re: Tide Hoops | Please Anchor

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College basketball No. 1-358 rankings: Preseason countdown concludes with top 68 teams for 2021-22 season

The 2021-22 college basketball season is going to provide us with unique freshman talent, a re-emergence of blueblood powerhouses, the best parade of big men the sport's seen in a decade, a Gonzaga team that's good enough to finish what last year's group couldn't, the send-off season of Mike Krzyzewski, the first FULL season of games in two years, a stream of surprises and another 200-or-so fun storylines that will emerge over the next six months.

But before we can get to that, we've got to wrap up the business at hand. It's time to take the cover off the top of my rankings. Below you will find the 68 projected best teams in men's college basketball in 2021-22.

Here you'll find the Final Four big boys, the NCAA Tournament long shots, the inevitably disappointing No. 8 seeds, the mid-major party-crashers, the under-the-radar Sweet 16 chasers, the sleepers, favorites, well-kept secrets and don't-over-look-them treasures ... all just waiting to be watched in this glorious, cosmic-gumbo of a season ahead.

Whereas the first two installments went from ranking the better teams at the top and worked their way down, we're going to flip this and do a true countdown here, starting with No. 68 and winding our way to No. 1. Without further ado!

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9. Alabama: This is what the best season in program history gets you: top-10 respect the next season. Nate Oats lost some quality players but has enough returning -- and a top-15 recruiting class -- to allow me to be a little daring and project the Tide so high. What hurts: No Nimari Burnett. A torn ACL will keep the Texas Tech transfer/likely sixth man sidelined. Even without him, SEC coaches told me Jahvon Quinerly will emerge as a top-five player in the SEC, with Jaden Shackelford not so far behind. With five-star freshman combo guard J.D. Davison also in tow, Bama should have the best backcourt in the SEC. Early indications are Furman transfer Noah Gurley is bulking up and ready to play the 5 for a team that famously goes all-in on layups, dunks and 3s. The reigning SEC champs will be heavily tested. I expect them to have 28-30 wins by the time their tournament run ends.

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My 12 toughest teams to rank in the top 100:

» Alabama
» Duke
» Dayton
» Ole Miss
» Michigan State
» Georgetown
» Louisville
» Arizona
» Texas Tech
» Rutgers
» St. John's
» Nebraska

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