Ten different conferences have at least one team in the HERO Sports Never-Too-Early 2019-20 College Basketball Rankings, and one conference has two teams in the top three.
The ACC and SEC lead with five teams apiece, followed by the Big East and Big Ten (three) and American, Big 12 and Pac-12 (two). The Atlantic 10, Mountain West and WCC each have one team.
Your never-too-early preseason 2019-20 college basketball rankings:
[divider]
25. Arizona State
Six of Arizona State's top seven scorers should be back, though Luguentz Dort could ultimately leave for the NBA. With or without Dort, the Sun Devils have enough for a tourney bid. With Dort, they're a fringe top-25 team capable of challenging Oregon for the Pac-12 title.
[divider]
24. Mississippi State
Leading scorer Quinndary Weatherspoon is gone, as is senior forward Aric Holman, but Mississippi State returns everyone else, including Lamar Peters, Tyson Carter and Reggie Perry, and adds four-star forward Elias King.
[divider]
23. VCU
I tried to talk myself into a top-20 ranking for VCU, but No. 23 feels right for team that returns everyone.
Barring unexpected departures, a superb defensive team should mature offensively with the return of 96 percent of their scoring, led by three double-digit scorers in Marcus Evans, De'Riante Jenkins, Isaac Vann and Marcus Santos-Silva.
[divider]
22. Auburn
Bryce Brown and Malik Dunbar have exhausted their eligibility, and Chuma Okeke's knee injury put his 2019-20 status in jeopardy. Still, Jared Harper should return, as should Samir Doughty and Anfernee McLemore.
Bruce Pearl has signed five players in the 2019 class, most notably top-40 recruit Isaac Okoro, the nation's seventh-ranked small forward.
[divider]
21. LSU
LSU could be a top-10 team or an NIT team. Their 2019-20 stock is incomplete until the Will Wade situation is resolved.
For now, the Tigers are No. 21 because I don't know where else to put them.
[divider]
20. Utah State
Unless Craig Smith is poached late in the coaching carousel, Utah State is in position for a huge season.
Departures of senior forwards Quinn Taylor and Dwayne Brown Jr. will crush their frontcourt depth, but their top four scorers return, including 20-point-per-game scorer Sam Merrill and 6-foot-11 center Neemia Queta.
UPDATED: 2019 Coaching Change Tracker
[divider]
19. Iowa
Iowa loses senior forward Nicholas Baer. That's it.
Tyler Cook, Luka Garza, Jordan Bohannon, Joe Wieskamp and Isaiah Moss are all expected back for what should be Fran McCaffrey's best team ever and the best Iowa team since 2006.
[divider]
18. Oregon
Oregon was a top-10 team in my early 2018-19 rankings. They won the Pac-12 Tournament, won a couple tourney games and terrified Virginia, but the Ducks fell far short of regular-season expectations.
Double-digit scorer Paul White is gone, but Payton Pritchard, Louis King, Victor Bailey and Will Richardson — along with three top-100 recruits and the top JUCO prospect, shooting guard Chris Duarte — are enough to make Oregon a firm top-25 team.
[divider]
17. Florida State
Five seniors are gone, including Terence Mann and Christ Koumadje, but Florida State's quest for a third straight Sweet Sixteen will feature Mfiondu Kabengele, Trent Forrest, M.J. Walker and two top-100 recruits in Patrick Williams and Balsa Koprivica.
[divider]
16. Louisville
Christen Cunningham is gone and Jordan Nwora and Steve Enoch are testing the draft waters, but the nation's eighth-ranked recruiting class (and top class in the ACC) will join Dwayne Sutton, Malik Williams and Ryan McMahon for Louisville next season.
[divider]
15. Villanova
Phil Booth and Eric Paschall, who accounted for 48 percent of Villanova's scoring last year, are graduating, but Jay Wright returns Collin Gillespie, Sadiq Bey, Jermaine Samuels and welcomes the nation's third-ranked recruiting class.
Five-star shooting guard Bryan Antoine, the nation's 14th-ranked player, could be their leading scorer next season.
[divider]
14. Texas Tech
While Texas Tech may take a big step back next season without Jarrett Culver, Matt Mooney, Tariq Owens and others, Chris Beard has earned the benefit of the doubt and should keep the Red Raiders in Big 12 title contention.
