SPOKANE, WA - MARCH 22: Michigan State Spartans mascot, Sparty, and cheerleaders perform in their game against the Harvard Crimson during the Third Round of the 2014 NCAA Basketball Tournament at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena on March 22, 2014 in Spokane, Washington. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)We’re only a few days removed from Virginia reaching the top of the college basketball mountain, and far away from the Class of 2019 being finalized. But that hasn’t stopped some analysts from making their predictions for next season.
On Wednesday, CBS Sports released its “Never-Too-Early Top 25 And 1” college basketball rankings for the 2019-20 CBB season. In an interesting twist, CBS decided not to give the top position to the reigning, defending NCAA champions.
Instead, CBS Sports made the decision to give Final Four participant Michigan State the top spot. It’s a sensible choice as the Spartans are set to retain top NCAA Tournament performers Cassius Winston, Nick Ward, Joshua Langford and other starters while picking up a big recruiting class.
Here is CBS Sports’ top ten rankings for 2019-20 CBB season:
- Michigan State
- Virginia
- Duke
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- Louisville
- Marquette
- Maryland
- North Carolina
- Kansas
As you can see, the ACC and Big Ten dominate the rankings with a combined seven teams between the two Power Five conferences.
NCAA Tournament blue bloods Kentucky and Kansas are expected to rebound from their inability to win their conference titles, while Marquette is seen as the big riser from the Big East.
All 10 of the teams on the list made the NCAA Tournament last year. Of the ten, four of them reached the Elite Eight, six reached the Sweet 16, while the other four didn’t make it past the first two rounds.
