In normal times, we'd be just days away from the start of the college basketball season. This year, thanks to a pandemic, the start of the season was delayed by about two weeks. But we're inching closer.

And as we inch closer, we start to get the annual influx of preseason rankings. Throughout the summer and into the fall, Villanova's position in these rankings has remained incredibly stable. After flirting with the No. 1 spot while awaiting the decision of Saddiq Bey, the 'Cats joined a group with two other schools that has generally been the consensus top 3: Villanova, Baylor, and Gonzaga.

That group was for the most part talked about together as a clear top 3, with the tone implying that they were almost interchangable in spots 1-3. However, when analysts were pressed to put hard rankings out, it was usually Gonzaga and Baylor making up the 1-2 and Villanova consistently landing at 3. On Thursday, that changed.

CBS writer and analyst Matt Norlander took on the challenge of ranking every school in Division 1 from 1-357. On Thursday, the final piece of that undertaking was released, No.'s 1-68. And topping the list was the Villanova Wildcats. Gonzaga was second, Baylor third, followed by Illinois and Virginia to round out the top 5.

Norlander believes both Collin Gillespie and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl have legitimate Big East POY potential and is bullish on the 'Cats getting the kind of contributions from Bryan Antoine that were expected last year before his season was derailed by a shoulder injury. What 'Nova gets from Antoine this season has been a point of debate around here and will be a big factor in how good this team can be.

The best part of Norlander's analysis of the 'Cats, and the part that makes the No. 1 ranking more interesting, is the acknowledgement of two players who seem to be flying under the radar in most national breakdowns of the 'Cats.

The first is Tulane transfer Caleb Daniels, who Norlander refers to as a "secret weapon." And it does feel like Daniels is a secret. Having to sit out a year will have that effect, but if you've been following along with our preseason coverage you know we like what Daniels brings to the table.

The other is Justin Moore, who Norlander highlights as having "HUGE potential." Again, if you've been following us throughout the fall, you know we are high on Moore and consider him as perhaps the team's biggest potential breakout player. Yet, outside of Norlander, it seems Moore never garners as much as a mention in almost all of the national-based preseason write-ups on the team. It's not a coincidence that Norlander has picked up on those two underrated pieces of the puzzle and also happens to rank the 'Cats No. 1.

The other intersting part of Norlander's rankings is the strength of Villanova's schedule. We discussed this briefly with the release of Ken Pomeroy's rankings on Tuesday night, but Norlander's preseason rankings raise the potential for Villanova to have two top-five opponents on the slate this season in Virginia and Baylor (if the teams end up meeting at the Empire Classic). In addition, Norlander has Arizona State at No. 17 and Texas at No. 20. Villanova should have at least three, and potentially four, top 20 matchups in the non-conference alone. With Creighton checking in at No. 11, that rises to five or six top 20 matchups out of a 27-game schedule. Pretty impressive, and we should certainly get a feel for just how good the 'Cats are.

Again, it's interesting that the Wildcats landed at No. 1 on Norlander's list with him noting two pieces that many national analysts seem to be overlooking. At any rate, it's shaping up to be an incredibly fun season for 'Nova, not only because of the quality of the team and the lofty rankings, but also because of the impressive schedule that has been put together (assuming everything goes as planned). We're just 20 days from the ride starting. Buckle up.