Of the 12 Pac-12 teams, only Arizona (2) and Utah (25) were selected to the preseason AP Top 25 poll. Compared to the other “Power Five” conferences, that’s not very good.
Here’s how the other conferences shook out:
ACC (5): Duke, North Carolina, Louisville, Virginia, Syracuse
Big 12 (5): Kansas, Texas, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Nebraska
Big Ten (4): Wisconsin, Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan
SEC (2): Kentucky, Florida
The SEC also has two teams in the Top 25 poll, but those teams, Kentucky and Florida, are ranked in the Top 10, making the Pac-12, likely, the worst conference of the five.
Looking at the AP Top 25 objectively, there are a few teams that need to be replaced, and one of those places could easily be made for some Pac-12 teams.
Questionable Teams in Top 25
Harvard
Tommy Amaker’s bunch lost three of their best seven players from a team that only made the second round of the 2014 NCAA tournament.
Syracuse
This ranking is all because of the coach and the history of the program. Syracuse lost Jerami Grant, C.J. Fair, and Tyler Ennis from last year’s team that definitely was not as good as it was thought to be.
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Ohio State
There’s still a lot of good pieces, but the Buckeyes were not that good last season and they’ll miss Aaron Craft.
SMU
SMU hovered around the Top 25 last season and didn’t lose any major pieces. I still believe this ranking and hype was because Emmanuel Mudiay had committed to the program.
Michigan
In the last two years, Michigan has lost so much talent. They still have Caris LaVert, but like Syracuse, I think they’re in the Top 25 because of how good they’ve been lately.
As I’ve said before, I think the Pac-12 will get five teams in the Top 25 during the season and could have five teams in the Top 25 as soon as Christmas.
Who will those teams be?
Stanford Cardinal
In reality, there’s no reason to think the Cardinal can’t get back to the Sweet 16 this season. That doesn’t mean they are one of the top 16 teams in the country, but I think they can get there.
Led by Chasson Randle, Stanford will be one of the best offensive teams in the Pac-12. Randle has the ability to score 30 points on any given night, and he can fill it up from 3-point range.
Anthony Brown and Stefan Nastic are solid offensive players and should be able to average 10-15 PPG.
The big question mark will be freshman Reid Travis and how well he can replace Josh Huestis and Dwight Powell from last season. Travis is a better talent than either Huestis or Powell, but it comes down to putting all the pieces together and how fast Travis can pick up the offense.
If Travis busts out of the gate and is a difference-maker, Stanford will be a Top 25 team in no time at all.
UCLA Bruins
Depth will be an issue, as will replacing five NBA players from last year’s team. The Bruins are talented and also have ample opportunity to steal a game or two against some really good teams, like Gonzaga and Kentucky.
The Bruins’ season is going to two players that have yet to play a second of college basketball, Kevon Looney and Isaac Hamilton. If Looney and Hamilton are ahead of the curve and don’t need that extra time to develop, there’s a really good chance UCLA will break into the Top 25 by December.
Colorado Buffaloes
The Buffaloes have the talent to be a Top 25 team. Askia Booker, Josh Scott, Wesley Gordon, and Xavier Johnson are as good a foursome as there is outside of the Top 15.
Colorado also has had ample time to get used to playing without Spencer Dinwiddie, although they did go 9-9 and struggled to find a rhythm after his injury last season.
Colorado has a very weak non-conference schedule and could actually be undefeated heading into conference play around Christmas. That will easily put Colorado in the Top 25.