Those preseason rankings are not based on last year alone. They are based on the last 3 years. And while their relevance for a team that is replacing 3 starters is dubious, there is one factor that is relevant, the statistical gaps between UConn and the rest of the field. Looking at the scores under the overall rankings, these are the numbers:
1. UConn 3.33
2. Baylor 2.67 gap from 1-2 0.66
3. N. Dame 2.66 gap from 2-3 0.01
4. S Car. 2.59 gap from 3-4 0.02
I could continue and show that the gap in the top 10 is less than 0.05 for every gap EXCEPT 1-2. The gap between UConn and the next best team is 66 times larger. In order to put this gap in perspective let's find the team that is 0.66 behind No 2 Baylor. That team is No 29 Georgia. That's how much better than everyone else UConn was last year.
What that says to me is that UConn can slide quite a bit in terms of performance and would still be No. 1. So yes, UConn lost a lot of talent last year but they were so much better than the rest of wcbb that even with the loss of players from last season they remain one of the logical candidates for winning it all this year.