With the National Championship Game in the rearview mirror, what will college basketball’s AP Top 10 look like next season?
With Monday night’s 2017 National Championship Game, the college basketball season has come to an end. It’s hard to believe that the 2016-17 campaign is already over, but luckily for fans, there’s just a little over six months until it returns.
The title game was another good one, following up last year’s buzzer beater by Villanova to beat North Carolina. The Tar Heels marched all the way back to the title game once again. Gonzaga presented another tough challenge, though, even though it was the Bulldogs’ first ever national title game.
Now that the season is in the books, it’s time to look forward to the 2017-18 campaign. It’s never too early to speculate who the top teams will be and that’s exactly what we’re here to do.
Let’s take a look at the projected AP Top 10 for the start of the 2017-18 season.
Note: The rankings are based on current rosters, so anyone who has yet to declare is assumed to be part of next year’s team.
How could I possibly leave off the national runner-up who brought North Carolina down to the wire only to lose in heartbreaking fashion? Other polls won’t consider having a team like Gonzaga this highly ranked to begin the season because of potential losses and a weak schedule, but the Bulldogs proved to be legit this season.
Mark Few has broken out as one of the best coaches in the country even though Bulldog fans have known that for years. He made his first trip to the Final Four with Gonzaga and came up just short of the school’s first national title.
Gone will be Przemek Karnowski, the 7-foot-1, 300-pound behemoth in the post. Jordan Mathews will also be graduating, but there are a couple of guys who could leave early to pursue NBA dreams. One is Nigel Williams-Goss, one of the tourney’s top players, and freshman big man Zach Collins. If both return, there’s no doubt this team is top-10 caliber.
However, if both leave, the Bulldogs will be down near the 17-25 range. The Bulldogs have just one commit in their 2017 recruiting class, but they have been known to snag some top transfers.