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College basketball rankings: Top 25 and 1 update from CBS Sports after multiple 2024 portal commitments – 247Sports
Coming out of a busy week in the college basketball transfer portal with an array of impactful moves, CBS Sports’ has updated its Top 25 and 1 rankings ahead of the 2024 season which reflects many of these roster changes. Alabama’s surge under Nate Oats includes four transfers in the last three weeks — Clifford Omoruyi (Rutgers), Aden Holloway (Auburn), Chris Youngblood (South Florida) and Houston Mallette (Pepperdine) — which strengthens the likelihood of another deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
March Madness still goes through Dan Hurley and UConn considering the Huskies have won consecutive national championships, doing so with varying lineups each of the past two seasons. Five high-level contributors return for the Huskies off this season’s title team and there’s help on the way.
Many bluebloods are included in CBS Sports’ top 10 along with a few rising programs who were on the cusp of greatness last season before unexpected early exits from the Big Dance. Surprisingly, there’s no sign of Arkansas and first-year coach John Calipari just yet in the preseason conversation.
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Here’s a look at CBS Sports’ updated Top 25 and 1 rankings in May:
26. Oregon Ducks
25. Xavier Musketeers
24. Michigan State Spartans
23. Providence Friars
Will Tom Izzo continue his streak of NCAA Tournament appearances next season? He’s hoping that five of his top-eight leading scorers coming back means there’s enough offense to go around in East Lansing. Getting Nebraska Omaha forward Frankie Fidler in the transfer portal was much-needed and four-star combo guard Jase Richardson as the headliner of the 2024 signing class should be an instant-impact addition.
22. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
21. Texas Longhorns
20. UCLA Bruins
Rodney Terry and Texas will rely on a new-look roster primarily made up of transfers after reaching the NCAA Tournament last season. Arkansas guard Tramon Mark, two talented players from Indiana State, along with Oregon State’s Jordan Pope and Vanderbilt’s Malik Presley are the portal newcomers. Five-star freshman Trey Johnson from Missouri is going to make a splash in this offense. Texas should be a fun team to watch.
19. Florida Gators
18. Creighton Blue Jays
17. Indiana Hoosiers
Todd Golden should be excited about the possibilities for this Gators team that caught fire late last season. Ranked among the top offenses in the country and playing at a frenetic pace, just about every impact player is back for Florida except Zyon Pullin, Tyrese Samuel and Riley Kugel, as noted by CBS Sports. Golden went transfer-heavy this recruiting cycle given his returning talent and added FAU’s Alijah Martin, a key cog in the Owls’ Final Four run two years ago, Rueben Chinyelu from Washington State and UT Chattanooga’s Sam Alexis.
16. Tennessee Volunteers
15. Marquette Eagles
14. Ohio State Buckeyes
Replacing SEC Player of the Year Dalton Knecht, Jonas Aidoo and Josiah-Jordan James is a lot to overcome for the Vols, but there’s frontline help on the way. Tennessee has signed three transfers — including 6-foot-10 centers Igor Milicic Jr. (Charlotte) and Felix Okpara (Ohio State) — to go along with forward Darlinstone Dubar (Hofstra) for assistance there. Freshman Bishop Boswell is a four-star guard from Charlotte, N.C., and rated as the eight-best combo guard in the 2024 cycle.
13. Arizona Wildcats
12. Purdue Boilermakers
11. Texas A&M Aggies
Buzz Williams and the Aggies won’t be sneaking up on anyone in the SEC next season, not with four of five starters back. Wade Taylor was last year’s preseason player of the year in the conference and could garner that honor again with Tennessee’s Knecht off to the NBA. He’s the straw that stirs the drink for Texas A&M. Williams signed three transfers to complete the roster along with 2024 freshmen Andre Mills (four-star guard) and George Turkson (three-star forward).
