While Purdue eyes first national title, defending champion Florida has the pieces to repeat, while 2025 runner-up Houston is reloaded.
Highly touted freshmen like AJ Dybantsa at Brigham Young and the Boozer twins at Duke are expected to make a major impact.
After a dominant season, the SEC attempts to assert itself as the toughest conference in the country.
The ball is tipped, and there they are.
Nearly seven months after Florida was crowned the national champions, a new season of men’s college basketball begins with more than 350 teams starting their march toward the NCAA Tournament. With all of the hyped freshman and numerous transfers, no college basketball team is ever the same as it was last season. Some teams have regressed, while others have improved and are poised to make some noise in what many are hoping will end in cutting the nets.
So with the season ready to begin, here are the top 10 storylines to watch in men’s hoops, as the race to the 2026 Final Four in Indianapolis begins.
Is this finally the year for Purdue, Matt Painter?
After years of disappointing finishes, Matt Painter and Purdue finally got over the hump and reached the 2024 national championship game, only for the Boilermakers to lose to Connecticut.
Two seasons later, this may be the Boilermakers best chance yet. Purdue begins the season the No. 1 team in the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll for the first time, and it’s no secret why. The team return several key veterans, including preseason All-American Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer. Big man Daniel Jacobsen returns from injury and is joined by South Dakota State transfer Oscar Cluff. Painter has all the pieces to finally win it at all, and the Boilermakers would love nothing more than to do it not far from home at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Florida eye’s repeat
Before Connecticut’s back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024, Florida was the last team to win consecutive titles, and the Gators have the pieces to make a serious run toward another championship. While it lost key guards in Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin, Florida boasts one of the best front courts in the country.
Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu are back to form a dominant interior duo, and Thomas Haugh returns. Todd Golden then replenished the guard position by bringing in Boogie Fland from Arkansas, Xaivian Lee from Princeton and freshman CJ Ingram. A non-conference slate that includes Arizona, Duke and Connecticut will test the defending champions, as well as a tough SEC slate, but Florida has all the right pieces to return to the Final Four.
Houston reloads
Kelvin Sampson was seconds away from finally winning a national championship before it slipped out of Houston’s hands. It almost feels like Sampson took it personal and decided to go hard in refueling a team that should again make life tough for opponents.
Milos Uzan, Emanuel Sharp and Joseph Tugler are the key returnees, and they will be joined by arguably Sampson’s best recruiting class with forward Chris Cenac Jr. and guard Isiah Harwell leading the group. The blend of young and experienced should bode well for Houston, giving the Cougars more offensive flair to complement their outstanding defense.
UConn, St. John’s battle for Big East
One of the most entertaining conference races will happen in the Big East with Connecticut and St. John’s fighting for supremacy. The Huskies had a down year in their bid to three-peat after losing so much from the title teams. However, Dan Hurley is ready to contend again with veterans Alex Karaban and Solo Ball in place. Meanwhile, Rick Pitino continues the hype in New York City, bringing in transfers in Bryce Hopkins, Joson Sanon and Ian Jackson to join big man Zuby Ejiofor.
These two are miles ahead the rest of the Big East and each will have stiff tests in non-conference play. But we can’t wait to see these two play each other twice in February, with a third meeting potentially in the Big East tournament.
Can AJ Dybantsa bring glory to BYU?
The hype has never been higher in Provo, Utah. Brigham Young feels like it could have its best season with touted freshman AJ Dybantsa arriving to take the Cougars to new heights.
Dybantsa can really do it all on the court, and he will make a strong case to be the first overall pick in next year’s NBA draft. What really helps Dybantsa from other hyped recruits going to not typical power schools is BYU is coming off a season where it went to the Sweet 16. Leading scorer Richie Saunders is back and Robert Wright III arrives from Baylor. This should be a fun team to watch in one of the best home environments in college basketball, and the Cougars feel like they can make their first Final Four.
Can SEC replicate dominant season?
Last season was the year of the SEC, when it dominated the non-conference and sent a record 14 teams to the big dance. Even more impressive, seven of those teams reached the second weekend and the tournament ended with Florida winning it all.
Now, how does the SEC follow up that historic run? Six teams − Florida, Kentucky, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee and Auburn − start the season ranked and should be solid squads. Vanderbilt, Texas, Missouri, Mississippi and Mississippi State look like they can put up tournament worthy resumes, while Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Georgia may be able to do enough to get in. It will be tough to be just as good as 2024-25, but with all the talent the league possesses, it’s not out of the realm and will be a fun conference season to watch when 2026 begins.
Which transfers make immediate impact?
Some teams swung big in the transfer portal and hit home runs with new additions that are expected to take these squads toward contender status. After a great first season at Michigan, Dusty May got arguably the best transfer in Yaxel Lendenborg, a dynamic guard that can be the missing piece to get the Wolverines to the Final Four. Mick Cronin lacked a true offensive leader at UCLA, and he got one in bucket-getter Donovan Dent.
After another down season, Jerome Tang brings PJ Haggerty to Kansas State, while new coaches at Iowa (Ben McCollum) and North Carolina State (Will Wade) bring in top tier talent to lead a new direction, with Bennett Stirz (Drake) joining the Hawkeyes and Darrion Williams (Texas Tech) now with the Wolfpack. These transfers should bring big changes to their programs, but which one will be the one that takes teams to the next level?
Boozer twins arrive at Duke
Duke royalty arrives in Durham, North Carolina, with Carlos Boozer’s twin sons, Cameron and Cayden, joining the Blue Devils. Both are extremely talented, with the taller Cameron considered one of the best freshman recruits in the country.
Even with the loss of Cooper Flagg and several other NBA draftees, the twins should keep Jon Scheyer’s team one of the best in the country and dominate the ACC. Besides the Boozer twins, the veteran players around them will take on elevated roles, notably Caleb Foster and Isaiah Evans.
Can Kansas get mojo back?
Since Bill Self captured his second national title in 2022, the Jayhawks haven’t been the dominant force they’ve been for much of his tenure. Kansas is 34-22 in Big 12 play the past three seasons, with the last two campaigns having finishes outside the top three of the Big 12 for the first time under Self. Things haven’t gone great in the tournament either. The Jayhawks haven’t reached the Sweet 16 in three appearances, and last year saw the team get knocked out in the first round for the first time since 2005, Self’s second season in Lawrence.
Kansas is hoping to get back to its winning ways, and a good start is bringing in top recruit Darryn Peterson. The roster is completely revamped with Flory Bidunga the main returning piece. The pressure is on for Self to get the Jayhawks back in the title picture and not falling behind in the Big 12.
Which new coach succeeds?
The coaching carousel was certainly spinning in the offseason. Now comes the question of who brings a major turnaround in year one.
Coaches to watch include Darren DeVries at Indiana, Sean Miller at Texas, Will Wade at North Carolina State and Ben McCollum at Iowa, all of which have high expectations. But there are also some names worth watching at programs looking to take steps forward in Richard Pitino at Xavier, Josh Pastner at UNLV, Kevin Willard at Villanova and Ryan Odom at Virginia. Also, can Steven Pearl keep Auburn’s success going taking over for his dad?