Ty's 2026 - 2027 NCAA Men's College Basketball Preview
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Wrapping up my preseason basketball previews, today I have my men's NCAA basketball preview and prediction.
I do want to say at the top that college sports have become kind of wild. It is very hard to know who is playing where, there's constant coaching turnover, there is no loyalty anymore and each top team seems to have new players every year. Take Michigan last season, my favorite team. They had four new starters last season, all from the portal. I was stoked to see how well they played and how quickly they meshed, but it still took me a minute to figure out who was who. Even their returning starter, Nimari Burnett, transferred in two years ago. This is modern college sports. I am all for NIL and the like, but there have got to be rules and restrictions in place. Players leave every season. Coaches are becoming more and more frustrated. With all the turnover it is hard to know who to pick before the season starts. Also, with all of the turnover, Michigan, the defending champs, are the preseason. number 16 team. That means the people who vote on the polls have the team that just ran ramshackle through the tournament as the 16th best team in men's college basketball. I am finding it harder and harder each year to find another team to root for when Michigan isn't playing because I have no idea who some of these are on the top teams. So that means my preview is going to be pretty much off the cuff, and short and to the point. I'll do the power 4 conference winners, then a few surprise teams. I'll also pick the Final Four, the title game and the player of the year.
Let's start with the ACC. This is going to be Duke's conference yet again. Sure, Cam Boozer is gone along with some other stud players, but they brought in a top five recruiting class, and they secured one of the best players in the portal, Johnathan Blackwell. The only problem with Duke is they cannot seem to figure it out at the right time. Last year they were probably the best team in the country, but Bradyn Mullins decided to rip out their hearts. Jon Scheyer is a fine enough coach, but he is not Coach K, and that will haunt him until he can win it all. Miami, Louisville and Virginia will challenge, and UNC should be in the mix even though they have a new coaching staff. Louisville also secured a great transfer in Flory Bidunga. Miami put themselves back in the conversation last year and Virginia is always good. But Duke should win the ACC, and it should probably be a pretty easy conference title.
Onto the Big 12. I don't know how I pick anyone but Kansas. They have the projected number one pick coming in in Tyron Stokes. They also got some solid portal players, namely Trey Kaufman-Renn. KU is finally out from Hunter Dickinson and Daryn Peterson's thumb, and I bet they will thrive this season. Texas Tech is still very good and should be a problem. Texas is a very talented team that will be right at the top of the conference all season long. Iowa State needs to replace some dudes, but they have one of the better young coaches in the game and they will produce. BYU will also pose a minor threat, but without Dybansta they will struggle a bit. Also, I cannot forget Houston. They have the best defense in the country, they don't rebuild, they reload and Kelvin Sampson is one of the best to ever coach men's college basketball. Houston will be KU's biggest threat, but I believe that Stokes will put them over the top.
Onto the SEC. The SEC has the preseason number 1 team in Florida. Florida is going to be very, very good this year. I think not lasting as long as they hoped in the tourney last season will have them play with a bit more urgency. They want to get back to the mountaintop like they were two years ago. Kentucky got some really good portal players, but I have to see their coaching staff make it all work. The staff is what is holding that team back, but they have some very talented players this season. Tennessee got Juke Harris, and he will be the scoring machine they need. He will fill up the stat sheet and he will put himself into the lottery conversation this season. LSU and Will Wade will find some way to cheat and win way more games than they should. Vanderbilt may not have Harris anymore, but they still have a solid group of players that will make them competitive. Arkansas has a top recruiting class coming in, as John Calipari always does, and they will be a menace. Missouri has, somehow, a great recruiting class and a wonderful portal haul coming in which will make them very competitive. And Alabama has a very good coach, whom I despise, but his teams are always a threat. I'm going to stick with Florida because they have the championship equity and they have a very good roster with plenty of highend talent.
Now for the Big 10. Michigan is the reigning champs and I believe they will be solid once again. They have one of the best backcourts in the country. They will play suffocating defense and will shoot the three at a high clip. They also have a very good portal class coming in. While they may not win the Big 10 this year, they will still be on the higher end and they will still be very good. Michigan State has probably the best player in the conference on their team and they have the refs on their side. I loathe their coach, but that dude knows how to win college basketball games. They got a bunch of their good players to return this season too. MSU will fight for the Big 10 crown. Illinois may be the best team in all of college basketball. They have an incredibly loaded roster. They will shoot the three better than most. They will play good defense too. Illinois is going to be great this season. UCLA is on the rise and should be better this season. USC is led by Alijah Arenas, who will be a first round pick this season. Purdue is always a contender. The Big 10 is top heavy, but that top part is really exciting and really good at basketball. I'm going to go with Illinois to win the Big 10 this year. They had a nice run to the Final Four last season, and I bet they build on that this year.
As for some other powers not in a power 4 conference, UConn is going to be back with a vengeance. Last season's run to the title game was kind of fluky, and now they're even better. They also have the best coach in all of men's college basketball. St John's is back and powerful. They have a very good portal haul as well. They have to replace some key guys, but they should do that just fine. And Gonzaga will always be in the mix. They are no longer a Cinderella team. They are a power and they will be a threat as usual.
As far as a few surprise teams, I'll go with SLU, Marquette and Nevada. Nevada is the newest version of San Diego State. SLU made a run to round two last season, and they have Robbie Avila back it seems. And Marquette is coached by Shaka Smart, who finds a way to squeeze the best out of his players.
As for the Final Four, I'll go with Duke, Florida, Illinois and UConn. The title game will have Illinois playing Florida and I'm going to go with Illinois to win it all, with Stojakovic's kid winning the MOP. As for player of the year, I'll go with Tyron Stokes. He is going to prove all season long why he is the projected number 1 overall pick in the next NBA draft.
Okay there you have it, all of my preseason basketball previews and predictions. Enjoy the season everyone.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.
