Last season, the Baylor Bears was the best team in college basketball but this is a new year. New recruits and break-out stars are among us. Let us take a look at the Top 25 teams in college basketball for the 2021-22 season according to Anthony Forrester.
1. Memphis- Penny Hardaway will be entering his fourth season as head coach with the Tigers. In his first three seasons, the Tigers haven’t reached the NCAA Tournament but last season the team won the NIT. The Tigers have been known for defense under Penny Hardaway and finished last year with the best defense in the nation. Memphis looks to break into the tournament this year with star recruits Jalen Duren and Emoni Bates. With these two leading the charge for the Tigers expect this team to make a run for the title with their youth and defensive intensity.
2. Gonzaga- The Bulldogs are coming off a great season last year where the team only defeat ended up coming in the National Championship game to Baylor. With the loss of three starters, the Bulldogs will lean on returning starter Drew Timme and Andrew Nembhard to lead them back to the title game. Drew and Andrew aren’t alone as the Bulldogs are bringing in the number 1 recruit in Chet Holmgren. This reloaded Gonzaga roster is going to be a tough matchup all season.
3. Duke- The Blue Devils will be enjoying their last year with Coach K with the best recruiting class in the nation. Adding top recruits Paolo Banchero and A.J. Griffin will make the Blue Devils an improved team from a year ago. Paolo is a potential number 1 pick in next year draft with his ability to play multiple positions and offensive versatility. Mark Williams showed flashes of being a top player for the Blue Devils last season and looks to help bring a title home for Coach K one of the greatest coaches of all time in his last season.
4. Villanova- Point guard Collin Gillespie and forward Jermaine Samuels are returning on another year of eligibility due to COVID-19 which is great for Coach Wright and the Wildcats. Collin missed all of last year and should return to being one of the best guards in the nation. Villanova will be surrounding Collin with returners in Samuels, Justin Moore, and Caleb Daniels.
5. UCLA- Last season the Bruins caught the nation by storm in the NCAA tournament when they reached the Final Four but lost to Gonzaga by a half-court buzzer-beater by Jalen Suggs. This year the Bruins will be lead by Johnny Juzang last year’s breakout star in the NCAA tournament. Top 10 recruit Peyton Watson will be joining Juzang as the two will try to lead the Bruins back to where they were a year ago but this time making it past the Final Four.
6. Texas- This season the Longhorns will have a new head coach leading their squad with Coach Chris Beard replacing Shaka Smart. Chris Beard might have had the best transfer portal this year with key additions like Timmy Allen out of Utah a scorer out of the Pac-12 and point guard Marcus Carr out of Minnesota who will compete for the lead guard position. With a outstanding transfer portal and Andrew Jones and Courtney Ramey returning as key players for the Longhorns making them a top team immediately.
7. Kansas- Last season the Jayhawks had a disappointing season but the addition of top transfer portal guards in Remy Martin and Joseph Yesufu will be a improvement for them coming into this season. Remy has been a key player Arizona State and looks to bring that same impact with him to Kansas. These two will fit well with a Kansas roster that will have depth and experience with players like Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun. The Jayhawks look to avenge last season with a much improved season lead by Coach Bill Self and his talented roster.
8. Purdue- The Boilermakers are returning an all-around team with one of the best players in the conference in Jaden Ivey. Zach Edey was impressive last season and looks to show that he is one of the best Centers in the nation. The Boilermakers will be looking for redemption after getting upset by the number 13 seed North Texas in the tournament last year. Expect Purdue to make some noise this season.
9. Ohio State- The Buckeyes ended last season with an upset loss vs Oral Roberts in the NCAA tournament. The loss of Duane Washington Jr. will cause the team to come together to fill that void. Incoming freshmen Malaki Branham looks to make an impact with the Buckeyes. Ohio State wasted no time securing experienced guards in Jamari Wheeler out of Penn State and Cedric Russell out of Louisiana-Lafayette. It will come down to E.J. Liddell on how far the Buckeyes will go. His ability to dominate down low and stretch it out to the perimeter a little will be key for Buckeyes as the team tries to get back to last year’s top 16 in the nation caliber team.
10. Kentucky- Head Coach John Calipari had a very disappointing season last year with a major issue being point guard play. Calipari fixed that with transfer Sahvir Wheeler out of Georgia and star recruit TyTy Washington. Kellan Grady a transfer out of Davidson and Oscar Tshiebwe out of West Virgina look to give the Wildcats a chance to have a much improved roster this season.
11. Houston- With the phenomenal program Coach Kelvin Sampson has built he will continue to get the team together even with the recent departure of recently drafted Cougar star Quentin Grimes. Marcus Sasser is ready to be the leader of this Cougars team after putting up impressive seasons with growth in each one of them. The Cougars were active on the transfer portal with additions of Kyler Edwards of Texas Tech, Josh Carlton of UConn, and Taze Moore of Cal State Bakersfield. These players fit the mold that Coach Sampson has built here. Houston will be a tough matchup all year under Coach Sampson.
12. Arkansas- The Razorbacks reloaded in the transfer portal with a very solid guard in Chris Lykes out of Miami. Au’Diese Toney out of Pittsburgh, and Stanley Umude out of South Dakota are going to play well in Musselman’s system with their ability to play positionless basketball and bring versatility which is important for the Razorbacks. Davonte “Devo” Davis and JD Notae are the key returners that the Razorbacks look at to bring leadership this season.
