Our men's basketball top-25 ballot: UConn retains top spot entering 2024-25

Stephen Thompson / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

College basketball season is just around the corner, and while so much is unknown for the vast majority of men’s Division I teams in the age of the the transfer portal, the top line of national title contenders involve plenty of familiar names.

Before the season starts, the Associated Press will set the stage with a preseason top-25 poll and All-American team. The Post-Gazette has been given a vote this season, so here are my submissions for those honors are as follows:

1. UConn
2. Kansas
3. Houston
4. Alabama
5. Gonzaga

The Huskies will own the top spot in my ballot until they decide to relinquish it — two consecutive national championships earn Dan Hurley the benefit of the doubt, even if the bulk of last year’s dominant, title-winning squad is off to the NBA. Bill Self has another national title-worthy roster after an injury-induced early exit from the NCAA tournament a year ago, and Gonzaga boasts as deep a lineup of high-level scorers as anyone in the country.

6. Iowa State
7. Creighton
8. Duke
9. North Carolina
10. Baylor

In this range, you’ll find an intriguing group of surefire NBA lottery picks like Duke’s Cooper Flagg and Baylor’s V.J. Edgecombe. Norchad Omier, the All-ACC forward from Miami, was a fantastic transfer pickup for the Bears, too. Iowa State and Creighton represent the two biggest threats to the Goliaths in their respective conferences after retaining tons of production from postseason top-15 teams.

11. Arkansas
12. Arizona
13. Texas A&M
14. Tennessee
15. St. John’s

Long-time Kentucky head coach John Calipari is starting over at Arkansas, but his recruiting chops weren’t tied to the Wildcats’ brand. There will be plenty of talent there to compete with Texas A&M and Tennessee, two of the other teams chasing Alabama for SEC supremacy, but can Calipari pull it all together and build a winner by March?

St. John’s is the most intriguing team, perhaps in the country. The ceiling is high — potentially a Big East tournament title and top-two seed in the NCAA tournament — but it all comes down to how a transfer-heavy roster jells.

16. Miami
17. Purdue
18. Auburn
19. Kentucky
20. Rutgers

Injuries decimated a talented Hurricanes team last year, but Jim Larrañaga has reloaded — East Carolina transfer Brandon Johnson and Virginia Tech transplant Lynn Kidd will support a stellar backcourt led by Matthew Cleveland and Nijel Pack. Mark Pope brings a different style to Kentucky.

Purdue is deeper than many might think, even after losing two-time AP Player of the Year Zach Edey. Auburn will remain anchored by Johni Broome, a traditional low-post big man and viable All-American candidate.

The Scarlet Knights will be must-see-TV during what is, in all likelihood, the lone college seasons for Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, the consensus No. 2 and 3, respectively, recruits in the Class of 2024.

21. Texas
22. Wisconsin
23. Wake Forest
24. Michigan State
25. Providence

The Badgers lost their floor general and leading scorer to the transfer portal but have enough depth returning to fill in the gaps. Wake Forest will be among the country’s most experienced teams and hungry after narrowly missing the NCAA tournament a year ago.

Michigan State’s Frankie Fidler (20.1 points per game last year at Omaha) is my favorite transfer up in college basketball, bar none. And Kim English’s work in year one at Providence went underrated in 2023-24. Now he’s got a roster he can really win with.

Honorable mentions: N.C. State, Florida, Cincinnati, Michigan, UCLA

First-Team All-Americans

Mark Sears — Graduate Student, Alabama
R.J. Davis — Graduate Student, North Carolina

The reigning ACC Player of the Year will lead his Tar Heels into another season where they are the favorites to win their conference. Sears will have to pilot the Crimson Tide through a deep SEC slate. Both of these dynamic guards finished last season among the top four nationally in total points scored.

Cooper Flagg — Freshman, Duke
Ryan Kalkbrenner — Senior, Creighton
Hunter Dickinson — Graduate Student, Kansas

Flagg’s reputation precedes him. The 6-foot-8 unanimous No. 1 overall recruit is the favorite to be the next No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft because of his versatile abilities on both ends of the floor. Kalkbrenner will anchor one of America’s best interior defenses, and Dickinson is perhaps the country’s most complete offensive big man.

Honorable mentions: Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee; Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest; Johni Broome, Auburn; Alex Karaban, UConn; Johnell Davis, Arkansas