start the season.
Basketball-wise, this group goes six deep with excellent guard play. They play four guards at all times and don’t really have one star, but rather, a collection of seamlessly-fit-together pieces that always make smart decisions with the ball. Plus, they have a skilled 7-foot-1 anchor who takes care of the dirty work.
Projected lineup:
10. Marquette
The Shaka-ssiance is charging on full steam ahead. After leaving Texas on his own terms following the best season of his tenure there, Shaka Smart landed at an odd spot in Marquette. However, the marriage has turned out perfect through two years. The Golden Eagles made the NCAA Tournament both years and did so as a two-seed this past year thanks to one of the most efficient two-point offenses in major conference college basketball history.
The orchestrator of that offense and the top pure point guard in the country heading into this season, Tyler Kolek, is back along with eight of the Eagles’ nine top scorers from ’23. The guy they lost, Olivier Maxence-Prosper, was perhaps their best overall player, but the returning depth and other starters more than makes up for his loss. Marquette could really have an elite program on their hands with another top-10 finish this season.
Projected lineup:
- G: Tyler Kolek
- G: Stevie Mitchell
- G: Kam Jones
- F: David Joplin
- F: Oso Ighodaro
ESPN’s updated 11-25 rankings
11. Arizona
12. San Diego State
13. Creighton
14. Arkansas
15. North Carolina
16. Villanova
17. Kentucky
18. Miami (FL)
19. Texas A&M
20. Baylor
21. USC
22. Alabama
23. Saint Mary’s
24. Texas
25. Saint John’s
We’ve got three Maui 2022 participants to kick off the back half with the Hogs, Blue Jays and Aztecs coming in. Further down we hit a little pocket of blue bloods with UNC, ‘Nova and Kentucky. Speaking of which, where is all this confidence in Villanova and North Carolina? Neither club made the NCAA Tournament a year ago, with the Wildcats plummeting to below-.500 while the Heels turned in one of the most disappointing seasons in college hoops history given their overwhelming consensus as preseason No. 1 last November.
UNC is going to return that same basic core of guys, so a big leap for them seems pretty unlikely given the evidence. As for Villanova, the transfer haul is really good and a fully healthy Justin Moore is leaps and bounds better than the point guard situation a year ago.
We’re just giving some tough love to Jeff Borzello, who captured a nice list of the top programs at the moment with his rankings. Other than a few quibbles, it’s a ranking that should prove accurate to the initial preseason AP Poll.