Clash of the Rankings 2024: Teams (Full)

Back in June, we once again released our preseason rankings, and while there’s always some overlap with the national consensus, this year brought some significant deviations as well. As we prepare for the 2024 season, it’s time to dive into where our evaluations diverge from other respected outlets. Let’s explore the biggest discrepancies from the Top 6 outlets and computers. (If you want the breakdown we have the rankings by outlet at the bottom.)

Largest and Most Notable

TRN		Avg. Rk
13	Duke	3.8	If you don’t believe Cooper Flagg is the #1 player in college basketball like the national consensus and coaches voted him, then this is where you place Duke.
14	Kentucky	24.8	Pope’s BYU team finished 18th in KP last year, and now Pope brings one of his top players with him while adding a strong class. KP currently ranks Pope’s new team 42nd.
18	Miss State	35.3	This team resembles a discounted version of Houston in terms of rebounding and defense. Ranked as low as 65th by CBS, I find it hard to believe they won’t be a top 25 team.
20	Ole Miss	37.5	This team is loaded, with seven players in our model ranked in the top 215 nationally. However, only two of them are post players, and the questions about defense are valid. Still, there is too much depth and perimeter talent to justify their ranking of 47th on KenPom and 60th on CBS IMO.
22	Purdue	12	Painter has the track record, but losing one of the greatest college basketball players ever, adding no transfers, and relying solely on internal development is hard to not see a step back.
24	Arizona	9.7	Lloyd has faced no adversity so far, but this team doesn’t grade out as highly, and I believe the loss of Oumar Ballo will be felt. Love played great last year, but he’ll face more pressure this season, and he’s still a player who can shoot you out of games. The Big 12 will test this team in ways the Pac 12 didn’t.
26	Clemson	40.5	Three starters back from a team that finished 18th in KP and went to the Elite 8 they seem wildly under rated. I bet them at +75000 to win the title because they were down there with mid majors.
28	Vanderbilt	70.3	I love what Byington did in the offseason. By adding the starting PG from 16th-ranked Michigan State, they have a deep team and potentially one of the best backcourts. I can’t see them being ranked 96th like KP has them.
31	Iowa	48.8	Iowa has one of the top 10 duos in the nation according to our model. Even if you doubt their defense, they can outscore teams, which makes their ranking of 82nd on CBS hard to justify.
34	Wisconsin	49.5	Gard is a good coach and returns one of the most under rated players in the nation in S. Crowl. They were 17th last year, so it’s hard to see late 50’s like some predict.
35	Boise State	49.6	There are some questions about the backcourt, but they return one of the best duos in the nation and added an NAIA All-American in the frontcourt. To much here to be ranked as low as 78th.
41	UCF	66.6	This team returns two very good players and has added several top JUCOs and transfers. With some of the legal issues these players had you can question should they, or how they coexist, but the talent is there.
47	Illinois	27.3	There are many unknowns associated with this team. Given last year’s international flops, I’m less hopeful for them than most.
48	Washington	69.8	There is continuity here between the best player and the coach, it just doesn’t seem like the 86th ranked team by some.
57	BYU	32.8	This mostly rests on a first-year coach who had a losing record in the G League and lacks college experience. There aren’t many coaches with no college basketball experience; Stackhouse might be the last. Seeing them ranked as highly as 21st by KP is bold given Pope’s unconventional style is unlikely to be replicated.
61	Maryland	42.5	The Terps burned me more than any other team last year. I’ll let KP have them at 37th.
66	St. Louis	77.4	St. Louis is all over the place as high as 40th in the AP and 105th on KP.
68	Villanova	42.8	KP has Nova 20th, but I can’t see that after finishing much worse with a better roster last season.
74	Rutgers	40.2	I believe Bailey will be the best freshman this season, but this team is poorly constructed and lost its defense when Omoruyi went to Alabama, in my opinion. Top 25 is a reach but the AP puts them there and BT at 18th.
77	San Diego St	55.5	Unfortunately, this seems like the first rebuilding year under Dutcher. I have a hard time seeing top 40 like CBS has them.
94	LSU	60.6	This appears to be the weakest SEC, but KP has them ranked 51st nationally.
95	DePaul	130.6	Holtmann is a quality coach, and I like their offseason moves. It feels like they should be ranked higher than 166th on KP.
127	UTSA	208	This is a talented roster with a seasoned young coach.
137	Pacific	307	Pacific added some nice pieces, but this is all about Dave Smart.

All Significant Differences

	TRN	3MW	KP	BT	EM	AP	CoP	CBS
Alabama	1	6	4	9	4	2	2	1
Iowa St	5	8	7	3	5	5	6	21
Auburn	6	7	3	7	9	11	11	27
Creighton	8	12	12	14	13	15	14	17
Marquette	12	17	22	25	20	18	17	13
Duke	13	4	2	2	3	7	5	5
Kentucky	14	24	42	23	22	23	14	15
St John’s	15	19	19	16	34	27	28	11
Texas A&M	17	23	16	12	18	13	15	42
Miss State	18	29	32	22	21	43	45	65
Texas Tech	16	18	15	20	16	29	26	31
Ole Miss	20	30	47	38	26	24	25	60
Indiana	21	16	39	30	17	17	18	20
Purdue	22	13	10	17	11	14	13	7
Texas	23	28	18	11	19	19	19	39
Arizona	24	9	8	10	7	10	9	14
Clemson	26	61	24	46	37	41	36	34
Arkansas	27	21	24	35	24	16	16	25
Vanderbilt	28	–	96	75	40	–	–	–
Cincinnati	29	–	17	28	15	20	20	30
Iowa	31	53	33	45	31	–	–	82
Wake Forest	33	22	44	31	36	30	41	12
Wisconsin	34	57	46	41	50	45	46	58
Boise State	35	–	45	67	78	39	35	19
Northwestern	36	–	50	48	55	–	–	64
Miami	37	36	55	26	57	38	–	43
Michigan St	38	33	35	18	29	32	30	26
UCF	41	–	66	61	73	–	–	61
McNeese St	42	–	103	65	75	37	–	57
Dayton	43	63	27	70	44	–	–	33
Illinois	47	42	23	21	30	26	24	22
Washington	48	43	75	73	86	–	–	–
Memphis	51	41	43	32	53	–	–	29
Pitt	55	44	38	51	42	–	–	40
BYU	57	55	21	27	28	–	32	66
VCU	58	54	41	52	41	44	–	63
Grand Canyon	60	51	54	53	45	50	40	52
Maryland	61	45	37	42	38	55	39	38
West Virginia	64	55	87	83	83	–	–	–
St. Louis	66	48	105	109	85	40	–	–
Villanova	68	59	20	43	49	–	–	50
Oklahoma	72	58	40	54	48	–	–	–
Rutgers	74	27	63	18	72	25	27	36
San Diego St	77	50	48	77	69	52	43	37
Virginia	81	38	78	64	59	–	42	32
LSU	94	–	51	63	68	–	–	–
DePaul	95	–	166	117	109	–	–	–
Seton Hall	115	–	91	92	81	–	–	72
Colorado	117	–	80	115	107	–	–	98
UTSA	127	–	225	220	179	–	–	–
Pacific	137	–	287	322	312	–	–	–