NHL Best Bets for Tuesday (11/19)
Kenneth Le
The dust has mostly settled around college basketball after the chaos of the transfer portal and the majority of rosters have their key pieces in place. The NCAA’s early entrant deadline is less than 24 hours away, which means we will see one last flurry of activity with players either returning or staying in the NBA draft. We released a way-too-early top-25 ranking right after the season ended but things have changed quite a bit with roster shakeups and coaching changes.
We have a clearer picture now so I present to you the second edition of FTN’s Top 25 rankings for the 24-25 season.
NCAA Top 25 for the 2024-2025 College Basketball Season
No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks
The No. 1 ranking was open to interpretation a couple of months back, but that is no longer the case now as the Jayhawks will come into the new season as the team to be beat. Top big man Hunter Dickinson is back along with roster staples KJ Adams and DaJuan Harris. Coach Bill Self was busy in the portal adding impact players AJ Storr (Wisconsin), Rylan Griffen (Alabama) and Zeke Mayo (South State). They could be even more dangerous if Jonny Furphy pulls his name out of the draft tonight. Needless to say, depth won’t be an issue like it was last season.
No. 2 Houston Cougars
The Cougars were the No. 1 team in my first rankings release but lose that spot with star guard Jamal Shead deciding to stay in the draft. Even without Shead they are still a formidable group that should hover around the top five all year long. Continuity has become extremely important in college basketball and the Cougars will be returning 10 players from last year’s roster. They’ve added Oklahoma transfer Milos Uzan to fill Shead’s role and leaps will be expected from high upside options such as JoJo Tugler and Manny Sharp. Returnees J’Wan Roberts and LJ Cryer provide much needed leadership as well.
No. 3 Iowa State Cyclones
The Big 12 is loaded as usual, and you can see I’m placing a high value on this group based on the first three rankings. The Cyclones don’t get the same level of hype as some of the other programs on this list but they’re a legitimate Final Four contender and a team that I plan to place a significant futures bet on. TJ Otzelberger brings back his stout backcourt in Tamin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert along with breakout candidate Milan Momcilovic and super sub Curtis Jones. A large portion of the frontcourt graduated but they bring in an intriguing group of transfers in Josh Jefferson (St. Mary’s), Dishon Jackson (Charlotte), Nate Heise (UNI) and Brandton Chatfield (Seattle U).
No. 4 Baylor Bears
The Kentucky job was offered to Scott Drew, but he ultimately decided to stay with the school he has already won a championship with, and the Baylor Bears have a real chance at winning another one next year. The Bears have had as good of an offseason as anyone in the country having added big man Norchad Omier (Miami FL), tough as nails guard Jeremy Roach (Duke) and 3-point specialist Jalen Celestine (Cal). Get familiar with 5-star VJ Edgecombe now. The McDonald’s All-American is the real deal and a surefire one-and-done lotto pick. Important returnees include Jayden Nunn, Langston Love and Josh Ojianwuna.
No. 5 Gonzaga Bulldogs
The Zags break up the run of Big 12 teams as they come in at No. 5. Some may say this isn’t high enough for them, as they may have their best roster since the Jalen Suggs-led squad that went to the 2021 title game. Ryan Nembhard, Graham Ike, Nolan Hickman, Ben Gregg, Dusty Stromer and Braden Huff all return. That group alone would be worthy of a top 10 slot, but they’ve also added scoring machine Khalif Battle (Arkansas) and versatile NBA prospect Michael Ajayi (Pepperdine). Additionally, Steele Venters is healthy after missing all of last season with an injury. He was a 15 PPG scorer at EWU back in 2022. This team is a lock to make the tournament for a 26th straight season and a threat to make a Final Four run as well.
No. 6 UConn Huskies
My first iteration of these rankings had UConn at 4, something that was considered controversial at the time. They’re losing Cam Spencer, Donovan Clingan, Stephon Castle and Tristen Newton, which would be a death sentence for most. However, UConn was in a similar position the year before after losing Jordan Hawkins, Adama Sanogo and Andre Jackson. We saw how that turned out. They will need sophomores Solo Ball, Jaylin Stewart and Jayden Ross to take a step forward but all three were part of the new-era “Fab 5” with Stephon Castle last year so the talent is there. Stalwarts Hassan Diarra and Samson Johnson return and a decision still looms from Alex Karaban regarding his future. Aidan Mahaney (St. Mary’s) and Tarris Reed (Michigan) were added from the portal but the biggest addition may be 5-star commit Liam McNeeley, a player most consider to be a one-and-done lottery prospect.
