Fansided

College basketball rankings: Way-too-early Top 25 for 2019-20

By Connor Muldowney

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with Cassius Winston #5 in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans talks with Cassius Winston #5 in the second half against the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – MARCH 28: The Tennessee Volunteers huddle prior to the game against the Purdue Boilermakers during the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament South Regional at the KFC YUM! Center on March 28, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – MARCH 28: The Tennessee Volunteers huddle prior to the game against the Purdue Boilermakers during the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament South Regional at the KFC YUM! Center on March 28, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

A Sweet 16 exit probably wasn’t what Tennessee had in mind, but the Volunteers just couldn’t stop a red-hot Carsen Edwards.

The Volunteers allowed 99 points in a Sweet 16 loss to Purdue and you can bet Rick Barnes isn’t going to allow that to become a trend.

Tennessee wasn’t the deepest team in 2018-19 with just eight guys averaging more than 10 minutes per game but that should change in 2019-20, especially if Grant Williams and Jordan Bone — or even just one of the two — return. Bone declared and plans to go through the process and Williams is a projected first-rounder.

Admiral Schofield will be the biggest loss, but having a couple of seniors in Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden back will be huge for the team’s level of experience.

Five-star combo guard Josiah-Jordan James will be an instant star for Barnes’ crew and he’ll have two more three-star prospects joining him in the 2019 class.