NCAA basketball power rankings ahead of 2022-2023 season: Featuring Duke, Kentucky, and more
The 2022-2023 NCAA basketball season is set to tip off in less than a month. With the college basketball landscape constantly shifting, the nation's top teams generally remain the same. The top-five teams entering the upcoming season will feature several annual contenders.
1. Gonzaga Bulldogs
The Gonzaga Bulldogs have remained one of the top teams in college basketball since head coach Mark Few took over in 1999.
Despite losing star big man Chet Holmgren and point guard Andrew Nembhard, the Bulldogs remain among the top teams in the nation. Star big man Drew Timme will return for his senior season with two All-American selections on his resume. The Bulldogs landed Malachi Smith, one of the nation's top transfers, and will pair him with Timme.
They will enter 2022-2023 looking for the first NCAA title in the program's history.
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2. North Carolina Tar Heels
The North Carolina Tar Heels made the NCAA National Championship game in their first year under head coach Hubert Davis, losing to the Kansas Jayhawks.
The team will return the majority of the core of that title runner-up team, as their only departure was Brady Manek. The recent graduate has been replaced by incoming transfer Pete Nance. The Tar Heels will be looking for their first national title since 2016-2017 and their seventh in program history.
They will be led by the returning duo of Armando Bacot and Caleb Love.
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3. Duke Blue Devils
The Duke Blue Devils advanced to the Final Four before being eliminated in legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski's final season.
The Blue Devils had five players selected in the 2022 NBA Draft, including first overall selection Paolo Banchero. Fellow first-rounders Mark Williams, A.J. Griffin, and Wendell Moore Jr. were also picked.
Junior guard Jeremy Roach is the only rotation player from last year's Final Four team that will return under incoming head coach Jon Scheyer. The Blue Devils, however, landed the nation's top recruiting class.
Incoming freshmen Dariq Whitehead, Dereck Lively, and Kyle Filipowski were three of the top four recruits in the 2022 class. They will look to lead the Blue Devils to their first national title since 2014-2015 and sixth in program history.
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4. Kentucky Wildcats
The Kentucky Wildcats will be looking to win their second NCAA title under head coach John Calipari.
Following a shocking first-round upset in the 2022 NCAA tournament, the Wildcats will return consensus national player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe. With Shaedon Sharpe and TyTy Washington departing for the NBA, the Wildcats will look to point guard Sahvir Wheeler and incoming freshmen Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston to lead the team alongside Tshiebwe.
They will be looking for their first national title since 2011-2012 and their ninth in program history.
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5. Houston Cougars
The Houston Cougars will enter the 2022-2023 season coming off a tough Elite Eight loss.
Head coach Kelvin Sampson and the Cougars will be without three of their leading scorers from the previous season. Kyler Edwards, Fabian White, Josh Carlton, and Taze Moore have all graduated. Getting guards Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark back from injury should help replace the production, as should five-star recruit Jarace Walker.
The Cougars will be looking to win the NCAA Championship for the first time in the program's history.
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