[divider]
13. Tennessee
Tennessee's 2019-20 outlook is in a holding pattern as Grant Williams and Jordan Bone weigh NBA decisions and UCLA courts Rick Barnes. If all three return, the Vols are a top-five team despite the losses of Admiral Schofield and Kyle Alexander.
[divider]
12. North Carolina
North Carolina is in a weird spot.
Their top five scorers — Cam Johnson, Coby White, Luke Maye, Nassir Little and Kenny Williams — are leaving, and they've signed just two players in the 2019 class, three-star point guard Jeremiah Francis and five-star center Armando Bacot.
[divider]
11. Seton Hall
Myles Powell, Myles Cale and Quincy McKnight are expected back for a Seton Hall team that also retained head coach Kevin Willard.
The Pirates haven't been a top-three tourney seed since 1993.
[divider]
10. Houston
Houston already won huge when Kelvin Sampson passed on high-major offers and signed an extension. Now, they can focus on a deep tourney run in 2020.
Losing Corey Davis Jr. and Galen Robinson Jr. sucks — and Breaon Brady's graduation hurts their depth inside — but the Cougars still return three of their top five scorers, including senior guard Armoni Brooks.
[divider]
9. Kansas
Kansas could lose more than half their scholarship players, and while mass exoduses are usually devastating, it might be a welcome turnover for a roster that struggled to find any groove, even if their rotation was depleted.
Devon Dotson, Ochai Agbaji, David McCormack and others return, and they're chasing several high-level recruits and grad transfers.
[divider]
8. Gonzaga
Gonzaga is No. 8 if Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke leave early. If they return, Gonzaga is the clear preseason No. 1 despite the loss of Josh Perkins.
Zach Norvell Jr. is expected back, as are Corey Kispert and Flipi Petrusev.
[divider]
7. Marquette
This will be Steve Wojciechowski's best team and potentially one of Marquette's best teams ever. They could compete for their first-ever top-two tourney seed.
Woj's top seven scorers should return, led by Markus Howard, Sam Hauser, Joey Hauser and Sacar Anim.
[divider]
6. Cincinnati
Cincinnati is No. 6 with Mick Cronin. If he leaves for UCLA, though that appears less and less likely each day, the Bearcats, despite a loaded roster, would tumble way outside the top 10.
They'll lose seniors Justin Jenifer and Cane Broome but return their top three scorers in Jarron Cumberland, Keith Williams and Tre Scott, along with Nysier Brooks and Rashawn Fredericks.
[divider]
5. Duke
Duke is a top-five team if Tre Jones returns. He'd lead returnees Javin DeLaurier, Jack White, Alex O'Connelly and Marques Bolden, and incoming recruits Vernon Carey, Boogie Ellis and Wendell Moore.
If Jones leaves, Duke still has top-five potential, but they're not a top-five preseason team.
[divider]
4. Kentucky
Three top-25 recruits and Bucknell grad transfer Nate Sestina will join a somewhat experienced rotation that could include Ashton Hagans, Nick Richards, EJ Montgomery, Immanuel Quickley and others.
Obviously, per usual Kentucky will rely on youth from those top-25 recruits — Tyrese Maxey, Kahlil Whitney and Keion Brooks — and it'll be a question of, "Can they develop enough by March?" to win their first title since 2012.
[divider]
3. Michigan
Michigan exceeded expectations by narrowly missing a Big Ten regular-season title and earning top-two tourney seed. That will be the expectation next year with the return of Zavier Simpson, Eli Brooks, Isaiah Livers, Jon Teske and (likely) Ignas Brazdeikis and Jordan Poole.
[divider]
2. Virginia
Virginia is No. 2 if Ty Jerome, a projected second-round pick, returns. If he leaves, Virginia drops closer to No. 10, if not lower.
De'Andre Hunter is a lottery prospect, and Jack Salt is graduating, but Kyle Guy is expected back, as is Mamadi Diakite, Braxton Key and freshman point guard Kihei Clark.
[divider]
1. Michigan State
Matt McQuaid and Kenny Goins are finally gone, but Michigan State should return Cassius Winston, Xavier Tillman, Nick Ward and Aaron Henry and get Joshua Langford and Kyle Ahrens back from injury.
The Spartans are loaded for another Final Four run.
