Gonzaga: Pretender

The Zags have the most intriguing freshman in the nation Chet Holmgren, however the AP preseason top team is not a true contender this year. The Zags lost a lot of talent in the back court, headlined by Jalen Suggs and a veteran leader in Corey Kispert to the draft. They return their center Drew Timme who is a national player of the year candidate. A lack of roster cohesion, paired with an overall worse roster compared to the runner ups last year, look for Gonzaga to not even come close to sniffing the title.

UCLA: Contender

Unlike Gonzaga, the Bruins kept all their key pieces from their Final Four run, headlined by Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jacquez Jr. UCLA also added Peyton Watson, a high upside freshman, and Myles Johnson an All Big Ten Defensive First Team player from last season, to improve a defense that was middle of the road last year. Tough tests in Villanova, Gonzaga, and North Carolina will show how the Bruins can contend in March, but look for this squad to have a high seed in the tournament and improve on last year’s finish.

Kansas: Contender

The Jayhawks are loaded with talent this year, led by David McCormack, Jalen Wilson, Ochai Agbaji, and Arizona State transfer Remy Martin. A veteran roster with this much talent tends to do extremely well in March, look at Baylor from last year. This team will not be the most interesting team throughout the season, but in March, be prepared to have Kansas going deep in your brackets.

Texas: Pretender

The Longhorns, return most of their backcourt talent from last season, but that is why they truly are pretenders. The Longhorns were saved by their frontcourt talent last season that they lost to the NBA this year. The inconsistency that the guards will show for Texas will be their downfall and in March be prepared to see the Longhorns have an early exit once again.

Duke: Contender

The Blue Devils are extremely talented as usual, led by Paolo Banchero, a potential first overall pick in next year’s NBA Draft. The team avoids the flaws that other Duke teams have had, which is that they are a well rounded team that can play inside and shoot the three ball well. All of this paired with the fact that it is Coach K’s last season being a rallying force for the squad is why Duke can be cutting down the nets at the end of the tournament. 

Memphis: Pretenders

Jalen Duren and Emoni Bates could lead just about any team to the tournament individually, however together, the potential for this squad is to the moon. However, this team has many of the issues that the Duke team with Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, and Cam Reddish. Can they consistently shoot three pointers well and can they play defense at a high enough rate. Their opening performance against Tennessee Tech does not demonstrate even close to the defensive ability needed to win the national championship. This team is young and has the potential to revolutionize their defensive acumen, however as of now they are strictly dreaming of a title, and facing a Sweet 16 exit in March.