Among the 20 starters for the Final Four teams, just six are seniors, and one is a junior. Nine sophomores and four freshmen start for Final Four teams.

LSU has the youngest team to make it to Indianapolis, starting three freshmen, a sophomore and a senior.

Florida starts four sophomores and a junior. UCLA starts a freshman, two sophomores and two seniors. George Mason has the most experience with three senior starters and two sophomores.

Given that three of the Final Four teams are so young, is it realistic to think Kansas University, which started three freshmen and two sophomores and replaces Jeff Hawkins, Christian Moody and Stephen Vinson with Sherron Collins, Brady Morningstar and maybe Darrell Arthur, will be a preseason top-10 team come November?

First, assume all non-seniors will return, before then trying to guess which schools will be depleted by early exits.

Right off the bat, rank Florida, LSU and UCLA ahead of the Jayhawks. Moving to schools bounced in the Elite Eight, temporarily rank UConn and Texas ahead of KU. Give Memphis, which loses senior star Rodney Carney, the slight edge over Kansas.

Among teams that made it to the Sweet 16 and then lost, give Gonzaga the nod. Ohio State and North Carolina are the schools that won one NCAA Tournament game and project as better than Kansas next season, and no first-round flop figures to be ranked ahead of KU.

So even based on the unrealistic premise that no freshmen, sophomores and juniors will bolt to the NBA from these schools, KU ranks no worse than 10th in the preseason polls behind: 1. UConn; 2. Florida; 3. Texas; 4. UCLA; 5. LSU; 6. North Carolina; 7. Ohio State; 8. Gonzaga; 9. Memphis.

Now, send UConn’s Rudy Gay to the NBA and allow for the possibility of teammates Josh Boone and Marcus Williams joining him. Subtract likely early exits Tyrus Thomas and Glen “Big Baby” Davis from LSU. Send Florida’s Joakim Noah to the NBA lottery, moving higher up the draft ladder by the minute. Give Texas center LaMarcus Aldridge and Gonzaga forward Adam Morrison one-way tickets to the NBA as well.

Should all those players blow off the remainder of their educations for professional paychecks, here’s how the preseason rankings might shape up: 1. UCLA; 2. North Carolina; 3. Ohio State; 4. Memphis; 5. Florida; 6. Kansas.

Why isn’t KU No. 1?

UCLA’s four leading scorers will be back, including injured Josh Shipp, without whom the Bruins have made it to the Final Four.

North Carolina expects to return six of its top seven scorers, and Roy Williams will welcome the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class, according to rivals.com.

Ohio State’s incoming 7-footer Greg Oden has a chance to be the nation’s best player the moment he takes the floor. The rest of the recruiting class, known as the Thad Five, blends with returning backcourt quality to make the Buckeyes a title contender.

Memphis loses its best player and leading scorer in Carney but will remain among the nation’s most athletic teams at every position. Florida’s eighth man is the only senior on the roster, so even if Noah leaves, the Gators will be loaded.