| Rank | Team | Comments | Prior | |
| 1 |  | North Carolina | North Carolina will kick off the first full day of college hoops by taking on MSU in, or is it on, the Carrier Classic. | |
| 2 |  | Kentucky | Anthony Davis and the rest of the superb Kentucky recruiting class will have the Wildcats ready for March. | |
| 3 |  | Ohio State | Coach Thad Matta has half a team that could have jumped to the NBA. Jared Sullinger will lead the way. | |
| 4 |  | Syracuse | If the frontcourt can live up to their former hype, Syracuse has the weapons to make a run to the Final Four. | |
| 5 |  | Duke | Duke will always be near the top of the standings and the addition of Austin Rivers gives them plenty of hope. | |
| 6 |  | Louisville | With a ton of talent back and a great recruiting class, Louisville will not have another season of low expectations. | |
| 7 |  | Memphis | The Memphis freshmen are now experienced sophomores. That will make a huge difference for the Tigers. | |
| 8 |  | Kansas | It will take some time for Kansas to reload, but this group has enough talent to take home a conference title. | |
| 9 |  | Vanderbilt | John Jenkins, Jeffery Taylor and Festus Ezeli are all have all-SEC and first round draft pick potential. | |
| 10 |  | Arizona | Arizona has a nice mix of veterans and newcomers that should turn into a cohesive unit by March. | |
| 11 |  | Pittsburgh | Could this be the year Pitt lives up to expectations in March? Ashton Gibbs will have to provide the leadership. | |
| 12 |  | Florida | Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton, Mike Rosario and Bradley Beal comprise one of the best backcourts in the nation. | |
| 13 |  | Texas A&M | The Aggies will have to rely on an inexperienced backcourt, but the frontcourt is one of the best in the Big 12. | |
| 14 |  | Connecticut | Connecticut could actually be better than they were last season, but replacing Kemba Walker will not be easy. | |
| 15 |  | Wisconsin | The Badgers are practically tournament locks without a superstar or two. This year they have Jordan Taylor. | |
| 16 |  | Xavier | Tu Holloway is back to avenge his poor showing in the NCAA Tournament last season. He probably will. | |
| 17 |  | Marquette | Marquette should be more consistent this season with senior Darius Johnson-Odom leading the charge. | |
| 18 |  | Missouri | The Tigers have experience and talent, but breaking in new coach Frank Haith may take a little time. | |
| 19 |  | Florida State | FSU has become the ACC's third best program and Bernard James and company won't let that change in 2011-2012. | |
| 20 |  | Alabama | Add the top three scorers to a great recruiting class and Coach Anthony Grant has a winner in Tuscaloosa. | |
| 21 |  | Purdue | JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore are gone, but a healthy Robbie Hummel will lead Purdue back to the NCAAs. | |
| 22 |  | New Mexico | The pressure is on in New Mexico, but Drew Gordon and company should take this team a long ways. | |
| 23 |  | West Virginia | Coach Bob Huggins has talented, albeit inexperienced, team this year. He will get the best out of this group. | |
| 24 |  | Baylor | Perry Jones, Quincy Miller, Anthony Jones, Quincy Acy…even UNC wouldn't mind boasting that frontcourt. | |
| 25 |  | Gonzaga | The Gonzaga expectations are high again with a dominating frontcourt led by Elias Harris and Robert Sacre. | |
Men's Basketball Preseason Top 25
Sun, 10/23/2011
