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NCAA basketball power rankings: Way-too-early college basketball Top 10 for 2021-2022

By Mike Phillips

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 30: Cody Riley #2 of the UCLA Bruins defends a shot by Hunter Dickinson #1 of the Michigan Wolverines during the first half in the Elite Eight round game of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 30, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 30: Cody Riley #2 of the UCLA Bruins defends a shot by Hunter Dickinson #1 of the Michigan Wolverines during the first half in the Elite Eight round game of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 30, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

2. NCAA Basketball Rankings: Baylor Bears

Baylor has established itself as a new-level NCAA superpower thanks to the incredible work of Scott Drew, who has assembled an elite roster. This year’s run to the Final Four wasn’t reliant on one bonafide NBA prospect but rather a collection of talent that is greater than the sum of its parts, which played a big role in the Bears’ massive upset of Gonzaga to win the program’s first national championship.

There will be NBA questions to answer here aside from the fact that MaCio Teague is graduating. Davion Mitchell will likely jump to the pros as a potential lottery pick while Jared Butler will have a tough decision to make as he is currently on the fringe of being a first-round pick.

Taking care of some unfinished business at school while also boosting his draft stock to secure first-round status would be a good incentive for Butler to return, where he would be joined by key role players such as Adam Flagler, Matthew Mayer and L.J. Cryer. The Bears also have a pair of elite prospects set to join the roster next season as five-star wing Kendall Brown and four-star shooting guard Langston Love should slot right into the starting lineup as freshmen.

This ranking, admittedly, is contingent on Butler opting to return to school. Losing Butler likely drops the Bears out of the national title hunt at the start but Baylor still has plenty of talent to justify a spot inside the preseason Top 10.