With the college basketball season about to close, we look ahead to the 2011-12 campaign and rank the top 25 teams.
| 2011-12 Pre-Season Top 25 | ||||
| RK | TEAM | 2010 REC | COMMENT | |
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1 | North Carolina | 26-8 | Could Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Tyler Zeller all really return? Call us crazy but our hunch is yes. If all three come back, they could be cutting down the nets in New Orleans just like in 1993. |
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2 | Texas | 28-8 | With Tristan Thompson and Jordan Hamilton returning to Austin, there are no excuses this time if Rick Barnes doesn’t reach the Final Four. If Cory Joseph continues to progress, a national title is within reach too. |
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3 | Kentucky | 29-9 | Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones are probably gone but the combination of DeAndre Liggins, Darius Miller and Doron Lamb with super recruits Marquis Teague, Mike Gilchrist and Anthony Davis will be deadly. |
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4 | Ohio State | 34-3 | The Bucks lose a lot in Jon Diebler and David Lighty but Aaron Craft, William Buford, Deshaun Thomas and Jared Sullinger will be fine. |
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5 | Syracuse | 27-8 | With Kris Joseph coming back, the only guy the ‘Cuse will miss is Rick Jackson. And if Fab Melo fills his potential, the Orange will be loaded. |
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6 | Duke | 32-5 | The Dookies lose a ton but get top overall recruit Austin Rivers – plus Quinn Cook and Michael Gbinjie – move Seth Curry into the starting lineup and now have three Plumlees (the Plumli?) at their disposal. |
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7 | Memphis | 25-10 | Josh Pastner is about to be a very hot coaching name. The team that almost knocked off Arizona is very young and adds stud Adonis Thomas next year. |
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8 | Vanderbilt | 23-11 | Watch out for the Commodores! Our hunch says John Jenkins and Jeff Taylor will return. Combine them with bruising bigs Festus Ezeli and Lance Goulbourne and Vandy will be very tough. |
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9 | Michigan | 21-14 | If Darius Morris leaves it would be a huge blow. If he stays – which we expect – Michigan returns everyone and could be headed to their first Final Four since 1993 – also in New Orleans. Hopefully that trip would end differently. |
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10 | Connecticut | 31-9 | Kemba Walker is as good as gone but with Shabazz Napier, Jeremy Lamb and Alex Oriakhi likely all back, the cupboard is hardly empty. |
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11 | Xavier | 24-8 | They laid a huge egg in the Big Dance but unless Tu Holloway goes pro, Xavier could be next year’s Butler after going 24-8 this year. |
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12 | Marquette | 22-15 | Keep those 3-goggles handy because the team that reached the Sweet Sixteen returns Darius Johnson-Odom and big man Jae Crowder, among others. |
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13 | Cincinnati | 26-9 | The Cats are back. After making the third round in 2011, expect bigger things from Yancy Gates, Cashmere Wright and Co. |
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14 | Missouri | 23-11 | Frank Haith is walking into an ideal situation. The Tigers return all five starters from an NCAA tournament team, including leading scorer Marcus Denmon. |
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15 | Texas A&M | 24-9 | The Aggies looked dreadful at the end of the year but leading scorers Khris Middleton and David Loubeau will redeem them, especially with Kansas and K-State down. |
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16 | Temple | 26-8 | Lavoy Allen is gone but Ramone Moore and Juan Fernandez will form a backcourt that lights up the A-10. |
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17 | Alabama | 25-12 | Roll Tide! With Tony Mitchell and JaMychal Green likely back, Alabama should be a force on the gridiron and hardwood next season. |
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18 | Washington State | 22-13 | The era of irrelevance is over. Wazzu should return all five starters, including stud Klay Thompson – that is, if he doesn’t go pro and stays away from the reefer. |
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19 | Louisville | 25-10 | Losing Preston Knowles hurts but Kyle Kuric, Peyton Siva and Terrence Jennings should have the Cards in the Big East mix. |
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20 | Arizona | 30-8 | How do you replace Derrick Williams? You don’t. But things are still pointed in the right direction with Momo Jones, Kyle Fogg and Solomon Hill – plus more stud recruits on the way. |
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21 | Kansas | 35-3 | The twins are as good as gone and if Tyshawn Taylor, Josh Selby and Thomas Robinson go too, there could be an apocalyptic situation in Lawrence. We think two will stay. |
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22 | Belmont | 30-5 | You read that correctly. The Bruins won 30 games and return almost everyone, including leading scorer Ian Clark. The VCU of 2012? |
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23 | Pittsburgh | 28-6 | Pitt loses a ton but Jamie Dixon’s teams always overachieve and Ashton Gibbs – who we expect to return – could be the Big East Player of the Year. |
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24 | Butler | 28-9 | Our guess is Shelvin Mack is headed to the NBA but there’s still Andrew Smith, Khyle Marshall and Ronald Nored. And if Mack returns? Watch out. |
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25 | Wisconsin | 25-9 | Jon Leuer is off but Jordan Taylor will compete with Jared Sullinger for Big Ten Player of the Year. |
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First Five Out
Florida: The backcourt of Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton will be back. Now all they need to do is completely rebuild their front line. Paging Patric Young.
Gonzaga: The ‘Zags just won’t go away. With Elias Harris and Robert Sacre likely back, they are set in the post. And if David Stockton keeps playing like John, Gonzaga will be very good.
West Virginia: Bob Huggins is a master and Truck Bryant and Kevin Jones are enough to sneak into the Top 30.
Florida State: If Chris Singleton stays, FSU should be back in the Sweet Sixteen – at least. But that’s unlikely. Without him? It would take a Herculean effort.
St. John’s: Gone is the entire starting line-up. Well then it’s a good thing Steve Lavin has five of the top 51 recruits headed to Queens, including Compton big man Norvel Pelle. The “Lav Five,” anyone?
