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Message: [QUOTE="DefenseBB, post: 5310769, member: 7492"] Overall, for the 2025-26 Season, I like it as you stated-UConn, SC and UCLA but there is nuance to be considered. UCLA traditionally starts strong and never really evolves and is why they struggle in the NCAAT vs. their seeding. I would say, UCLA would not have come in 2nd in the BE last year as they were good early and we were still finding ourselves (remember that ugly Tennessee game?). I do think want to counter [USER=2117]@bballnut90[/USER] in that our starting 5 is second behind UCLA but our bench is much better than UCLA's. For example, who backs up Rice at PG? Kneepkens and CLW are not PGs and certainly cannot defend the quicker PGs that exist. UCLA has better experience at the P, PG and even the SG than us but our bench is so much better and deeper. That is not to say UCLA's bench is not good but it is limited in Guard play and elite shooting. To me, the spreadsheet is a great listing from June 8 but will need to evolve and be iterative as the season progresses. LSU has a lot of new pieces to fit in, so I have them 4th in the SEC, Vandy lost Pierre and was already behind SC/Tex/OK/LSU/TN and Ole Miss so their ranking is way too high/low. Heck, they will struggle with what Kentucky has. I think Duke is currently under-valued in that listing, albeit not by much given their offensive limitations. Although, I do find most Duke fans "highly offensive".... :cool: Like I said, this is a great snapshot to see and assess. I would add the HC at the top as pedigree and experience matter. You can't underestimate Mulkey, whereas we could make a living "shorting" Cori Close, Coach Yo, Kim Barnes Arico, Bill Fennelly and even the Tennessee teams since 2008. :rolleyes: Every season will bring about opportunities for someone to break through but given the consistency of the experienced coaches, I am skeptical. [/QUOTE]

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