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College basketball rankings: Zach Edey's return has Purdue No. 2 in Top 25 And 1 following NBA Draft deadline – CBS Sports
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Ever since the end of the season, all the way back to Version 1.0 of the 2023-24 CBS Sports preseason Top 25 And 1 college basketball rankings, the assumption was that Zach Edey would return to Purdue for a fourth year.
But you never know for sure until you know for sure.
Which is why Wednesday night’s announcement that the reigning CBS Sports National Player of the Year has officially withdrawn from the 2023 NBA Draft was met with a mixture of cheers and relief among Purdue fans. And now the Boilermakers are clearly the favorites to repeat as Big Ten champions and legitimate candidates to do what Virginia did in 2019, i.e., bounce back from a historically rare loss in the NCAA Tournament to a No. 16 seed and win the subsequent national championship.
“Run it back,” Edey tweeted.
Edey’s announcement means Purdue is No. 2 in Version 16.0 of the Top 25 And 1, where Kansas remains No. 1 thanks to the return of Dajuan Harris, Kevin McCuller and KJ Adams, and the addition of former Michigan All-American Hunter Dickinson, ex-Towson sharpshooter Nick Timberlake and five-star freshman Elmarko Jackson. The Jayhawks are loaded, coached by a Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer (Bill Self) and the favorites in the betting markets to win the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
If Wednesday was a good day for Purdue when the Boilermakers got back the 2023 NPOY, it was a bad day for Kentucky when the Wildcats lost the 2022 NPOY (Oscar Tshiebwe) — plus former five-star high school recruit Chris Livingston. Those developments leave UK with just one player who averaged at least 2.4 points per game last season projected to return, and even that player (Antonio Reeves) isn’t 100% on board at this moment. In other words, John Calipari has some work to do to turn the Wildcats into legitimate Final Four contenders. For now, Kentucky is down to No. 25 in the Top 25 And 1.
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