College basketball rankings: San Diego State ranked 19th in ESPN's top 25 power rankings

Today ESPN.com released its preseason top 25 men's college basketball power rankings and the San Diego State Aztecs are ranked 19th.

ESPN's Eamon Brennan wrote the college basketball learned a lesson when the Aztecs found so much success in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year last season: "Never, ever doubt San Diego State."

He wrote a lot of questions surround this SDSU team with the departure of Xavier Thames. Brennan wrote the Aztecs will have to find somebody to run their offense through -- he pointed to Winston Shepard for that -- and that the defense must be one of the 10 best defenses in the country for SDSU to find the success it did last year.

ESPN's Jay Bilas gave his best- and worst-case scenarios for 2014-15.

Best-case: Shepard steps up, Skylar Spencer and Angelo Chol protect the paint, and Dwayne Polee II wins Mountain West Player of the Year.

Worst-case: SDSU has an unstable point of attack, the pieces don't come together and the Aztecs leave the NCAA Tournament early.

Notice that even in Bilas' worst-case scenario, SDSU still reaches the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

Speaking of the Big Dance, ESPN's Joe Lunardi also predicted that SDSU would be a 4-seed in this year's Tournament.

The Aztecs are the only MWC team and the only school from California in the top 25.

Two potential SDSU opponents are also in the power rankings: Arizona (No. 2) and Kansas State (No. 25) could meet the Aztecs in the 2014 EA SPORTS Maui Invitational.