Blue Ribbon College Basketball Rankings: Saint Mary’s and Jock Landale recognized in preseason

The annual basketball bible is on its way.

The Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook is complete, and the company has released its preseason top 25 and All-American teams.

Most notably from the mid-major world: Blue Ribbon recognizes the greatness that is Jock Landale. The Saint Mary’s senior center would be a national player of the year candidate if he played in a Power 5 conference, but thankfully, the smart folks at Blue Ribbon recognize him as a first-team All-American.

Meanwhile his team lands at No. 17 in the preseason top 25. Conference rival and last year’s national runner-up Gonzaga comes in at No. 20.

The Gaels return the core of their 2016-17 team that lost just five games all year. They also add grad transfer Cullen Neal from Ole Miss to form one of the most experienced and balanced teams in the country.

As for the Bulldogs, their ranking may come more from name recognition than anything else. With Nigel Williams-Goss, Przemek Karnowski, Zach Collins, and Jordan Mathews all gone, Gonzaga will have a new look this season. The talent is there for the Bulldogs to contend, but they’ll need to rely on increased roles from every returning player.

The full top 25 and All-American teams can be found here.