No. 7 North Carolina Tar Heels
Surefire preseason All-American RJ Davis returns for his fifth and final season and is within 800 points of the school’s all-time scoring record. Other returnees include Elliott Cadeau, Seth Trimble, Jalen Washington and Jae’Lyn Withers. Replacing Heels legend Armando Bacot won’t be easy, but they did land versatile front court player Ven-Allen Lubin from Vanderbilt and Dalton Knecht 2.0 in Cade Tyson. While at Belmont, Tyson scorched the nets to the tune of 46.5% from long range. 5-stars Ian Jackson and Drake Powell will be heavily in the mix as well.
No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide
Nate Oats runs a system that is perfect for modern basketball, and their impressive Final Four run could potentially be replicated this year as the team has beefed up their roster in a variety of ways. Mark Sears and Jarin Stevenson will be making their decisions regarding the draft but even if they don’t return, Bama has the pieces to be a real contender once again. Aden Holloway (Auburn), Cliff Omoruyi (Rutgers), Chris Youngblood (USF) and Houston Mallette (Pepperdine) were all added via the portal while 5-star Derrion Reid could be a star sooner rather than later for this team. Latrell Wrightsell and Gran Nelson are back which means Oats has a great mix of veterans as well as new talent to give the rest of the SEC plenty of headaches.
No. 9 Duke Blue Devils
The Blue Devils were gutted by the transfer portal and NBA draft but still have a roster that will make most envious. Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster are the only players returning but they bring in one of the best Freshmen classes in America. No. 1 recruit Cooper Flagg is a possible generational star, and the media coverage will be Zion Williamson-like all year long. Coach on Scheyer was active in the portal as well, adding Sion James (Tulane), Maliq Brown (Syracuse), Cam Sheffield (Rice) and Mason Gillis (Purdue). This group has it all.
No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies
The Aggies lose a part of their identity with the graduation of “Boots” Radford, but SEC POY-caliber Wade Taylor returns along with brand-favorite Manny Obaseki, Andersson Garcia and Solo Washington. Transfers Zhuric Phelps (SMU), Pharrel Payne (Minnesota) and CJ Wilcher (Nebraska) shore things up as the Aggies look to build on their success of last season.
No. 11 Arizona Wildcats
The Wildcats landed key transfers Trey Townsend (Oakland), Tobe Awaka (Tenn) and Anthony Dell’Orso (Campbell). Those additions combined with the return of Caleb Love, KJ Lewis, Jaden Bradley and Motiejus Krivas will make their transition to the Big 12 much smoother.
No. 12 Auburn Tigers
Our guy Johni Broome is back along with other important players like Chad Baker and Denver Jones. They lost a bit in the portal but were able to add JP Pegues (Furman) to be their point guard and Miles Kelly (Georgia Tech) is a perfect fit for Bruce Pearl’s system. The Tigers will also get hefty contributions from top 30 recruit Tahaad Pettiford and SMU transfer Ja’Heim Hudson. Broome is going to be a truly destructive force in the SEC and the Tigers will go as far as he can take them.
No. 13 Purdue Boilermakers
Life without Zach Edey begins now, but the Boilers have plenty of talent returning to be one of the top teams in the Big 10. The continuity is there, as they’ll be returning the back court of Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer while Trey Kaufman-Renn will be stepping into the featured front court role. He showed flashes at times last year and is a beast on the block. Camden Heide and Myles Colvin are the breakout candidates on this roster.
No. 14 Marquette Golden Eagles
The loss of all-world guard Tyler Kolek and productive forward Oso Ighodaro would be a death blow for most programs, but don’t count Shaka Smart out just yet. They’ll be returning three starters in Kam Jones, Stevie Mitchell and David Joplin. Kam Jones will be a 20 PPG scorer without Kolek, and he will be extremely fun to watch. This group will also include a rotation of Chase Ross, Ben Gold, Zaide Lowery and Tre Norman, all of which contributed last season.
No. 15 Maryland Terrapins
I’m all-in on the Terps this year and feel really good about where they stand heading into the new season. The front court duo of Julian Reese and McDonalds All-American Derik Queen will be formidable while DeShawn Harris-Smith will be given a chance to blossom after an erratic freshman campaign. Transfers Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Belmont), Selton Miguel (USF), Rodney Rice (Va Tech) and Tafara Gapare (Georgia Tech) were added to help solve the depth issues that plagued this team last year. Coach Kevin Willard and his staff have put together a roster that is going to surprise people this season.
