Sports Illustrated’s Men’s College Basketball Preseason Top 25

Sports Illustrated

1. Houston Cougars

Houston is the safest choice for preseason No. 1 in a season that feels wide open. The Cougars’ style of play has proven to set them up to have elite teams time and time again, and there are few things you can count on more confidently in college hoops than a Kelvin Sampson team being elite on defense and on the glass. The freshmen and their ability to quickly impact winning at a high level will likely dictate whether this is the season the Cougars finally break through and win it all, but with Sampson on the sideline and this returning nucleus in place, it’s hard to bet against the Coogs. Read more on the Cougars.

2. UConn Huskies

UConn has one of the most talented lineups in the country, with an argument to be made that the Huskies’ starting group features top-20 players at every position in the sport. As long as Silas Demary takes to the Huskies offense quickly, they should be absolutely lethal on that end of the floor. There are more concerns defensively, but if Dan Hurley can find some answers at that end UConn could end up celebrating another title next April. Read more on the Huskies.

3. Florida Gators

Todd Golden’s efforts to retain and reload this roster after winning the title were highly impressive and give Florida a real chance at challenging yet again for the national championship. How well they pan out remains to be seen, but Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee were as good a replacement duo for what the Gators lost in the backcourt as could have reasonably been hoped for, and the frontcourt is elite enough to carry them in plenty of SEC games. Read more on the Gators.

4. Duke Blue Devils

Duke has one of the best players in the country in Cameron Boozer leading the way and a roster with as much NBA talent as any team in the sport. There’s a natural reticence among preseason pollsters to hedge their bets on young teams like Duke, but what the Blue Devils did last season proves just how quickly those concerns can go out the window with the right personnel in place. This should be the ACC favorite and a group with every chance to cut down the nets next April in Indianapolis. Read more on the Blue Devils.

5. Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue has one of the best coaches in the country (Matt Painter), the best point guard in the country (Braden Smith) and one of the best forwards in the country (Trey Kaufman-Renn). That gives Purdue one of the highest floors in the country. If the defense takes a step or one of the young guards explodes into another top-tier option, this might be the best team in the country. Read more on the Boilermakers.

6. St. John’s Red Storm

Rick Pitino’s elite defensive scheme with this amount of size and athleticism basically ensures this group will be one of the most imposing teams on that end of the floor this season. That combined with the added three-point shooting raises the ceiling of this group higher than last season’s team, though shaky point guard play could be what holds Pitino’s team back from a true breakthrough in March. Read more on the Red Storm.

7. Texas Tech Red Raiders

This is as aggressive a ranking as you’ll find for a Tech team that is outside the top 20 of analytics-based preseason ranks like T-Rank and EvanMiya. That said, this looks like a roster that fits perfectly together. I’m bullish on the transfer portal additions and their fit with two stars in JT Toppin and Christian Anderson. The Big 12 is loaded, but the Red Raiders should be a factor at the top. Read more on the Red Raiders.

8. Louisville Cardinals

If you’re making a list of college basketball’s  teams (i.e., the squads you’d pay extra to watch every night), Louisville would be on it. Pat Kelsey’s style of play paired with this amount of shooting and playmaking could make the best version of this team an absolute joy to watch. Whether a team this reliant on the three that might not be great on the defensive end can seriously contend for a national championship remains to be seen, but it feels foolish to bet against Kelsey after his Year 1 magic. Read more on the Cardinals.

9. BYU Cougars

This BYU roster is built very much like an NBA team, with three ultra-high usage players in Robert Wright III, Richie Saunders and AJ Dybantsa and highly specialized role players surrounding them. That’s a potent trio capable of leading a team to the highest of heights in the college game. The questions are real defensively with this roster construction, though, especially if some of the floor-spacing adds win out in the battle for minutes. With early tests against Villanova, UConn, Wisconsin and Miami in the season’s first month, we should learn quickly just how good this BYU group is. Read more on the Cougars.

10. Kentucky Wildcats

This is a deeper, more talented and more athletic Kentucky team than the one we saw last year, one with the potential to be much improved defensively. If Mark Pope can find creative ways to operate efficiently on the offensive end (and there are plenty of reasons to believe he will), this could be one of the best two-way squads in the country. With a healthy Jayden Quaintance, this is a team that can compete for a national championship. Read more on the Wildcats.

11. Kansas Jayhawks

This is a critical year at Kansas to prove that the last two years aren’t a trend and to maximize their time with a potentially generational prospect in Darryn Peterson. If Peterson is as good as I expect him to be, he’ll cover a lot of the flaws with this roster. But there’s little margin for error here, and the road won’t be easy with a tough nonconference schedule in addition to the loaded Big 12 slate. Read more on the Jayhawks.

12. Michigan Wolverines

Dusty May did a lot with a transition year roster in 2024–25 and now has the type of talent to seriously compete for Final Fours and national championships. Yaxel Lendeborg is a likely first-rounder, and both Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr. could play their way into that conversation before the year is up. If Michigan’s big bet on Elliot Cadeau pays off, this might be the Big Ten team most equipped to challenge Purdue for the conference title. Read more on the Wolverines.

13. Arizona Wildcats

Tommy Lloyd is a proven winner, and it’s hard not to love this group’s size, physicality and depth. This could be the best team in the country on the glass and one of the best in transition. With a daunting early season schedule matching up against the likes of Florida, UCLA, UConn and Auburn in the first month and change, don’t be surprised if they take some early losses as this young group as they find their footing offensively. But as Lloyd finds the best lineup combinations to roll out, this group could be on a roll by March. Read more on the Wildcats.

14. Arkansas Razorbacks

This is the most continuity a John Calipari team has had since the 2015 Kentucky squad that went 38–1. No one should be expecting from Arkansas this year, but it’s not unrealistic to expect the Razorbacks to seriously contend at the top of the SEC. At his best, perhaps Calipari’s top attribute was his ability to get players who all believed they were the best player to buy into a team concept. If he can do that with this ball-dominant backcourt, the Hogs should be back in the second weekend … and could maybe go even further than that this March. Read more on the Razorbacks.

15. Illinois Fighting Illini

This year’s Illini team doesn’t have as much NBA talent as last year’s, but they’re older and more proven across the board. If Andrej Stojakovic is as advertised along with a jump from Tomislav Ivisic, this Illinois team will be incredibly hard to guard. It’s going to be tough for anyone to catch Purdue, but Illinois is built to score with just about anyone. Read more on the Illini.

16. Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee has one of the nation’s best coaches, an elite point guard and a projected top-five NBA draft pick. That alone gives the Vols a leg up on most of the rest of the sport, especially given you can trust them to be among the best defenses nationally. Things could get clunky offensively though at times, especially if Amaree Abram or Ethan Burg doesn’t emerge as a legitimate threat. Read more on the Vols.

17. UCLA Bruins

The Donovan Dent add massively increases the Bruins’ ceiling from a year ago, giving them the elite talent and offensive engine that could allow them to take the next step and be back in Final Four contention. But it won’t be easy in a rough-and-tumble Big Ten, especially with the amount of travel they’ll deal with in January and February. Read more on the Bruins.

18. Wisconsin Badgers