NCAA Preseason Rankings Are in, These Are the Top 4 Teams
By: Matthew Rouker 10/27/23
NCAA Men’s Basketball is starting again and we’re here to tell you everything you need to know about it. Last Monday, preseason rankings came in and there are already some clear favorites to win the March Madness tournament. The Top Four teams are headlined by the Kansas Jayhawks, 2022’s tournament champ. Kansas has been and continues to be a favorite to win the March Madness tournament and their top-ten recruiting class assured this. It was a tough decision between Kansas and Duke, but Kansas’ tournament past kept them on top of the preseason polls.
Duke was placed at the number 2 position. This choice was clear after placing Kansas at no. 1. Last year they were taken out in the second round of the tournament, but they have higher hopes this year. One year ago Duke’s legendary head coach, Mike Krzyzewski, retired, and Duke’s season mostly relies on their new head coach, Jon Scheyer.
Many of you will not be happy with this ranking, but Purdue is ranked at number 3. Purdue is coming off of two underwhelming seasons based on their expectations and regular season performance. Two years ago, in the 2022 tournament, they were eliminated in the third round by fifteen-seeded Saint Peter’s, which compared to their three-seed, is somewhat embarrassing. “There’s always next year,” is what Purdue fans were saying until next year came. In 2023, after winning the Big 10 title, #3 in the country Purdue, lost to lowly FDU who barely snuck into the tournament last year as a sixteen seed. This upset is one of, if not the greatest, upsets in March Madness history. There is at least one positive for Purdue fans though, their stud Center, Zach Edey, decided not to declare for the draft and to instead stay in West Lafayette for one more year.
Last, but certainly not least, we have Michigan State. Last year, the Spartans made a sweet sixteen appearance in which they beat number two seed Marquette. MSU probably has one of the deepest rosters of any team with around ten players worthy of a start, finding a way to rotate all of these players in may be one of their greatest challenges ironic as it is. The main reason why Michigan State is so deep is that they had a top-five recruiting class. They recruited three four-stars and a five-star recruit.
Some other notable teams that have a chance to win the tournament are Marquette, UConn, Houston, Creighton, Tennessee, and Florida Atlantic. If you want to learn more about the upcoming season then click this link or head over to NCAA.com.