39. Mississippi State Bulldogs

40. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

41. Memphis Tigers

42. McNeese Cowboys

43. Michigan State Spartans

44. Michigan Wolverines

45. VCU Rams

46. Dayton Flyers

47. St Mary’s Gaels

48. Washington Huskies

49. UCF Knights

50. Louisville Cardinals

51. Boise State Broncos

52. Clemson Tigers

53. New Mexico Lobos

54. Arizona State Sun Devils

55. Utah State Aggies

56. Colorado State Rams

57. Seton Hall Pirates

58. SMU Mustangs

59. South Carolina Gamecocks

60. Nevada Wolfpack

61. TCU Horned Frogs

62. Villanova Wildcats

63. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

64. Saint Louis Billikens

65. Syracuse Orange

66. Nebraska Cornhuskers

67. Pittsburgh Panthers

68. Iowa Hawkeyes

69. NC State Wolfpack

70. Butler Bulldogs

71. Princeton Tigers

72. Virginia Cavaliers

73. Saint Joseph’s Hawks

74. Oklahoma Sooners

75. West Virginia Mountaineers

76. Georgia Bulldogs

77. UAB Blazers

78: Wisconsin Badgers

79. San Diego State Aztecs

80. Missouri Tigers

81. Northwestern Wildcats

82. Loyola Chicago Ramblers

Here’s where each of our analysts have the Friars ranked:

Steven	Maxwell	Kam	Cody
30	33	45	37

This ranking almost completely and entirely depends on the injury status of Bryce Hopkins. The Friars were 11-2 prior to last year’s Seton Hall game where Hopkins suffered a torn ACL. They finished the season 21-14 and finished on the outside looking in of the NCAA tournament bubble. Despite Hopkins’ injury, the Friars beat Big East foes like Creighton and St. John’s and finished the year with six quad one victories. The Big East only getting three bids in the NCAA tournament last year is still criminal. This year, the Friars don’t have the same pieces they had around Hopkins a year ago. Devin Carter ended up being the 13th pick in the NBA draft and big man, Josh Oduro graduated. Aside from Hopkins, the other returning started is Jayden Pierre. Many expect a breakout from Pierre because he didn’t truly get to have the ball in his hands playing behind or alongside Carter last year.

Starting next to Pierre is Chicago State transfer, Wesley Cardet. Despite playing at a lower level, Cardet had some high scoring outputs against high major teams last year, including 30 against Northwestern. On the year, Cardet averaged 18.7 points per game last season. The first guard off the bench is returner Corey Floyd Jr. The starting small forward will likely be Jabri Abdur-Rahim, previously from Georgia. Despite shooting 35.6% from three, Abdur-Rahim is a much better shooter than the percentages indicate. The fifth starter will be former St. Joseph’s center, Chris Essandoko. Essandoko will allow the Friars to play a five-out system given he’s a 36.8% three point shooter. Additionally, Essandoko is also 7’0″ tall.

Aside from Floyd, the other backcourt guard is Bensley Joseph who previously played for Miami. On the wing, there’s Rich Barron and Justyn Fernandez. Fernandez is a George Mason transfer who followed Coach English to Providence but missed last year due to injury. The final notable name is Oswin Erhunmwunse, a 2025 top 25 player who reclassified to join the Friars this year.

While Hopkins may not be ready to start the year, this team’s depth is its strong suit. As long as Hopkins is back by Big East play, this team has a good shot at the NCAA tournament. The notable non-conference games where the Friars can make noise is in the Battle 4 Atlantis, where they’ll play the Oklahoma Sooners in the first round. If they beat Oklahoma, they’ll likely play Arizona, who plays Davidson in round one. From there, they’ll get another high major game, whether it’s Gonzaga/West Virginia/Louisville/Indiana. Aside from that, they have a home game against BYU in early December. While the Friars fell victim to the committee to get in the NCAA tournament last year, they need to ensure they avoid that this year.