Florida is ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 men's basketball poll released Monday after earning 47 of a possible 59 first-place votes. It marks the first time since 2006 that the Gators will open the college basketball campaign as the preseason top-ranked team. The Gators were widely expected to begin the season No. 1 after a key offseason of retention that saw Todd Golden's squad return four starters (Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu, Alex Condon and Boogie Fland) from a team that won 27 games during the 2025-26 season and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.
The last time Florida debuted at No. 1 in the preseason poll was when the program was coming off its first national title and returned a nucleus of its team, including Corey Brewer, Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Taurean Green. Florida went on to win its second consecutive title after opening the season at No. 1 Florida remains one of two programs — with UConn being the other — to win back-to-back national titles this century. The Gators will have an opportunity to make it two championships in three seasons if Florida is the final team standing in Detroit come April.
While Florida was penciled in at No. 1 the last several weeks, Duke earning the No. 2 spot was also expected. The Blue Devils return Dame Sarr, Cayden Boozer, Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II from last year's team that earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. In addition to those returners, Duke welcomes in a star-studded high school recruiting class headlined by big man Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje — the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2028 NBA Draft — and Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell, who earned preseason second-team All-American honors by CBS Sports.
Illinois opens the season ranked No. 3. The Fighting Illini reached the Final Four for the first time since 2005 and will be led by preseason first-team All-American forward David Mirković. UConn — the team that ended Illinois' season (UConn) in Indianapolis earlier this spring— debuts at No. 4 in the poll.
Florida, Duke and Illinois were the lone teams to receive first-place votes in the poll. 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.
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