John Carroll athletics photo by Ben Peskar; d3photography.com photos by Doug Sasse

Six NCAA Tournament wins, multiplied by four returning starters, and you end up with 24 preseason No. 1 votes.

That's not a hard and fast formula by any stretch, but it does work out this year in the case of Christopher Newport, which won the title this past March and has a solid two-thirds of its scoring and rebounding back from a team which won 30 games. 

The voters don't think UW-Whitewater or Keene State will skip a beat in their returns this season under new head coaches, after the retirement of Pat Miller and Ryan Cain's departure for Johns Hopkins. Both start out in our top five. Mount Union, which was within one stop of a national title, might have one more key role on the floor to fill but the Purple Raiders also get a spot in the preseason top five. 

When you look at the poll, look for clusters of teams: four teams within 24 points of each other from Nos. 9-12, five within 20 points at Nos. 19-23, etc. Check out the full poll.

2023-24 men's basketball preseason D3hoops.com Top 25

The first regular-season poll is slated for release on Monday, Nov. 27.