College Basketball Way-Too-Early Top-25 For 2020-21

Yes, we know the 2019-20 season just ended abruptly and without crowning a champion with the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament, so why would anyone want to see a Top-25 for next season right now?

The simple answer is we are sports writes, and our readers are sports fans and anything sports right now can't be all bad, even if it is early to start ranking teams when the season-if it happens- is seven months away.

For the Vanderbilt Commodores, who made some positive steps late last season, there is no talk of top-25 at this time, and frankly, it might be another year and a few more players away from that potentially happening, but there is still a lot of interest in the rankings none the less.

Which SEC teams made the cut for the Sports Illustrated Way-Too-Early Top 25?

It's the usual suspects led by Kentucky.

6. Kentucky

Tyrese Maxey and Ashton Hagans have both declared for the draft, and operating under the assumption Immanuel Quickley and Nick Richards also turn pro, Kentucky will look a lot different but won’t lack for talent. Much will hinge on how quickly SI All-Americans B.J. Boston and Terrence Clarke figure out how to play together, with both being scorers who like the ball in their hands, but having an unselfish guard in Devin Askew should help. Those three freshmen should have a lot of responsibility, with Keion Brooks and E.J. Montgomery returning to do the work inside. This is the recipe for a good team, albeit with some question marks.

A rival returns as Tennessee it tabbed.

12. Tennessee

This might be Rick Barnes’s most talented Tennessee team and looks like a legit SEC dark horse, with a wealth of talent on the perimeter led by five-star freshmen Jaden Springer and Keon Johnson. Someone is going to have to come off the bench, whether it’s one of those two or returning point guard Santiago Vescovi, but these are pretty good problems to have. Josiah Jordan-James and Yves Pons have plenty of untapped upside, E.J. Anosike transfers in from Sacred Heart, and productive big man John Fulkerson is also back. If all goes well, the Vols should be extremely tough defensively, and will benefit from having more shot-creators on the roster, even though the backcourt skews young.

The SEC East is loaded as the Florida Gators round out the SEC teams in this early look.

18. Florida

The Gators get Scottie Lewis back, should return Keyontae Johnson and will have transfers Anthony Duruji (Louisiana Tech) and Tyree Appleby (Cleveland State) eligible, putting them in position to take a step forward as a group. This could be a crowded rotation, but on paper it’s a good problem to have, with Andrew Nembhard, Tre Mann and Noah Locke returning at guard. Florida won’t have Kerry Blackshear to rely on upfront, but there’s plenty on the roster to work with, and it will likely bring back more important pieces than anyone in the conference.

What about the SEC West?

LSU found their way into the first five outside the rankings, but serious off-court issues and questions surround Will Wade and the Tigers and much could happen between now and the start of the season to derail things in Baton Rouge.

Vanderbilt should be better, but there's still some work to do for Jerry Stackhouse and his staff before anyone will be mentioning the Commodores in any top-25 rankings.

Follow Greg on Twitter @GregAriasSports and @SIVanderbilt or Facebook at Vanderbilt Commodores-Maven

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