Previewing college basketball's top 100 teams for the 09-10 season (31-40)

September 17, 4:41 PMCollege Basketball ExaminerDave Ryan

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LaceDarius Dunn has scored over 1,000 points in two years at Baylor (AP)

Over the next few months I'll be taking a look at the best that college basketball has to offer heading into this upcoming season. Starting with number one and working my way to the century mark, I'll rank each team based on a number of factors (returning players, departed players, incoming freshmen, coaching staff, conference strength, etc.). If you have any issues with these rankings then feel free to let me hear about it in the comments section.

 1-10   |   11-20   |   21-30   |   31-40   |   41-50   |   51-60   |   61-70   |   71-80   |   81-90   |   91-100

31. Baylor Bears

Despite losing senior guards Henry Dugat and Curtis Jerrells, the Bears are poised to improve upon their underwhelming 5-11 Big 12 record from a year ago. Lights out scorer LaceDarius Dunn will become the focal point on offense as a senior, while Michigan transfer Ekpe Udoh will add length and athleticism to the defensive end. With the Big 12 yet again projected to be one of the strongest conferences in college hoops, it's easy to forget that Baylor actually knocked off every single legitimate conference opponent not named Oklahoma or Missouri last year. Expect Scott Drew's team to weather the storm in conference play, and find a way to make some noise when tournament time rolls around.

32. Ohio State Buckeyes

Three years removed from a trip to the title game, Thad Matta's Buckeyes look as dangerous as ever from an offensive standpoint. With all four top scorers back, including First Team All-Big Ten selection Evan Turner, this team should have no trouble putting points on the scoreboard. The biggest question will be at the defensive end, where the departure of seven foot center B.J. Mullens leaves the Buckeyes fairly thin. Blue chip center Jared Sullinger is a solid commit in OSU's 2010 recruiting class, but for the time being it will be up to Turner and guys like William Buford and David Lighty to try and keep this team unscathed through Big Ten play.

33. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Normally when a player is projected as a first round NBA draft pick, he usually ends up jumping to the next level. That's why it was such a shock when big man Gani Lawal chose to return to college for another season at Georgia Tech. Lawal will be joined in Tech's frontcourt with all-everything recruit Derrick Favors, an in-state product who is probably talented enough to play in the NBA right now if he could. Even if he stays for just one season before making the leap, head coach Paul Hewitt set himself up nicely by signing three other top recruits in this class. Expect Favors and Lawal to block a ton of shots, score a ton of points and do a ton of damage in the ACC this season.

34. UCLA Bruins

Knowing the high amount of turnover he's had in recent years at his program, UCLA head coach Ben Howland has been forced to make his recruiting classes as deep as possible. The jewel of his signing class from last year was Jrue Holiday, a combo guard who is already in the NBA. But along with Holiday, Howland also inked J'Mison Morgan (5 star), Jerime Anderson (4 star), Malcolm Lee (4 star) and Drew Gordon (4 star), all guys who should see significant minutes this year. This youth movement is inevitably going to cause a few rough patches at times, but there's no reason to believe a handful of these kids can't grow up in a big way and make the Bruins a dangerous opponent this spring.

35. Penn State Nittany Lions

While most people were focused on their bracket pools and the NCAA Tournament, there was an overwhelming amount of exciting basketball taking place in the lesser National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Of course, most of that was being played by Penn State, the guys who coincidentally went on to win the whole thing. Led by sophomore guard Talor Battle, the Nittany Lions found ways to upend teams like Florida, Notre Dame and Baylor en route to the title. Now that he's back for his junior season, Battle is prepared to turn his NIT success into an at-large NCAA berth. Their biggest problem is that Stanley Pringle and Jamelle Cornley are both gone, which essentially puts Penn State's season on Battle's shoulders.

36. Texas A&M Aggies

The Aggies won more basketball games than Texas and Oklahoma State did last season, so why are they still 20 spots away from their Big 12 rivals in these rankings? Despite the return of Donald Sloan and Bryan Davis, I think losing Josh Carter will hurt this team significantly. Carter was clearly the best player on the floor every time Texas A&M suited up last season. Along with that, the defection of 6'10" center Chinemelu Elonu put a serious hole in the frontcourt. That means everything really hinges on how well Sloan and Davis can score each night. Regardless, reaching last year's total of 24 wins seems like a daunting task for this roster.

37. Gonzaga Bulldogs

After going undefeated in West Coast Conference play this past season, Gonzaga saw four of their top five scorers either graduate or leave early for the NBA. Fortunately, second leading scorer Matt Bouldin is back for his senior year, and guards Steven Gray and Demetri Goodson already have plenty of big game experience under their belts. With his scoring potential, it's hard not to see Bouldin evolving into another memorable Gonzaga cult hero like a Dan Dickau or an Adam Morrison. There's still enough talent here for the Bulldogs to snag another WCC title.

38. Cincinnati Bearcats

A definitive sleeper heading into the 09-10 season, Cincinnati is bringing back virtually everybody from a team that went 18-14 a year ago. They also added superstar recruit Lance Stephenson, who is widely considered one of the top 15 players in the 09' recruiting class. Throw in a potentially dominant big man in sophomore Yancy Gates, and senior leading scorer Deonta Vaughn, and you have three NBA caliber players all getting huge minutes for Mick Cronin's squad. Make no mistake, the Big East is stacked with talent, but Cincinnati should still have enough firepower on both ends to compete with most teams in the league.

39. Northwestern Wildcats

The eighth Big Ten school to make these rankings, Northwestern has lofty expectations after finishing 8-10 in conference play last year and whiffing on an NCAA bid. The Wildcats have never actually made an NCAA Tournament appearance, but they return three of their top four scorers and are in a very intriguing sleeper position in the Big Ten. Senior forward and leading scorer Kevin Coble is back to lead a unit that led the conference in three point accuracy, a statistic that should prove crucial if the Wildcats are to have continued success late in the season. If Northwestern can get junior point guard Michael Thompson to step up and fill a crucial role of distributor, then there's a good chance they can play meaningful basketball in March.

40. South Carolina Gamecocks

Another school expected to make a noticeable leap hailing the SEC, South Carolina's hopes for a big year were boosted immediately when star Devan Downey came back for his final season. One minor drawback however, is that the Gamecocks have to play in the same division as both Kentucky and Tennessee (each is likely to win 10+ conference games). Downey will need to be unbelievable to get this team near the upper half of the SEC, but he should get considerable help from senior forwards Dominique Archie and Evaldas Baniulis. This team still needs to prove they can actually beat an elite conference foe like Kentucky or Mississippi State, especially if they want to avoid being on the wrong side of the bubble.