Here are my rankings for the 2016-17 college hoops season. You may be wondering whether these selections are the product of a laptop-based algorithm or simply the sum of my subjective evaluations. The answers there would be yes -- and yes.
I start with how good a team was last year, and then I tally up the percentage of possession-minutes that team is bringing back from last season. Then I take a look at where the top freshmen in this year's class will be playing, paying particular attention to (the ones we think will be) the best of the best. Lastly, I make due allowance for coaches who have shown they can work consistent statistical wonders across multiple personnel cycles, transfers who could make a difference and any team-specific concerns regarding regression to the mean in areas like close-game clutchness/luck and 3-point defense.