1 Gonzaga Multiple Zags will likely at least consider entering the NBA Draft - among them Filip Petrusev. But, for these purposes, I've projected everybody who can return to return, which would Mark Few three of the top five scorers back from a team that finished 38-2 and would've been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Combine that with a top-10 recruiting class highlighted by 5-star guard Jalen Suggs, and Gonzaga should be considered the favorite to win the 2021 NCAA Tournament. -- 31-2

2 Baylor The top three scorers from a Baylor team that spent multiple weeks ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll should be back - and that doesn't even include Mark Vital, a finalist for the Naismith Defense Player of the Year award. Leading the way is Jared Butler, who averaged a team-high 16.0 points, 3.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Scott Drew's Bears should be the preseason favorite in the Big 12 as long as nobody leaves school early. -- 26-4

3 Villanova Saddiq Bey, at this point, qualifies as a consensus projected first-round pick. So the projection is that Villanova will lose its leading scorer from a team that went 7-1 in its final eight games. But everybody else should be back, which leaves Jay Wright with a talented and experienced roster built to win big. And if Bey ultimately decides to return to Villanova for at least one more season, the Wildcats will be a contender to be No. 1 in the preseason. -- 24-7

4 Virginia Virginia should return three starters from a team that closed the regular season with eight consecutive victories thanks to a defense that ranked first nationally in efficiency. Former Marquette standout Sam Hauser, who averaged 14.9 points and 7.2 rebounds two seasons ago, will be eligible after sitting out the 2019-20 campaign. He'll make an immediate impact and have Tony Bennett in a position to compete for a second national championship in a three-year span. -- 23-7

5 Houston This ranking is based on the Cougars returning the top six scorers from a team that shared the American Athletic Conference title and finished 14th at KenPom. If Quentin Grimes and/or DeJon Jarreau decide to pursue a professional career, the ceiling will be lowered. But, for now, there's no reason to have Kelvin Sampson's team outside of the top 10 or as anything other than the clear favorite in the AAC. -- 23-8

6 Iowa Luka Garza will be the obvious preseason national player of the year if he returns to Iowa for his senior season, which is among the reasons he's expected to return to Iowa for his senior season. Presumably, he'll be joined by the four other starters from a team that finished 23rd at KenPom. And don't forget: Iowa will get Jordan Bohannon back after a redshirt season. So Fran McCaffery should have the best team he's ever had in 22 years as a Division I head coach. -- 20-11

7 Kansas Devon Dotson's decision to enter the NBA Draft after two seasons means the Jayhawks will be without the top two scorers from a team that would've been the overall No. 1 seed in the 2020 NCAA Tournament. That's not ideal. But the arrival of 5-star guard Bryce Thompson, combined with an experienced core of Ochai Agbaji, Marcus Garrett, David McCormack and Christian Braun, should provide Bill Self with enough to compete for yet another Big 12 title. -- 28-3

8 Duke Vernon Carey, Tre Jones and Cassius Stanley have all announced they're in the NBA Draft. So the Blue Devils are losing their top three scorers, and four of their top six, from this past season's team that finished tied for second in the ACC. Still, the expected return of Matthew Hurt and Wendell Moore should give Mike Krzyzewski two experienced and reliable pieces to pair with a top-two recruiting class highlighted by 5-star prospects Jalen Johnson, Jeremy Roach and DJ Steward. So Coach K winning a sixth national title remains in the cards. -- 25-6

9 Kentucky The Wildcats are losing their top four scorers for the fourth consecutive season - most notably SEC Player of the Year Immanuel Quickley. That's rough. But if any program is built to overcome these departures, it's the one set to enroll the nation's top-ranked recruiting class featuring 5-star guards Terrence Clarke, BJ Boston and Devin Askew. Can E.J. Montgomery have a breakthrough season like the one Nick Richards just produced? The answer to that question could be what determines whether Kentucky wins the SEC for what would be the fifth time in a seven-year span. -- 25-6

10 Creighton Every player who started a game for Creighton this past season was projected to return - but that changed when Ty-Shon Alexander, the Bluejays' leading scorer, announced his intention to enter the NBA Draft and suggested he plans to remain in it. That's an unfortunate development for Creighton. But, even if Alexander is gone, Greg McDermott should still bring back four starters from a team that was the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament mostly because of an offense that ranked third nationally in efficiency. So the Bluejays could be really good again and a possible candidate to make the Final Four for the first time in school history. -- 24-7

11 Wisconsin Wisconsin got better after Kobe King quit the team in January - evidence being how the Badgers won eight straight games to close the regular season and shared the Big Ten crown with Maryland and Michigan State. Now the top five scorers from the final-game roster are expected back. The best of the bunch might be Micah Potter, who averaged 10.1 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 52.8% from the field. He's among the reasons Wisconsin will have a chance to secure back-to-back league titles. -- 21-10

12 Michigan St. If Xavier Tillman decides to return to school, Michigan State will move into the top 10. But, for now, the presumption is that the 6-8 forward is done with college basketball, which means the Spartans will likely be without the top two players from a team that shared the Big Ten title with Maryland and Wisconsin. Finding a suitable replacement at point guard for Cassius Winston won't be easy. But Tom Izzo hasn't missed the NCAA Tournament since 1997 - and that'll still be true after next season. -- 22-9