13. North Carolina- With legendary Roy Williams retiring and no longer at the helm Hubert Davis will be taking over the Tar Heels as they look to embark on a new chapter of Carolina basketball. Coach Davis is taking over a very good roster with potential to be a top team in the ACC. The Tarheels will be lead by Caleb Love and a Top 25 player in the nation in Armando Bacot who look to bring Carolina back to the promise land under Coach Davis in his first season as head coach with the Tarheels.
14. Baylor- The defending National Champions did have some key departures but will stay among college basketball elite this season. The Bearcats have some intriguing freshmen in 5 star forward Kendall Brown and Langston Love the dynamic guard. Matthew Mayer will need to step up and show he can be the best player. This is an opportunity to show that last year NBA interest wasn’t a fluke and Matthew should be on teams radar. James Akonjo the transfer out of Arizona will be the point guard for the bearcats and will look to keep the Bearcats competitive all year.
15. Michigan- Juwan Howard has made Michigan one of the top college basketball programs again. His ability to connect with his players and get them to play hard for him are part of their culture. Hunter Dickerson is the star center for the wolverines and will have a very solid core around him. With the addition of DeVante’ Jones out of Costal Carolina will give the wolverines a veteran guard the team will need to steer the ship. Michigan is bringing in five-star recruit Caleb Houstan who is known to be a shooter.
16. Florida State- Coach Leonard Hamilton has proven to be one of the best coaches in college basketball. Florida State will be having some departures but the addition and returning players are going to keep the Seminoles consistent like they have been for the last three years. Jalen Warley and Matthew Cleveland are some of the top recruits and look to make an impact like former incoming freshmen in the recent years have for the Seminoles. Caleb Mills is a big-time transfer that will have the opportunity to carry a lot of the offensive load if need be. Anthony Polite and Malik Osbourn are key returners that will bring that experience to the team to help guide the team.
17. Virginia Tech- Virginia Tech will be led by an early candidate for the best player in the ACC in Keve Aluma. Keve will be joined in the backcourt by Storm Murphy the transfer out of Wofford who shot 40% from three while averaging 17.7 points per game. Storm looks to bring a splash to the Hokies which will be key as the team believes it will be competing for the top of the ACC. With a majority of last year’s starters returning the Hokies look to display that chemistry as they want to compete for something bigger this season.
18. Syracuse- Coach Boeheim’s legendary 2-3 defense and consistency in the ACC has made him a great coach. Coach Boeheim son Buddy Boeheim emerged as a star in last year’s March Madness as he will be a big reason for Syracuse success this season. The orange brings in another top recruit in Benny Williams while adding two transfers in Cole Swider and Symir Torrence. Expect the Orange to make it tough on any team this season.
19. Auburn- The Tigers have the number 4 recruit in the nation coming to town to join UNC transfer Walker Kessler to form a very good frontcourt. Auburn was active in the transfer portal with players such as K.D. Johnson out of Georgia, Wendell Green out of EKU, and Zep Jasper out of College of Charleston which brings experience this team needs. Allen Flanigan and Jaylin Williams will try to take off where they left off from last season with both being scorers for the team. Auburn looks to be hungry after last year’s self-imposed ban giving them an opportunity to really make noise.
20. Alabama- Coach Nate Oats has built a very good program at Alabama and has been able to land top recruits as well. Winning an SEC title so early is a great accomplishment and is only the beginning of many for Coach Oats. Jahvon Quinerly will be looked at to lead this offense after last year being able to impact the game but with eyes on other players like Herbert Jones. JD is a very exciting point guard that can really surprise you when he is on the floor. Juwan Gary is going to be an x-factor for the crimson tide as he can have a really big impact on this team.
21. Oregon- The ducks look to regroup after a couple of key departures from last season such as first-round pick Chris Duarte. It will be hard to replace what Chris brought to the table but De’Vion Harmon out of Oklahoma and Jacob Young out of Rutgers will bring some depth. Will Richardson and Eric Williams give Altman a backcourt with experience that is going to be major as Oregon looks to stay competitive in the Pac-12.
22. Illinois- Kofi Cockburn is a top 5 player in the country and will demand different looks as teams try to stop him this season. With Kofi Illinois is a top 25 team for sure paired with sophomore Andre Curbelo who has shown flashes of stardom. Alfonso Plummer the transfer from Utah is going to bring high-level shooting to the team, as well as Trent Frazier a solid combo guard, Da’Monte Williams, and Jacob Grandison all, are important pieces to the puzzle.
23. St. Bonaventure- The Bonnies will be returning all five starters in a conference that was very easy for them to win last year in the A-10. St Bonaventure starting 5 is a well-oiled machine that can do everything on the floor as a unit. The Bonnies are top-heavy but did bring in some help in Karim Coulibaly the transfer out of Pitt and JUCO transfer Linton Brown. The Bonnies will be one of the best mid-major programs in the country.
24. Indiana- Indiana incoming freshmen Tamar Bates who was originally committed to Texas is supposed to be one of the best scorers in his class. He should give Mike Woodson a nice offensive weapon in his first year with the Hoosiers. Coach Woodson a former player will bring history and pride to this team. Trayce Jackson-Davis the star big men will be who Woodson will lean on heavy this season.
25. UCONN- The Huskies big man in the middle Adama Sanogo will take on a bigger role as the team is going to be without one of the nation’s top scorers last year James Bouknight. The Huskies are bringing in three top recruits who are looked at to make an impact once they step on campus. Coach Dan Hurley teams always have a defensive identity and that is going to be key for this young Huskies team.
