Villanova Wildcats are 2016 National Champions (Photo : Twitter)
The College Basketball season has ended on a high note as Villanova edged out North Carolina in a buzzer beater on one of the best games in Final Four history.
Not wasting any time, two sports media outlets already made their "way too early" preseason top 25 lists.
Villanova ended up at no.3 on CBS and no.2 on ESPN lists. The newly-crowned champions were a picture of discipline and team chemistry which overrode the talented North Carolina Tar Heels.
The Heels were the pre-season favorites as most of their top players did not turn out to be "one-and-dones" which raises the argument on whether recruiting the highest-tiered talent that Kentucky and Duke does is a winning strategy. But it's hard to argue as Duke just won the championship last year.
Both lists have the disclaimer that there is still much uncertainty and the list could change drastically because of the new rule that players who declared can return to college until May. Thus, rankings this early are based on several assumptions that may take a different turn.
The Wildcats often gave the impression that their team consisted of seniors because of their maturity on the court, but actually, only Ryan Arcidiacono (who dished the game winning assist) and Daniel Ochefu are leaving. The core of Kris Jenkins (who made the game winner) Jalen Brunson, Phil Booth, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart will all return.
On the CBS list, they note that the departures of Arcidiacono and Ochefu would be hard to overcome even though they have a five star recruit in Omari Spellman. But CBS still awarded the top two spots to the top recruiters who battled back and forth for the top recruiting class title.
Kentucky was 2nd on the CBS list and no.3 on ESPN, but both lists concede the favorites would be the Duke Blue Devils.
The only certain losses would be senior Marshall Plumlee and Brandon Ingram, who has declared for the NBA Draft. Why not, when he's a possible no.1 overall pick?
Those losses will decimate the thin Duke frontline but Coach K will replace them with the top two recruits of the year, Jayson Tatum and Harry Giles. They will also bring in McDonald's co-MVP Frank Jackson to boost their backcourt. On the assumption that Grayson Allen will return, the Blue Devils will have an explosive backcourt.
Other teams rated high on both lists: Kansas, Xavier and runner-up North Carolina.
