{"id":513005,"date":"2018-10-30T11:44:35","date_gmt":"2018-10-30T15:44:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/?p=513005"},"modified":"2019-04-08T17:21:09","modified_gmt":"2019-04-08T21:21:09","slug":"2018-19-mens-college-basketball-top-10-rankings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/the-magazine\/2018-19-mens-college-basketball-top-10-rankings\/","title":{"rendered":"2018-19 Men’s College Basketball Top 10 \ud83d\udcc8"},"content":{"rendered":"

College basketball is back! Here’s a look at 10 men’s squads we expect to make some serious noise over the coming months. See y’all in March.<\/em><\/p>\n

Click here for our 2018-19 Women’s College Basketball Top 10.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

10. \u00a0Syracuse Orange<\/strong><\/p>\n

While Syracuse is typically ravaged by early exits, this time the Orange return every major contributor from last year\u2019s Elite 8 team. Tyus Battle<\/strong>, Oshae Brissett<\/strong> and that vexing zone defense should be enough to have Jim Boeheim\u2019s crew pushing for the ACC crown and a Final Four berth.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n9. \u00a0Michigan State Spartans<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Spartans lost two lottery picks but return the elite inside-out duo of point guard Cassius Winston<\/strong> and big man Nick Ward<\/strong>. They give Tom Izzo the Big Ten\u2019s best team and one that should clear the NCAA Tournament first weekend hurdle that has tripped them up the last three seasons.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n8. \u00a0Villanova Wildcats<\/strong><\/p>\n

The reigning national champions lost four players to the NBA draft but have the talent for a quick reload. Starters Eric Paschall<\/strong> and Phil Booth<\/strong> are back, while freshmen Jahvon Quinerly<\/strong> and Cole Swider<\/strong> enter the mix. Jay Wright\u2019s team is eyeing a third national title in four seasons.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n7. \u00a0North Carolina Tar Heels<\/strong><\/p>\n

Senior Luke Maye<\/strong> and freshman Nasir Little<\/strong> give the Tar Heels an edge in the frontcourt, especially with Sterling Manley<\/strong> ready to take the next step. The ACC is deep this season, but if the backcourt can support the interior, UNC can wear the league crown.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n6. \u00a0Gonzaga Bulldogs<\/strong><\/p>\n

The trio of Killian Tillie<\/strong>, Rui Hachimura<\/strong> and transfer Brandon Clarke<\/strong> give the Zags more depth and experience in the frontcourt than any team in the country. It\u2019s no question that their returning talent is among the nation\u2019s best, but will a weak conference schedule doom them in March?<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n5. \u00a0Nevada Wolfpack<\/strong><\/p>\n

After nearly making last year\u2019s Final Four, the Wolfpack may even be stronger in 2018-19. Caleb<\/strong> and Cody Martin<\/strong> are back, as is double-double threat Jordan Caroline<\/strong>. The depth should be better too, as Nevada adds five transfers who averaged double-figures in scoring and McDonald\u2019s All-American Jordan Brown<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n4. \u00a0Virginia Cavaliers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, they lost as a No. 1 seed, but they also return the key pieces that earned them that top seed. Kyle Guy<\/strong> and Ty Jerome<\/strong> control the backcourt, while sophomore De\u2019Andre Hunter<\/strong> is the next Cavalier destined for the NBA. Virginia\u2019s experience and stifling defense make them the ACC favorite.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n3. \u00a0Duke Blue Devils<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Blue Devils have a brand new starting five, which includes freshmen RJ Barrett<\/strong>, Zion Williamson<\/strong>, Cam Reddish<\/strong> and Tre Jones<\/strong>. With Joey Baker<\/strong>, those five make up as talented a recruiting class as you\u2019ll ever see, but winning league and tournament games has proven to be difficult for teams without experience.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n2. \u00a0Kentucky Wildcats<\/strong><\/p>\n

John Calipari has his kind of team, as there\u2019s experience in PJ Washington<\/strong>, Quade Green<\/strong> and transfer Reid Travis<\/strong> to go along with impact freshmen led by Keldon Johnson<\/strong> and EJ Montgomery<\/strong>. The SEC is tough, but it shouldn\u2019t slow up a group that is a legit national title threat.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n1. \u00a0Kansas Jayhawks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bill Self has Kansas looking stacked, as the Jayhawks add in the transfer duo of brothers Dedric<\/strong> and KJ Lawson<\/strong> from Memphis to team up with 7-footer Udoka Azubuike<\/strong> and five-star freshman guard Quentin Grimes<\/strong>. It\u2019s a better group than last year\u2019s Final Four team and one that can cut down the nets.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

David Casillo is a contributor to SLAM. Follow him on Twitter @dcasillo<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Photos via Getty.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

College basketball is back! Here’s a look at 10 men’s squads we expect to make some serious noise over the coming months. See y’all in March. Click here for our 2018-19 Women’s College Basketball Top 10. 10. \u00a0Syracuse Orange While Syracuse is typically ravaged by early exits, this time the Orange return every major contributor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":513078,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49436,49435],"tags":[10183,199,10213,440,57142],"yst_prominent_words":[14508,18268,14716,16424,25924,16378,15612,15409,19840,36501,14708,55631,16221,14658,15843,42861,57899,16428,57898,57897],"class_list":["post-513005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-hs","category-the-magazine","tag-college-basketball","tag-duke-blue-devils","tag-kansas","tag-kentucky-wildcats","tag-slam-218"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=513005"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":530428,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513005\/revisions\/530428"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/513078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=513005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=513005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=513005"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=513005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}