College Basketball Rankings: 2014-15 top five teams

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Mar 29, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Sean Miller (left) reacts against the Wisconsin Badgers during overtime in the finals of the west regional of the 2014 NCAA Mens Basketball Championship tournament at Honda Center. The Badgers defeated the Wildcats 64-63. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports /

4. University of Arizona

Losing Aaron Gordon and Nick Johnson, who created 39 percent of the Wildcats’ scoring last season, will undoubtedly hurt. But coach Sean Miller and his unit retain virtually everyone else, including Brandon Ashley, Kaleb Tarczewski, T.J. McConnell, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

Hollis-Jefferson even went as far as to say he’s a part of the best starting five in the country.

They’ll need to improve on a scoring offense that ranked No. 113 in the NCAA a season ago, but freshman Stanley Johnson, Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Dusan Ristic, and Craig Victor might be just what they need to do it. Johnson led the U.S. to gold medals at the 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Champion, 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship, and the 2014 FIBA Americas U18 Championship. The 6-foot-7, 235-pound forward from Fullerton, Calif., is considered a top five player in the class of 2014; expectations couldn’t be higher.

Jackson-Cartwright has potential, but carries a few clouds after an academic misconduct scandal ended his senior season at Los Angeles Loyola High School.

Arizona has as formidable a draft class as any in the country, and added size and speed to a team that facilitated extremely well a season ago. Look for the Wildcats to operate well in 2014-15 despite losing Gordon and Johnson.

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