Oregon Basketball No. 4 in SI Power Rankings

Yes, it’s very early to be ranking college basketball programs, but it’s still a great sign for the Oregon Ducks to be ranked in the top five.

SI.com’s Luke Winn places UO at No. 4 in his latest off-season power rankings, behind Duke, Kansas and defending national champion Villanova.

Here are his comments on the Ducks:

No team had more things go right this offseason than the Ducks. In March, Chris Boucher, their 6'10" gem of a juco transfer, received a waiver for another season of eligibility, and then passed on entering the NBA draft, where his combination of shot-blocking and three-point shooting likely would have made him a second-round pick. Playmaking forward Dillon Brooks and shooting guard Tyler Dorsey made the right call to pass on the draft, too, giving Oregon All-Pac-12 candidates at the 2, 3 and 4 spots. And then on June 30, Villanova transfer Dylan Ennis, who missed nearly all of ‘15–16 with multiple foot injuries, received a medical waiver to extend his college career to a sixth season. When Ennis arrived as a graduate transfer prior to last season, coach Dana Altman called him the best player and leader on the team, and Ennis was projected to start at point guard. He and junior Casey Benson, who emerged as a solid, pass-first game manager in Ennis’s absence, should combine to give Oregon 40 quality minutes at the 1.

Rounding out the top 10, in order, are Kentucky, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Virginia, Arizona and Xavier. UCLA was the only other Pac-12 team in the top 25, coming in at No. 22.