Top-25 College Basketball Teams for the 2024-25 Season
With commitments and transfer portal decisions nearly at a wrap, Ryan Andrade takes an early look at the top-25 projected college basketball teams, highlighting all the important personnel and roster changes.
Last week, we covered teams 21-25 in Ryan's rankings, so we'll keep it moving this week with teams 16-20.
20. Xavier 
Xavier would have made a lot more noise last season had it not been for their starting frontcourt of Jerome Hunter and Zach Freemantle not playing in a single game due to injuries. Freemantle has been fully cleared to go, while Hunter will still have work to do to recover from an Achilles injury. Freemantle is one of the best big men in the Big East when healthy. Quincy Olivari (19.1 PPG) and Desmonde Claude (16.6 PPG) were both very productive scorers for Xavier last season, but will need to be replaced. Third-leading scorer Dayvion McKnight does come back for another season after leading the team in assists and steals. Coach Sean Miller brought in seven transfers to help fill some of the production left by Olivari and Claude. Dante Maddox and Ryan Conwell both shot above 40 percent from three last season and have a great chance to fill out the starting wing spots. Marcus Foster is also a starting option after ranking top-five in scoring last season in the Southern Conference. Another high-upside pickup was Cam'Ron Fletcher. The 6-7 forward has struggled with injuries throughout his career, but he was a former highly-rated recruit and would be a good stretch four option until Hunter is fully recovered from his Achilles injury. John Hugley from Oklahoma and Lassina Traore from Long Beach State provide good depth on the interior for a frontcourt that has struggled with injuries. If this team stays healthy next season, look out. The Musketeers have elite scoring options at all levels of the court.
Projected Starting Lineup:
PG: Dayvion McKnight (12.4 PPG, 4.8 APG)
SG: Dante Maddox (15.6 PPG at Toledo)
SF: Ryan Conwell (16.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG at Indiana State)
PF: Cam'Ron Fletcher (6.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG at Florida State)
C: Zach Freemantle (15.2 PPG, 8.1 RPG in 2022-23)
Key Reserves: Jerome Hunter (7.8 PPG in 2022-23), Marcus Foster (17.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG at Furman), John Hugley (8.4 PPG at Oklahoma), Lassina Traore (11.9 PPG, 10.3 RPG at Long Beach State), Dailyn Swain (4.6 PPG), Trey Green (5.6 PPG)
19. Cincinnati 
It was a very respectable first season in the Big 12 for Wes Miller's team, which picked up key wins along the way against BYU, TCU, Texas Tech and Kansas. The Bearcats ranked top-20 in defensive efficiency, but were the worst shooting team in the Big 12. While they bring a lot back from last season, the addition of Connor Hickman from Bradley, a healthy CJ Fredrick and a sharpshooting freshman in Tyler Betsey gives this team a lot more offensive firepower to work with going into 2024-25. Dillon Mitchell was a highly-recruited player two years ago and will look to give his collegiate career a fresh start with the Bearcats. The team's top-three scorers from last season will all be back in Day Day Thomas, Dan Skillings and Simas Lukosius. With Viktor Lakhin (9.2 PPG) now gone, that clears the way for Aziz Bandaogo to patrol the paint on a more regular basis. This is a physical team with now more offensive threats and could certainly interrupt the Big 12 race at the top if everything comes together.
Projected Starting Lineup:
PG: Day Day Thomas (10.4 PPG, 3.3 APG)
SG: Dan Skillings (12.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG)
SF: Simas Lukosius (11.8 PPG)
PF: Dillon Mitchell (9.6 PPG, 7.5 RPG at Texas)
C: Aziz Bandaogo (6.6 PPG, 7.4 RPG)
Key Reserves: Connor Hickman (14.5 PPG at Bradley), Jizzle James (8.8 PPG), Arrinten Page (3.1 PPG at USC), CJ Fredrick (6.1 PPG), Tyler Betsey (No. 59 ESPN 100), Tyler McKinley (No. 82 ESPN 100), Josh Reed (2.0 PPG)
18. Marquette 
While Marquette does lose probably its two best players in Tyler Kolek (15.3 PPG, 7.7 APG) and Oso Ighodaro (13.4 PPG, 6.9 RPG), there is a lot of roster continuity here. The Golden Eagles kept all of their remaining players, highlighted by leading scorer Kam Jones. I wouldn't be surprised to see Jones' numbers even better in 2024-25, particularly in assists, with Kolek not dominating the ball anymore. Stevie Mitchell and David Joplin should retain starting spots with Ben Gold likely to jump into the starting center spot. Chase Ross and Sean Jones are likely fighting for the final spot in the starting five. I went with Ross because he's the better shooter, but Jones is a better ball-handler, and coach Shaka Smart could elect to prioritize that with the reliable Kolek no longer in the fold. Smart did not add anyone in the transfer portal, but did pick up commitments from a pair of four-star recruits in Demarius Owens and Royce Parham. They will fight with Zaide Lowery and Tre Norman for minutes off the bench. Marquette likely doesn't have the same upside as last year, but there's a lot of familiarity there, which gives the Golden Eagles a pretty solid floor.
