Florida is back where it started 20 years ago: at the top of the preseason AP Top 25.
The Gators were voted No. 1 in Monday’s preseason men’s basketball poll, collecting 47 of 59 first-place votes and becoming the top-ranked team to open the season for the first time since 2006. That was the year Florida came in off its first national championship, loaded with Corey Brewer, Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Taurean Green, and then rolled right into a second straight title.
Todd Golden’s team enters this season with a familiar edge: continuity. Florida brings back four starters from a group that won 27 games during the 2025-26 season and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. The returnees are Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu, Alex Condon and Boogie Fland.
Florida’s place at the top had been expected for weeks, and the Gators now sit in position to chase something even bigger: the chance to make it two championships in three seasons if they end up as the last team standing in Detroit come April.
Duke checked in at No. 2, exactly where many expected it to land as well. The Blue Devils return Dame Sarr, Cayden Boozer, Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba II from a team that was the No. 1 overall seed in last season’s NCAA Tournament. They also add a headline-grabbing recruiting class led by Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2028 NBA Draft, along with Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell, who earned preseason second-team All-American honors from CBS Sports.
Illinois is right behind at No. 3 after reaching the Final Four for the first time since 2005. The Fighting Illini will lean on preseason first-team All-American forward David Mirković.
UConn, which knocked Illinois out in Indianapolis earlier this spring, opens at No. 4.
Florida, Duke and Illinois were the only programs to receive first-place votes. The rest of the top 25 opens with UConn, Arizona, Michigan State, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Houston, Louisville, Arkansas, St. John’s, Miami (FL), Gonzaga, Michigan, Kansas, Iowa State, Texas Tech, Alabama, USC, UCLA, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and BYU.
In Other News...
Dukes UNC Snap Counts Raised A Few New Lineup Questions
Dukes narrow 24-20 loss to North Carolina came with a few lineup clues tucked inside the snap counts, and they added another layer to a game the Blue Devils spent much of the afternoon chasing after an early hole. Pro Football Focus numbers showed transfer Javen Nicholas getting a season-high 11 snaps and hauling in two passes, a sign the staff kept searching for ways to get him involved as the offense tried to find answers.
On the other side of the ball, veteran Kimari Robinson opened at nickel cornerback with Evan Smith out, a move that gave Duke a different look in the secondary. There was also a bit of juggling at running back, where Nate Sheppard handled most of the workload despite dealing with a lower-body ailment, while backup CJ Campbell saw only limited action, leaving a few more questions for the Blue Devils to sort through after a tight rivalry game. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Suddenly Has One Big Problem Heading Into Virginia
Dukes early momentum has given way to a bumpier stretch, with the Blue Devils now sitting at 4-2 overall and 1-2 in ACC play after back-to-back losses, including the defeat at North Carolina. The recent review of the roster points to one area in particular that has become hard to ignore, as the passing game has not looked as sharp as it did when Duke was stacking wins earlier in the season.
As Virginia comes into focus, the concern is not just about the losing streak but about whether Duke can get the offense back to a steadier rhythm before league play tightens further. The position-by-position breakdown suggests there are still pieces in place to work with, but the next step will be finding more consistency where the Blue Devils have recently struggled most. [Read more 🡒]
Duke Faces A Kimari Robinson Issue At A Brutal Time
Manny Diaz took time at a recent press conference to honor Chuck Amato after the former coach died at 80, then quickly turned the conversation back to the kind of issues that can test a football teams composure. Duke is already sorting through a run of injury concerns, with safety Andrew Pellicciotta set to miss multiple weeks and several other players still in uncertain shape, so the timing of any extra distraction is hardly ideal.
Against that backdrop, Diaz addressed an incident involving cornerback Kimari Robinson, who pushed a medical staff member while the staff was tending to an injured teammate. Diaz said the behavior did not meet Dukes standards and will be handled internally, leaving the Blue Devils to manage both the on-field attrition and a situation that asks for a disciplined response from the locker room. [Read more 🡒]