For the next five days, I’ll be covering five college basketball teams a day. The rankings are based on the Preseason AP Poll that was released on November 6th. Fans can get their preseason fix with several notable tournaments this weekend including the 2K Sports College Basketball Classic as well as the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

25. Tennessee Volunteers: Aside from Bruce Pearl’s orange blazer, Tennessee has some things going for it. The Vols finally aren’t just a football school. They played a bit over their heads last season and weren’t quite ready for the two seed they received but they still will be a tough test in the SEC. The Vols return two of their top three scorers in Chris Lofton and Major Wingate. But they’re going to miss CJ Watson, a guy that put up 15 points a game for the Vols. One thing that’s going to make it tough for the Vols is that they won’t be sneaking up on anybody this season. Last year’s team took the SEC by surprise and got a #2 seed out of it in the NCAA Tournament. This team probably won’t repeat last year’s regular success but should be more geared for a March run with the experience they received last year.

24. Nevada Wolfpack: I was curious about Nevada before last year’s NCAA Tournament. That curiosity became hatred, as they got stomped out by Montana in the first round of the NCAAs. The Wolfpack have a couple of great scorers back in Nick Fazekas, last year’s WAC Player of the Year, and Marcelus Kemp, the guy that actually tried in the loss to Montana. Fazekas can put up points with the best of them but he’s skinny enough to where I could probably take him in a fight. Nevertheless, Nevada should roll through the WAC again this year.

23. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: Lots of hype this preseason has gone towards the Jackets’ new freshman, point guard Javaris Crittenton. They also return their top three scorers. The nucleus of the team that made an NCAA Championship Game run a few years back is gone but Tech has rebuilt quite nicely. Look for them to challenge behind coach Paul Hewitt and the rabid student section at The Thrillerdome, affectionately dubbed “The Tit” by GT students.

22. Kentucky Wildcats: Tubby Smith enters what seems like his 123487634286th season calling the shots in Kentucky and to nobody’s surprise, his team is again ranked in the preseason poll. The Wildcats will be without point guard Rajon Rondo, who got drafted in the first round by the Celtics last year. UK will also be without Patrick Sparks, the white guy who most notably hit the game-tying shot against Michigan State in the Elite Eight a few years back. Regardless, this is Kentucky Basketball. They’ll be there in the end.

21. Texas Longhorns: How can a team that loses every starter from last year’s team still be ranked? When they have great recruits and great depth. The Longhorns had three players from last year, LaMarcus Aldrdidge, PJ Tucker, and Daniel Gibson drafted to the NBA. But they also pulled in one of the best recruits in the country in Kevin Durant. AJ Abrams is expected to take over as the team leader but look for the young Longhorns to have some growing pains this season.