The early-entry deadline is over. Rosters can now be set. And so, too, can a new preseason Power 36. This is a projection of teams that have the goods to be in the field in 2020. Of course, it’s not the 36 at-large pool since there will be automatic qualifiers. But this is our list of the Power 36 teams that could potentially be in the next NCAA tournament:
1. Michigan State: The Spartans have the preseason Big Ten Player of the year in Cassius Winston back at the point. The depth is in place at every position. Watch Xavier Tillman and Aaron Henry become stars this season.
2. Kentucky: The Wildcats now have an experienced lead guard in Ashton Hagans and got a huge boost with the return of bigs Nick Richards and E.J. Montgomery. John Calipari will have depth and another shot at a Final Four.
3. Duke: The Blue Devils have an elite recruiting class yet again. But the most important recruit was getting Tre Jones to come back. Javin DeLaurier will have even more of a significant role and should shine. The Blue Devils will have one of the best point guards at both ends of the court. This freshmen class won’t have the hype of last season but will need to have as much impact (see: Vernon Carey, Wendell Moore and Matthew Hurt).
4. Memphis: Penny Hardaway got the top recruiting class in the country. The Tigers are loaded led by James Wiseman. The question for Memphis is the same one that dogged Duke and Kentucky at times recently is the lack of experience late in the season or in the NCAA tournament. Memphis will need to get there first and win the AAC. But it’s all obtainable.
https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketbal...ball-rankings-andy-katzs-power-36-teams-right