Armed with a top-5 signing class anchored by five-star VJ Edgecombe, one of the most-talented players in the country, Scott Drew and Baylor have a Big 12 championship in their sights for next season. The Bears will have to get through Kansas, Iowa State and Houston to get there, but should take the floor with one of the most complete rosters in college basketball. The addition of big-time transfer starters Jeremy Roach (Duke) and Norchad Omier (Miami) means the Bears mean business.
Adding four-star freshman Tahaad Pettiford and Furman transfer point guard JP Pegues this offseason makes the Tigers a Final Four-capable squad given the return of Johni Broome, Chad Baker-Mazara and Denver Jones. Bruce Pearl’s team earned a No. 4 seed in last season’s NCAA Tournament, but didn’t play their best in the Big Dance with an early exit. They’ll be looking to make good on that upset loss next time around in the spring.
Considering the Bulldogs return just about every key piece from a Sweet 16 team, Mark Few only added a couple transfers to his 2024-25 roster — Khalif Battle from Arkansas and Pepperdine’s Michael Ajayi. Graham Ike is back as the WCC’s top returning player and should be the headliner for a Gonzaga team that will have one of the deepest benches among teams perceived as inside the top 10 to begin the regular season a few months from now.
Unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock this offseason, you’ve heard of Duke signee Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 player in the 2024 recruiting cycle. He’s one of a jaw-dropping four five-star recruits Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils have landed as the faces of the No. 1 class in college basketball. It’s Final Four or bust with a roster like this and Scheyer knows it. Syracuse transfer Maliq Brown and Purdue’s Mason Gillis add to the intrigue in Durham for a team that will be labeled as a co-ACC frontrunner with the Tar Heels in a few months.
The stellar offseason of talent acquisition is continuing for Nate Oats at Alabama after landing Rutgers transfer Clifford Omoruyi a couple days following a commitment from four-star Kansas decommit Labaron Philon. Coming off the Final Four appearance, this looks to be the Crimson Tide’s most-talented roster from top to bottom under Oats and undoubtedly pushes Alabama to top-tier status in the SEC next season.
As noted by CBS Sports, Iowa State will have its best shot at reaching the Final Four for the first time since 1944 barring injury next season to one of its returning superstars. With Tamin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert returning, those are two elite-level starters who could be All-Americans if all goes according to plan for TJ Otzelberger’s Cyclones. Focusing on the end-game goal throughout a tumultuous Big 12 slate is key.
Until another program unseats UConn at the top of the sports, the Huskies have to be one of the frontrunners to cut down the nets at the Final Four next April, right? Half of this roster’s scoring punch returns and Hurley welcomes transfers Aidan Mahaney (Saint Mary’s), Tarris Reed (Michigan) and elite freshman Liam McNeely to the mix. This coach is the king of putting together top-end lineups and once again has the talent nucleus to win a third-straight championship.
Convincing talented veteran guard R.J. Davis to return for another season in Chapel Hill is one of the offseason’s biggest wins in the ACC and gives the Tar Heels a versatile scoring machine in the backcourt to once again lead the charge offensively. Hubert Davis surrounds Davis with the No. 6 signing class, headlined by five-star Ian Jackson, and brought in Belmont’s Cade Tyson from the portal for more help at both ends of the floor.
Jamal Shead and Damian Dunn are gone, but the Cougars expect a talented backcourt of LJ Cryer, Emanuel Sharp and Oklahoma transfer Milos Uzan to be able to handle its own during the 2024-25 campaign. Kelvin Sampson has built quite a program at Houston, one that’s annually expected to advance deep into the NCAA Tournament. He hasn’t won a national championship at the Big 12 program just yet, but the Cougars appear to be knocking on the door.
Bill Self already has a couple national championships with the Jayhawks and will be one of the frontrunners to grab another next season with this all-star ensemble of cast members. In addition to landing Alabama star Rylan Griffen in the portal, Kansas signed three other impact players along with five-star freshman Flory Bidunga. Four-star guard Rakease Passmore is another standout signing. Bringing back Hunter Dickinson, KJ Adams and Dajuan Harris means much of 2023-24’s scoring prowess returns, too.
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