The march toward the 2026-27 men's college basketball season reached a milestone on Monday, Oct. 19, with the reveal of both the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll preseason Top 25 along with the rankings from The Associated Press.
Both the Coaches Poll and AP voters selected Todd Golden's Florida team as the preseason No. 1 team in the country. The Gators return one of the most talented rosters in the country, including return a talented nucleus of Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu, as they seek a second national title over the last three seasons.
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From there, the voters do have a few small differences in their voting, though the polls do feature the same top-10 teams (different ordering notwithstanding). The coaches poll, for example, has Tommy Lloyd-led Arizona over Dan Hurley and No. 5 Connecticut, for example, whereas the AP flips the two teams.
Defending national champion Michigan, entering a new era without Dusty May at the helm, ranks No. 20 and No. 16 in the coaches and AP polls, respectively. Can Mike Boynton Jr. lead the Wolverines back to a Big Ten Conference title and deep run in the men's NCAA Tournament?
Voters were not as kind to another traditional power with a new head coach, as North Carolina finished unranked in both preseason polls (but did receive votes in each).
With that, here's a look at the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 — as well as how they differ:
Men's college basketball preseason rankings
First-place vote in parentheses
USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
- 1. Florida (20)
- 2. Duke (8)
- 3. Illinois (2)
- 4. Arizona
- 5. UConn
- 6. Michigan State
- 7. Texas
- 8. Houston
- 9. Tennessee
- 10. Virginia
- 11. Louisville
- 12. Gonzaga
- 13. Arkansas
- T-14.Iowa State
- T-14. St. John's
- 16. Texas Tech
- 17. Miami
- T-18. Alabama
- T-18. Kansas
- 20. Michigan
- 21. Vanderbilt
- 22. Southern California
- 23. Kentucky
- 24. Purdue
- 25. BYU
Others receiving votes: Nebraska 66; UCLA 64; Missouri 60; Ohio State 31; North Carolina 24; Texas A&M 19; Villanova 14; Indiana 9; Wisconsin 5; Saint Louis 4; Cincinnati 4; West Virginia 2; Creighton 2; Maryland 1; Auburn 1.
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AP Top 25
- Florida (47)
- Duke (10)
- Illinois (2)
- UConn
- Arizona
- Michigan State
- Texas
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- Houston
- Louisville
- Arkansas
- St. John's
- Miami
- Gonzaga
- Michigan
- Kansas
- Iowa State
- Texas Tech
- Alabama
- USC
- UCLA
- Kentucky
- Vanderbilt
- BYU
Others receiving votes: Missouri 167, Nebraska 70, Purdue 53, Ohio State 39, North Carolina 20, TCU 17, Saint Louis 13, VCU 12, Iowa 12, Virginia Tech 10, Indiana 8, Texas A&M 6, Villanova 6, Auburn 4, Marquette 3, Nevada 2, Grand Canyon 2, Utah State 2, Santa Clara 1.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Men's college basketball rankings: Preseason USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, AP Top 25