The Cincinnati Bearcats come in at No. 31 in the 3 Man Weave preseason Top 50 countdown. The Bearcats had an average ranking of 29.66 between the three individual polls, coming in at No. 22, No. 27, and No. 40. The Average ranking of 29.66 is the 31st best average rank, which is why they come in at that number.
They note that Cincinnati doesn't have any key returners, and everyone is a key newcomer. The Bearcats' projected starting lineup, according to 3MW, is Tylen Riley, Myles Colvin, Eric Mahaffey, Adlan Elamin, and Jayden Hastings. The projection isn't terrible; in the Baha Mar Hoops Summer League, Tyler Tejada was starting at the 4, and Elamin was pushed to the 3 with Mahaffey coming off the bench. They left MJ Collins out of the starting lineup because of the whole 5-in-5 situation in college basketball at the moment, but if Collins is cleared to play this season, you could expect Cincinnati to be a little higher than their current projection at No. 31.
No. 30 through 50 are the only rankings to be released at the moment. But the Bearcats are ranked ahead of Big 12 schools like West Virginia (No. 50), Baylor (No. 49), Oklahoma State (No. 48), BYU (No. 44), Texas Tech (No. 39), and TCU (No. 33). Arizona State comes in at No. 30 and is the only Big 12 team announced ahead of Cincinnati thus far.
The Bearcats also outrank the Ohio State Buckeyes (No. 35) and the Xavier Musketeers (No. 46).
Cincy checks in at No. 31 on our Top 50 countdown!
— Three Man Weave (@3MW_CBB) August 14, 2026
Can Cats climb con Calhoun? https://t.co/CCbL8WNGGQ
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