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Message: [QUOTE="bballnut90, post: 3121295, member: 2117"] Updated again Tier 1 teams (title favorites): 1. Oregon-Ionsecu is back so they should be the prohibitive front runners alongside Baylor. Everyone is back aside from Cazorla, plus they bring in the younger Sabally. Ionescu will be the heavy favorite for all POY awards next year and anything less than a title will be a disappointment for Oregon. 2. Baylor-they'll be loaded once again with their sophomore class plus Cox who avoided an ACL. Big losses are Brown and Jackson, but the development of players like Smith, Landrum, Egbo and Decosta should help offset that. At first glance I'd expect Ursin to step in for Jackson and share PG duties with Landrum. I think there's a drop off there but if the freshmen develop and Cox is operating out of the high post, Baylor is going to be deadly. So much talent on the roster and Kim has done a stellar job developing her current players. Tier 2 Team (title contender) 3. Connecticut-they lose 2 greats but still have a very good core of Dangerfield, Williams and Walker. Look for ONO to make strides in the offseason. Aside from that, the cupboard is very thin but UCONN is UCONN. Coaching staff is top notch and they still have 2 former HS POYs on the roster, Dangerfield who was a top PG recruit and ONO a top post recruit. They'll likely add a good grad transfer (or 2) in the offseason. Tier 4 (could be a Final Four team or could struggle) 4. Oregon State-up and down year for OSU that finished with a disappointing Sweet 16 showing. They have almost everyone back and should get a boost from Aquino. 5. Texas A&M-everyone is back for the Aggies. Question is will they run a more balanced offense or will it be the Carter show? 6. Maryland-everyone is back for the Terps including potential POY candidate Kaila Charles. Better scheduling is needed. 7. South Carolina-after an up and down season they should be back in Final Four form 2 years post A'ja. They return good backcourt play but will be thin in the post without MHH. #1 class is huge but expecting the freshment to make a big impact from the get go may be ambitious. 8. Stanford-they lose Smith but will be strong with a great cast of players returning in addition to Jones and Belibi. Could easily rise up and be a top 4 team. Tier 5-doesn't appear to be Final Four threat. Likely a Sweet 16 or Elite 8 squad: 9. NC State-they have a good roster back and should get a boost from their injured players returning. Leslie is a big loss. 10. Mississippi State-can't see them dropping too far down with Schaefer at the helm. They lose 4 starters but returning 2 stud outside shooters in AEH and Bibby. Also had some good contributions from Scott this year and look for Promise Taylor to make an impact in Starkville. 11. Florida State-a lot depends on who is coaching them, but no question Tennessee has top 10 talent on its roster. A starting 5 of Horston, Westbrook, Green, Davis and Collins could be outstanding. 12. Louisville-massive losses with Carter, Durr and Fuerhing. Much depends on if Walz stays and how the team adjusts without Asia. 13. Miami-all key contributors are back aside from Hoff. 14. Tennessee-made a smart choice to part with Holly. Appear to be losing Westbrook though and Holly's replacement is unknown. Really hard to say how this team stacks up with so many unknowns going into next season. Could be top 10 or fringe top 25. Talent is there, should be better than this year though. 15. UCLA-good talent returning, although lose Drummer and Burke. Onyenwere could lead UCLA into top Others to keep an eye on: MTSU-bring in 2 former top 10 players in Rellah Boothe (coming off ACL) and Anastasia Hayes...probably not a top 15 threat but worth keeping track of Syracuse-stud PG is back Notre Dame-Muffet is great but she has so little talent on this roster compared to every ND squad the past decade. Could be a rough year in South Bend. Kentucky-Howard is back and Patterson is eligible. Could definitely rise higher. Texas-really talented roster with Holmes/Sutton/Collier/Higgs all back. Horrendous coaching though. Teams that may suffer the biggest drop offs include: -Notre Dame -Mississippi State -Louisville -Connecticut [/QUOTE]

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