| Rank | School | Conference | Skinny |
| 17 | Stanford |
Pac-10 | Freshman Collins twins
(6'10" Jason and
6'9" Jarron) join
7'1" Tim Young on imposing front
line |
| 18 | St. John's |
Big East | Zendon Hamilton and Felipe Lopez will get needed help from
talented
freshmen |
| 19 | Indiana |
Big Ten | Watch out for Mr. Basketball, Luke Recker, Hoosiers' most
touted recruit since Damon Bailey |
| 20 | Temple |
Atlantic
10 | Owls are loaded at guard, with Rasheed Brokenborough and
Pepe Sanchez, but lacking at
center |
| 21 | Jackson State |
Southwestern Athletic | Top eight scorers (led by Trent Pulliam) back for Tigers,
who made Kansas sweat in
NCAAs |
| 22 | Rhode Island |
Atlantic
10 | Tyson Wheeler makes Rams go; if Lamar Odom becomes
academically eligible, they could go
farther |
| 23 | Utah |
WAC | Loss of Keith Van Horn leaves many questions;
6'11" Michael Doleac has some of the
answers |
| 24 | Georgia |
SEC | Coach Tubby Smith took off for Kentucky, but his son G.G.
leads the Dawgs he left
behind |
| 25 | Oklahoma |
Big 12 | Guard
Corey Brewer should help Sooners end streak of five
straight NCAA tournament
losses |
| 26 | UNLV |
WAC | May have most talented college center in
6'11" Keon Clark, but he's suspended for first 11
games |
| 27 | Syracuse |
Big East | Todd Burgan and Jason Hart alone make Orangemen competitive in a lackluster
league |
| 28 | Eastern Michigan |
Mid-American | 5'5" Earl Boykins (19.1 ppg) and Derrick Dial (17.7) form one
of the nation's best
backcourts |
| 29 | Marquette |
Conference USA | Coach Mike Deane faces rebuilding job, but point guard Aaron Hutchins is a solid
foundation |
| 30 | Florida State |
ACC | New coach Steve Robinson, a success at Tulsa, must
jump-start enigmatic center Corey
Louis |
| 31 | Iowa |
Big Ten | Fortunes depend on Jess Settles, who is still fighting a back injury that kept him out last
year |
| 32 | St. Joseph's |
Atlantic 10 | Hawks could be scary if Arthur (Yah) Davis returns from academic suspension to rejoin Rashid Bey |
| 33 | Louisville |
Conference USA | USC transfer Cameron Murray, a junior point guard, must step in for departed DeJuan Wheat |
| 34 | Michigan |
Big Ten | Interim coach Brian Ellerbe must get center Robert
(Tractor) Traylor to build on his big NIT
showing |
| 35 | Maryland |
ACC | Guard
Laron Profit and
center
Obinna Ekezie will be the keys to replacing All-ACC Keith
Booth |
| 36 | George Washington |
Atlantic 10 | Seven-footer Alexander Koul cannot repeat up-and-down
performance of last
season |
| 37 | Arkansas |
SEC | Razorbacks aren't title contenders, but backcourt of Kareem
Reid and Pat Bradley worth
watching |
| 38 | N.C. State |
ACC | Coach Herb Sendek brings in monster recruiting class to help star
guard C.C. Harrison |
| 39 | Nebraska |
Big 12 | Tyronn Lue (18.8 ppg) stars in backcourt with unfortunately
named cousin, Cookie
Belcher |
| 40 | Washington |
Pac-10 | Go-to guy is
7-foot
Todd MacCulloch, whose 67.6% field goal shooting was tops
in the
nation |
| 41 | TCU |
WAC | Addition of
6'8" juco transfer Lee Nailon will
help
Horned Frogs with brutal
schedule |
| 42 | Massachusetts |
Atlantic 10 | Guard Charlton Clarke and promising big man Lari Ketner should take UMass to seventh straight
NCAAs |
| 43 | Texas |
Big 12 | Longhorns should get immediate help from a quartet of
talented newcomers who are
6'8" or
taller |
| 44 | Long Island |
Northeast | The nation's highest-scoring team has back the nation's
leading scorer, Charles Jones (30.1
ppg) |
| 45 | Miami |
Big East | Underrated forward Tim James
should get Hurricanes back in NCAAs for first time since
'60 |
| 46 | Murray State |
Ohio Valley | The Racers have won at least a share of nine of the last 10
conference titles. Make it 10 of
11 |
| 47 | Butler |
Midwestern Collegiate | The Bulldogs, who ended 35-year NCAA tournament drought
last season, should
repeat |
| 48 | Coppin State |
Mid-Eastern Athletic | Coach Fang Mitchell's Cinderellas must replace points and
boards of departed center Terquin
Mott |
| 49 | Valparaiso |
Mid-Continent | Guard Bryce Drew (19.9 ppg) makes his father and coach,
Homer, look like a
genius |
| 50 | College of Charleston |
Trans America | The Cougars said goodbye to four starters but still hail
their chief, guard Jermel
President |
| 51 | Pepperdine |
West Coast | The Waves will come crashing with transfers Jelani Gardner
(Cal) and
omm'A Givens
(UCLA) |
| 52 | Princeton |
Ivy | Tigers held opponents to the lowest average (53.4 ppg) in
the nation for the eighth straight
season |
| 53 | Drexel |
America East | Coach Bill Herrion spurned Rutgers so he could lead Dragons
to sixth straight 20-win
season |
| 54 | UNC Asheville |
Big South | Bulldogs hope nonconference tests at Syracuse, Florida
State, Arizona and Maryland pay off in
league |
| 55 | S. Alabama |
Sun Belt | Coach Bill Musselman may have bailed out, but deliberate
Jags have four starters back from last
year |
| 56 | Pacific |
Big West | All-league guard Adam Jacobsen, out last year with a bum
knee, rejoins center Michael
Olowokandi |
| 57 | Ball State |
Mid-American | Forward
Bonzi Wells needs 555 points to pass Ron Harper as the
MAC's alltime leading
scorer |
| 58 | Iona |
Metro Atlantic | The Gaels lost the
conference's top two
scorers but are still favored to win the
league |
| 59 | Davidson |
Southern | Guard
Mark Donnelly needs nine W's to become the winningest
player in Wildcats
history |
| 60 | Stephen F. Austin |
Southland | All-conference forward Wayne Allen is one of five returning
starters for the
Lumberjacks |
| 61 | Old Dominion |
Colonial | Coach Jeff Capel couldn't sign blue-chipper son, Jason, but
can rely on senior point, Brion
Dunlap |
| 62 | SW Missouri State |
Missouri Valley | Game to watch: Coach
Steve Alford and the Bears face Bob Knight and Indiana on
Dec.
27 |
| 63 | N. Arizona |
Big Sky | 1996-97 Lumberjacks were 15 wins better than year before and should be even better again |
| 64 | Navy |
Patriot | Midshipmen again rely on
6'3"
Hassan Booker, the toughest little power forward in the
land |
