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College basketball rankings: 2020-2021 way-too-early Top 25 – Villanova, Gonzaga vie for No. 1

By Connor Muldowney

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Collin Gillespie #2 of the Villanova Wildcats talks with head coach Jay Wright during the game against the St. John's Red Storm at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Collin Gillespie #2 of the Villanova Wildcats talks with head coach Jay Wright during the game against the St. John's Red Storm at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Porter Binks/Getty Images) /
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – MARCH 07: Jay Huff #30 of the Virginia Cavaliers cheers in the second half during a game against the Louisville Cardinals at John Paul Jones Arena on March 7, 2020 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – MARCH 07: Jay Huff #30 of the Virginia Cavaliers cheers in the second half during a game against the Louisville Cardinals at John Paul Jones Arena on March 7, 2020 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /

5. Virginia Cavaliers

Virginia was playing its best basketball of the season at the perfect time. The Cavaliers began the 2019-20 season with a 12-6 record but finished by winning 11-of-12 games. Like it or not, this is still the last team to win a national title and they may have a leg up on “repeating” in 2020-21 with Kihei Clark returning along with Jay Huff and transfer Sam Hauser. Mamadi Diakite is gone, but this team is going to be the ACC favorite to start the year.

4. Kentucky Wildcats

Shocker, Kentucky is bringing in another top recruiting class with a couple of five-stars who project to be starters but losing Tyrese Maxey will hurt. This is nothing new to John Calipari and he’s still waiting on the decisions from Nick Richards, Ashton Hagans, Immanuel Quickley and E.J. Montgomery. If a few of those guys come back, Kentucky could approach that No. 1 spot.

3. Baylor Bears

Baylor blew through the first part of its schedule but hit a snag near the end of the season but the Bears still finished 26-4 and second behind red-hot Kansas in the Big 12. The Bears lose just one starter in Freddie Gillespie, but the No. 15 recruiting class in the country is coming in. This team will be just as good as, if not better than, the one from 2019-20.

2. Gonzaga Bulldogs

For yet another year, Gonzaga dominated the West Coast Conference even though they got pushed from BYU and Saint Mary’s. The Bulldogs finished 31-2 and will lose guys like Killian Tillie and a couple of other role players, but returning NBA prospect Filip Petrusev could take this team to another level in 2020-21. Mark Few has yet another elite roster, especially with Jalen Suggs coming in.

1. Villanova Wildcats

A lot of people have Gonzaga or Baylor as the No. 1 team heading into the season, but the Wildcats, who went 24-7 in 2019-20 with a Big East title, could return everyone. Saddiq Bey, the team’s leading scorer, could return after going through the draft process and Collin Gillespie should be back. This team also brings in Caleb Daniels who averaged 16.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists with Tulane. This team is going to be scary.

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