A look inside the ballot: My preseason top 25 college basketball rankings

November 4, 4:14 PMCollege Basketball ExaminerDave Ryan

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(AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

Examiners from all across the country have weighed in, the votes have been carefully tabulated (no recounts!), and the Kansas Jayhawks check in as your unanimous #1 team in the country to open up the first week of Examiner.com's top 25 men's basketball poll. This is the debut of an exciting new feature for you, the readers, and you can expect new rankings each week right here.

But if there's another reason why this project is shaping up to be an absolute blast, it's that I get to rant on about my personal ballot right after I send in selections. This way you can find out exactly what's going through my brain, all season long. Let's get on with it, shall we?

I know that the preseason top 100 that I've been doing might not match up completely with the rankings you see below, but remember, the first top 100 article (featuring the top ten teams) was published back in May.

Preseason Top 25

1. Kansas
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 1
The easiest pick of the week. Getting Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich back was huge for this team. Even in a stacked Big 12 these guys should topple 30 wins.

2. Michigan State
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 2
Hard to knock the Spartans after making it to the final game last year, especially since they return virtually everyone from their roster. Watch out for Delvon Roe, who looks like a future double-double guy.

3. Villanova
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 5
Interesting that these guys don't have quite as much love across the nation. The Cats have Scottie Reynolds back AND they picked up one of the best recruiting classes in the country.

4. Kentucky
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 4
The most intriguing national title pick out there right now. Calipari already has the players, but how fast can he win in the SEC?

5. Texas
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 3
Surprisingly, I think the loss of A.J. Abrams makes Rick Barnes' team more competitive. Abrams isn't around to jack up errant shots anymore, meaning that these guys should be much more balanced on the offensive end.

6. Purdue
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 7
The Big Ten could be one of the best leagues in the country this year if Purdue plays up to their potential. Expect JaJuan Johnson to blow up and come close to being a lottery pick next spring.

7. Washington
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 14
I think the difference between my ranking of Washington here and the composite one is that I simply have more confidence in freshman Abdul Gaddy than most other people do. He and Thomas could each average close to 20 a night.

8. North Carolina
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 6
I'm not a big fan of blindly putting the defending champs atop the poll by default, especially since they pretty much lost their entire core to the NBA. Expect this team to get upset quite a few times this season.

9. Georgetown
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 19
Another team I'm high on that others are wary of, the Hoyas could be unstoppable if Greg Monroe takes the next step in his development. Remember, this is a guy who projects as top five NBA Draft pick for a reason. Not many teams out there have the size and athleticism to shut him down in the post for 40 minutes.

10. Oklahoma
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 15
Probably the one team that I can't wait to watch this season. And you just have to love Willie Warren. He should be the most explosive scorer in the conference by year's end.

11. West Virginia
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 8
Devin Ebanks is a stud, but this school seems to run into turmoil more than they should. Still plenty of talent here to make a run at a Big East Championship.

12. Xavier
Examiner Preseason Ranking: Unranked
Ouch, it appears that I'm the only unfortunate soul aboard the Xavier bandwagon right now. Am I being foolishly optimistic here? Probably. But hopefully my colleagues see the light after a few big games out of Terrell Holloway.

13. Duke
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 9
I really don't see much improvement this year out of the Dukies. They just don't have the athleticism you need to knock off a team like Kentucky or Texas. Singler will be outstanding once again, but one unfavorable matchup in the tourney and it could be lights out for Coach K.

14. Michigan
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 16
The third year under John Beilein could be historic. Manny Harris is brimming with so much talent that it's almost ridiculous. If the three ball is dropping then these Wolverines could pose a threat to anybody in the country.

15. Oklahoma State
Examiner Preseason Ranking: Unranked
It's somewhat sad that I'm the only one buying into James Anderson and the Cowboys this season. Departed point guard Byron Eaton was a great leader, but he held this team back at times because he was reckless with the ball. Turn your dials accordingly, the James Anderson Show is about to begin.

16. Butler
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 11
It's hardly surprising to see Butler get this much respect in the first poll of the season. These guys will win a ton of games if forward Matt Howard can stay healthy. But will the selection committee punish them with a low seed again like they did last March?

17. Tennessee
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 10
I'm not in love with the Vols as much as some are, but there's a good amount of talent here. Depth shouldn't be an issue. Thing is, I've never been sold on Tyler Smith as a guy who will go out and take over basketball games. Maybe that changes this year with NBA scouts focusing on him every single night.

18. Wake Forest
Examiner Preseason Ranking: Unranked
I had Wake ranked at number ten back in the early summer, but the departures of both Jeff Teague and James Johnson obviously brings them down a notch or two. I really think Al-Farouq Aminu can evolve into one of the ACC's top players, and that's the only reason why I've still got these guys in my top 25.

19. California
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 13
If Willie Warren is my favorite player in college basketball (and he is), then Cal's Jerome Randle would be a close second. I'm a bit surprised to see the Bears so highly ranked in our final poll though, mostly because I thought I was doing them a favor in the first place by getting them in the top 20.

20. Mississippi State
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 18
Even though freshman Renardo Sidney looks like he was just locked inside overnight at an Old Country Buffet, the Bulldogs figure to be much improved this year. As long as Jarvis Varnardo keeps swatting away anything near the basket then these guys should be fine in March.

21. Dayton
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 21
I think everyone out there feels content with Dayton as a top 25 team. Having Xavier nearly ten spots ahead of them could backfire badly as the season wears on, but I'm not too worried about it. As long as Chris Wright can stay consistent, good things are on the horizon.

22. Illinois
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 25
Three of Illinois' top four scorers are back, so there's plenty to like about Bruce Weber's 09-10 roster. Point guard play should be the biggest hurdle, and if they struggle in that area then it's conceivable for this team to fall back into the middle of the Big Ten standings.

23. Georgia Tech
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 22
Ever heard of Derrick Favors? Tech's freshman power forward might just end up being the #1 overall pick next June. If he's as good as advertised then the sky is the limit for Paul Hewitt's team this season.

24. Clemson
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 24
Clemson is a very tough team to predict. They always win a bunch of games to kick off the year to get everybody all excited, and then they start to fizzle down the stretch. Trevor Booker is the key. But how often can he carry this offense?

25. Minnesota
Examiner Preseason Ranking: 23
If Tubby Smith is selling something in Minnesota, then I'm probably buying it. I'm not really a huge fan of his on-court ability as a coach, it's more of his recruiting prowess that has me excited about this current team. Slasher Lawrence Westbrook brings to mind a young Leandro Barbosa, who is one of the NBA's most dangerous scorers in transition.