13 Tennessee Tennessee is adding 5-star guards Jaden Springer and Keon Johnson to a core of John Fulkerson, Yves Pons, Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James. That's a strong roster that should result in a bounce-back season for the Vols, who look like the biggest challenger to Kentucky in the SEC -- especially if Fulkerson performs like he did in the final 10 games of the season, when he averaged 18.3 points while shooting 57.3% from the field. -- 17-14

14 W. Virginia The Mountaineers collapsed down the stretch and lost six of their final nine games, but they still finished 10th at KenPom, which suggests they were better than their record. Now West Virginia is expected to return the top three players from that team - most notably Oscar Tshiebwe, who averaged 11.2 points and 9.3 rebounds while shooting 55.2% from the field. So Bob Huggins will enter next season with an accomplished roster good enough to compete for a Big 12 title. -- 21-10

15 N. Carolina Roy Williams just endured what he called the toughest season of his coaching career- one that resulted in five more losses (19) than wins (14). It was rough. But the 2020-21 season will be much better - even if Cole Anthony leaves as expected - thanks to the arrival of a top-three recruiting class featuring 5-star prospects Day'Ron Sharpe, Walker Kessler and Caleb Love. Assuming Garrison Brooks, Armando Bacot, Anthony Harris and Leaky Black all return, UNC will be talented enough to push Virginia and Duke at the top of the ACC. -- 14-19

16 San Diego St San Diego State was the biggest surprise of this season - evidence being how the Aztecs started 97th at KenPom before finishing sixth. A big reason for that was Malachi Flynn's breakout season. And assuming the All-American point guard returns for his senior year, San Diego State will again be the team to beat in the Mountain West Conference and a real factor on the national stage too. -- 30-2

17 Texas Tech Texas Tech lost four of the top five scorers from its team that played for the 2019 national title but still finished 21st at KenPom in 2020. Next season, the Red Raiders will still have two players (Davide Moretti, Kyler Edwards) from that 2019 team to go with a top-15 recruiting class highlighted by 4-star prospects Nimari Burnett and Micah Peavy. So even if Jahmi'us Ramsey leaves early for the NBA Draft, which is expected and reflected here, Chris Beard will operate in the top half of the Big 12 again. 1 18-13

18 Ohio St. Ohio State recently beat Duke for graduate-transfer Seth Towns - a 6-8 forward from Harvard who was the Ivy League Player of the Year in 2018. His arrival alone won't cancel out the expected departure of Kaleb Wesson, which is reflected here, but it'll help. Meantime, Duane Washington, CJ Walker and Kyle Young should provide Chris Holtmann with an experienced nucleus on a team that is projected to return five of the top nine scorers from a roster that finished No. 8 at KenPom this season. 1 21-10

19 Texas The Longhorns are considered the leader for 5-star big Greg Brown. Assuming he eventually enrolls, which this ranking is based on, the 6-9 forward will be a part of a roster that could return every player who helped Texas go 5-1 in its final six games and develop into a likely NCAA Tournament team. So next season's UT team could be the best UT team Shaka Smart has coached since taking over in Austin. 1 19-12

20 UCLA The greatest in-season turnaround of the 2019-20 season belonged to UCLA, which went from 8-9 to 19-12 by going 11-3 in its final 14 games. It was incredible stuff from Mick Cronin and his staff. And now the top five scorers from that team should be back -- among them Chris Smith, who averaged a team-high 13.1 points per game. He'll be joined by 5-star point guard Daishen Nix, a one-and-done talent who makes the Bruins the favorites in the Pac-12. 1 19-12

21 Arizona St. The surprising addition Josh Christopher was a major development for Arizona State, which should be able to pair the 5-star guard with an experienced core of double-digit scorers in Remy Martin, Alonzo Verge and Romello White. If so, that's a talented enough roster to put Bobby Hurley's Sun Devils in a position to finish in the top three of the Pac-12 for what would be the third consecutive season. NR 20-11

22 Oregon It's impossible to overstate what losing somebody like Payton Pritchard will mean to Oregon; he was fabulous and a worthy All-American. But two of the other top-three scorers from the Pac-12 champs are expected back - and Dana Altman is working the transfer market again. So it would be foolish to assume the Ducks will do anything but compete for another Pac-12 title. -- 24-7

23 Rutgers Rutgers is expected to return seven of the top eight scorers from a team that finished 28th at KenPom - most notably double-digit scorers Ron Harper Jr. and Geo Baker. Beyond that, the Scarlet Knights are adding a consensus top-50 prospect in Cliff Omoruyi. So winning at the RAC will once again be a difficult task for opponents because Steve Pikiell should have a team equipped to make the NCAA Tournament for what would be, under normal circumstances, the second straight season. -- 20-11

24 Stanford A late commitment from 5-star wing Ziaire Williams was enough to push Stanford into the Top 25 And 1 under the assumption that Tyrell Terry will ultimately withdraw from the NBA Draft. If that happens, the Cardinal will add a heralded freshman to a roster featuring the top six scorers from last season's team that finished in the top 45 at KenPom and entered the Pac-12 Tournament on the bubble. -- 20-12

25 LSU Trendon Watford's decision to enter the NBA Draft means LSU is losing its top two scorers from a team that finished tied for second in the SEC. But as long as Emmitt Williams and Javonte Smart return, which is the projection here, Will Wade should still have a good enough nucleus to pair with a top-10 recruiting class that'll give the Tigers a chance to finish in the top four of the SEC for the third consecutive season. -- 21-10