Syracuse will likely lose Wes Johnson. Couple that with the departure of seniors Andy Rautins and Arinze Onuaku and it's hard to argue that the Orange should be in the poll, despite a highly ranked recruiting class coming in.
13. Memphis: That was quick. The Tigers are back with the top recruiting class in the country, led by Will Barton and Joe Jackson. They'll join returning star Elliot Williams. Second-year coach Josh Pastner has the pieces to be the class of C-USA again and a real threat for a deep run. Defections to the NBA draft actually have Memphis ranked ahead of Kentucky. We'll see if that holds.
15. Kentucky: The Wildcats are here because of what I anticipate occurring. We don't know what will happen, but you must expect they'll get a recruiting haul this spring. There are plenty of big-time recruits still available. Expect John Wall, Patrick Patterson, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton to declare for the draft. But the return of Darius Miller and Darnell Dodson, with the addition of a few locks in Stacey Poole and Enes Kanter mean the Wildcats will be in the hunt again.
