Early Bird Countdown: College Basketball's Top 40 Teams

40. St. John's—With Steve Lavin back on the sidelines and D.J. Kennedy, this veteran team can be a pretty good Big East team.

39. Miami (FL)—After their performance in the ACC tournament, especially Durand Scott, I really like them for next year.

38. UTEP—With Tim Floyd back in coaching after all the sanctions at USC, he has to prove himself here.

37. Maryland—Despite the loss of Greivis Vasquez, Gary Williams will find another way be a decent ACC team.

36. Xavier—Without Jordan Crawford, they won't have a top scorer from last season, but still have the talent to compete in the A10.

35. New Mexico—After IU passed on him, Steve Alford has had success in New Mexico. That will continue this season.

34. Minnesota—Tubby Smith's team has improved a lot since he's been there. They will continue their rise this season.

33. Florida State—With Chris Singleton, Florida State has a chance to compete at the top of the ACC.

32. UNLV—Tre'Von Willis is the best player on the experienced team coming back.

31. West Virginia—With two of the stars gone in Ebanks and Butler, it gives Kevin Jonse a chance to step in and do a great job with Bob Huggins.

30. Georgia—Georgia has the talent to compete in the SEC.

29. Louisville—Rick Pitino brought in a lot of young guns and this will be a year for them to shine.

28. Temple—Another Atlantic 10 team with the talent to make the NCAA Tournament this year.

27. Richmond—Kevin Anderson was the star of the team last year and he's back. The Richmond Spiders will be at the top of the Atlantic 10 all year.

26. Wisconsin—I think that Bo Ryan is one of the most underrated coaches in America. With a game style that will lull you to sleep and then pounce, Wisconsin is again a team that will be competitive in the Big Ten.

To see Collin O'Connor's Top 25 along with other college basketball insight, visit http://www.sportshaze.com/category/ncaa-bk/