No. 16 UCLA Bruins
The Bruins went the International route last year when it came to building their roster, and what resulted was a disappointing 16-17 season. The team just never gelled and most of their players were far too raw to make any real impact. Fast forward a year and Mick Cronin didn’t make the same mistake twice. His staff went into the portal, and they came out with a plethora of interesting pieces. William Kyle (South Dakota St), Skyy Clark (Louisville), Eric Dailey (Ok State), Kobe Johnson (USC), Dom Harris (LMU) and Tyler Bilodeau (Oregon State) all bring experience and productivity that the Bruins simply didn’t have last year. Dylan Andrews, Sebastian Mack and Lazar Stefanovic are returning players that all averaged double-figure scoring a season ago. Their first year in the Big 10 won’t be easy, but they’ve got a capable roster that will be competitive.
No. 17 Florida Gators
The decision by Walter Clayton to return for his senior season was huge for Todd Golden and the Gators. His return vaulted the Gators into our rankings. He averaged 17.6 PPG last year and will be a go-to option for this team. Micah Handlogten is taking a medical redshirt after a scary injury last year, but they’ll have Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh and WSU transfer Rueben Chinyelu holding it down in the front court. FAU transfer Alijah Martin will be a solid Robin to Clayton’s Batman.
No. 18 Ohio State Buckeyes
The Buckeyes finished 8-3 after Jake Diebler took over for Chris Holtmann, which was good enough for him to keep the job. Meechie Johnson comes back to the program after spending the last two seasons with South Carolina. He will form a 1-2 punch with Bruce Thornton. They’ve also added a group that includes Sean Stewart (Duke), Micah Parrish (SDSU) and Aaron Bradshaw (Kentucky).
No. 19 Tennessee Volunteers
The Vols defense will be strong as usual, but it remains to be seen if the offense can compete at a high level without Dalton Knecht. Zakai Zeigler will be one of the best point guards in the country and if he can push his 3-point shooting into the 40% range, he will be far more dangerous. They’ll be replacing departing players with Felix Okpara (OSU), Darlinstone Dubar (Hofstra), Chaz Lanier (North Florida) and Igor Milic (Charlotte).
No. 20 Indiana Hoosiers
Mike Woodson has never had a problem with building a talented roster. The issue has been his ability to coach/develop that talent into an elite team. The Hoosiers have been one of the big winners of the portal, adding Oumar Ballo (Arizona), Luke Goode (Illinois), Myles Rice (WSU), Kanaan Carlyle (Stanford) and Langdon Hatton (Bellarmine). The returning trio of Trey Galloway, Mackenzie Mgbako and Malik Reneau give the Hoosiers a variety of scoring options. It’s time for Woodson to deliver results with a team this loaded.
No. 21 Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns will be joining the SEC with a revamped roster that includes transfers Tramon Mark (Arkansas), Jordan Pope (Oregon State), Jayson Kent (ISU), Julian Larry (ISU) and Malik Presely (Vandy). Top-five frosh Tre Johnson is a tantalizing prospect while upper classmen Kadin Shedrick and Chendall Weaver round out the rest of the roster.
No. 22 Cincinnati Bearcats
Wes Miller has made the Bearcats relevant again, and they’ll enter the new season with an impressive group of high caliber players. Day Day Thomas, Daniel Skillings, Jizzle James, Simas Lukosius and Aziz Bandaogo are back after winning 22 games together. They’ve also added Dillon MItchell (Texas), Arrinten Page (USC) and Connor Hickman (Bradley) from the portal.
No. 23 Rutgers Scarlet Knights
The Scarlet Knights will feature a pair of likely first-round draft picks in top freshmen Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper. EMU scoring machine Tyson Acuff and NEC POY Jordan Derkack are also on board. This team will have no shortage of talent and another step forward for Jeremiah Williams could make Rutgers a dark horse second weekend tourney team in March.
No. 24 Xavier Musketeers
Coach Sean Miller and his staff have infused the program with a tremendous amount of talent. Facilitator Dayvion McKnight is back along with Zach Freemantle and Jerome Hunter after missing all of last season with injuries. Transfers Ryan Conwell (ISU), Marcus Foster (Furman), John Hugley (Oklahoma), Dante Maddox (Toledo), Cam’Ron Fletcher (FSU). Roddie Anderson (Boise) and Lassina Traore (Long Beach) give Xavier endless lineup possibilities.
No. 25 Missouri Tigers
I’m predicting a bounceback season for Dennis Gates and the Tigers. They nabbed Tony Perkins (Iowa), Mark Mitchell (Duke), Jacob Crews (UT Martin), Josh Gray (South Carolina) and Marques Warriick (NKU) from the portal which is a tremendous haul. They’ll also be returning breakout scorer Tamar Bates and Caleb Grill, who somehow has played college basketball since the Clinton administration.