Projected Starting Lineup:
PG: Stevie Mitchell (8.8 PPG)
SG: Kam Jones (17.2 PPG)
SF: Chase Ross (6.1 PPG)
PF: David Joplin (10.8 PPG)
C: Ben Gold (5.0 PPG)
Key Reserves: Sean Jones (5.8 PPG), Zaide Lowery (1.6 PPG), Tre Norman (2.0 PPG), Demarius Owens (No. 81 ESPN 100), Royce Parham (4-star Freshman), Al Amadou (1.2 PPG)
17. Texas 
Max Abmas (16.8 PPG), Dylan Disu (15.5 PPG), Tyrese Hunter (11.1 PPG) and Dillon Mitchell (9.6 PPG) are all gone, but there is a lot of excitement in Austin with the players the Longhorns are brining in as they begin their first season in the SEC. Tramon Mark proved to be an effective scorer and defender at both Houston and Arkansas. He will slot right into the starting small forward slot. Jordan Pope takes over the reigns as the Longhorn's starting point guard after a big season at Oregon State. Arthur Kaluma was a late pickup that pushed them into the top-20 of the rankings. Like Mark, Kaluma proved to be a reliable option at two different high major schools. The most talented player on the team may very well be five-star freshman Tre Johnson. The 6-6 guard is an explosive scorer capable of averaging 15+ PPG right out of the gate. While that's great, he will need to learn how to impact the game without the ball more due to all these other scoring threats on the roster. Kadin Shedrick should slot right in as the starting center. You won't get a lot of offense out of him, but he has proven to be a great rim protector. Julian Larry and Jayson Kent both come over from Indiana State and should be able to make an impact off the bench in the backcourt and frontcourt, respectively. Chendall Weaver is one of the few returning players on the roster and will hope to contribute off the bench again after a solid second half of last season. Coach Rodney Terry has a lot of options to work with, and the Longhorns make for a dark horse candidate to challenge for the title Year 1 in the SEC.
Projected Starting Lineup:
PG: Jordan Pope (17.6 PPG, 3.4 APG at Oregon State)
SG: Tre Johnson (No. 5 ESPN 100)
SF: Tramon Mark (16.2 PPG at Arkansas)
PF: Arthur Kaluma (14.4 PPG, 7.0 RPG at Kansas State)
C: Kadin Shedrick (7.7 PPG)
Key Reserves: Julian Larry (11.0 PPG, 4.8 APG at Indiana State), Jayson Kent (13.5 PPG, 8.1 RPG at Indiana State), Chendall Weaver (6.2 PPG), Nic Codie (No. 76 ESPN 100), Malik Presley (2.2 PPG at Vanderbilt), Ze'Rik Onyema (3.3 PPG), Jamie Vinson (3-Star Freshman)
16. Creighton 
Creighton is in position to challenge in the Big East despite losing both Baylor Scheierman (18.5 PPG, 9.0 RPG) and Trey Alexander (17.6 PPG, 4.7 APG). For that to happen, however, Ryan Kalkbrenner will have to become an even more dominant offensive player to go along with his incredible defensive abilities, as evidence by ranking second nationally in blocks last season (3.1 BPG). Steven Ashworth also returns following a solid first season with the Bluejays. The former Utah State guard should see a pretty clear jump in his usage rate with Scheierman and Alexander not there to dominant the ball anymore. Coach Greg McDermott added Pop Isaacs and Jamiya Neal in the transfer portal, along with a pair of four-star recruits in Jackson McAndrew and Larry Johnson, who will be ready to compete right away. Isaacs can help Ashworth handle the ball and can also create his own shot whenever he wants. McAndrew needs to add some strength in the weight room, but the 6-9 forward has a lot of Doug McDermott in his game. This will be another fundamentally sound team that shares the ball, doesn't turn it over and hits free-throws at a high clip, although it felt like Creighton's NCAA Tournament upside was higher the last two seasons.
Projected Starting Lineup:
PG: Steven Ashworth (11.1 PPG, 4.2 APG)
SG: Pop Isaacs (15.8 PPG, 3.5 APG at Texas Tech)
SF: Jamiya Neal (11.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG at Arizona State)
PF: Mason Miller (5.6 PPG)
C: Ryan Kalkbrenner (17.3 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 3.1 BPG)
Key Reserves: Jackson McAndrew (No. 36 ESPN 100), Larry Johnson (No. 75 ESPN 100), Isaac Traudt (2.9 PPG), Fredrick King (2.6 PPG), Jasen Green (1.6 PPG), Ty Davis (3-star Freshman)
We'll continue with our top-25 countdown on Monday, August 5.
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