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Way too early 2017-18 College Basketball Top 25

By Cody Williams

Apr 3, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels players celebrate after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the championship game of the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels players celebrate after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the championship game of the 2017 NCAA Men's Final Four at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Projecting the top 25 in the 2017-18 college basketball rankings way too early

The North Carolina Tar Heels sit atop the college basketball world. On Monday night inside University of Phoenix Stadium, they were crowned the 2017 National Champions. This came one year after they experienced the ultimately heartbreak that college basketball can offer, falling in the title game to Villanova on Kris Jenkins’ buzzer beater. But now, they’re over the hump and have the nets and hardware to prove it.

Now it’s time to move on.

Okay, so maybe the Tar Heels can enjoy the title until the start of the 2017-18 college basketball season begins. However, fans of every other college team in the country are already looking ahead to next season. Who’s coming in as a recruit, who’s leaving for the NBA Draft, who’s transferring and so on are being asked all the time.

It’s too early to have all of the answers to those questions right now. This is one of the most fluid times in college basketball right now where teams don’t wholly know who they’ll be next season. However, what these teams and we do have is a loose idea of what the landscape in college basketball will look like come November 2017.

With that in mind, let’s project too far ahead and with way too early predictions for the 2017-18 college basketball top 25 rankings.

Mar 16, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard Kyle Guy (5) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 16, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard Kyle Guy (5) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

25. Virginia Cavaliers

There’s a lot of negativity going around regarding the Virginia Cavaliers looking ahead to the 2017-18 college basketball season. First of all, they’re going to lose one of their leaders in point guard London Perrantes. That’s a massive blow to this team as he was pivotal on both ends of the floor to take on the elites of the ACC. Unfortunately, that’s not where the blows end for Tony Bennett’s team moving forward.

Virginia has been smacked with a number of key transfers that will leave a number of holes on the roster. Most notably, Marial Shayok, who played a vital role in the Cavaliers getting past UNC Wilmington in the tournament, and Jarred Reuter are leaving the program. So with the loss of Perrantes and the transfers, Virginia is going to have a difficult time living up to the standard that’s been set over the past few seasons.

All hope is not lost for UVA, however, as the likes of Kyle Guy showed that he has the chops to step up and be a leader, especially offensively (even if his hairstyle is just straight-up offensive). What’s more, the Cavaliers also have the uber-talented Ty Jerome still in the program, and he seems poised to really be a breakout star. That won’t be enough for them to be considered a contender, but they’ll still be a tough matchup every time out.