Florida’s men’s basketball team is still getting the kind of preseason respect that turns heads.
ESPN’s way-too-early Top 25 dropped Monday, and the Gators stayed put at No. 1.
That comes with the season still months away, but Florida has given the network plenty to like. The roster is loaded with returning pieces, the schedule is packed with high-end nonconference games, and the hype around the 2026-27 team is already building fast.
The core is back, and it starts with starters Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu and Boogie Fland. Florida also brings back the Southeastern Conference’s Sixth Man of the Year, Urban Klavzar, plus Denzel Aberdeen, who returned to Gainesville after spending the 2025-26 season at Kentucky.
The Gators further rounded out the roster with Isaiah and AJ Brown, Alex Lloyd, CJ Ingram, Alex Kovatchev and Viktor Mikic. Freshmen Jones Lay and Arturas Butajevas are in the mix too, along with 22-year-old forward Domen Petrovic.
ESPN also highlighted Florida’s marquee nonconference game: Dec. 1 against Duke. The network framed it as a potential No. 1 vs.
No. 2 matchup on campus, and it’s the kind of early-season test that will say plenty about both teams. For Florida, it’s a chance to strengthen its case as the favorite to win a second national title in three years.
ESPN also pointed to the matchup between Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon and Duke’s Dame Sarr, Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje and Cameron Williams.
The Gators’ projected starting five from ESPN was Boogie Fland, Denzel Aberdeen, Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu. ESPN listed Fland at 11.7 points per game, Aberdeen at 13.5 points per game at Kentucky, Haugh at 17.1 points per game, Condon at 14.9 points per game and Chinyelu at 11.2 points per game.
Florida’s place at No. 1 was followed by Duke at No. 2 and Illinois at No. 3.
Texas came in at No. 4 after a busy offseason that included the addition of Marcus Spears Jr., a top-10 prospect who reclassified from the class of 2027 to join the Longhorns ahead of the coming season. UConn rounded out the top five, and the Gators already know what that program can do after losing to the Huskies by four at Madison Square Garden last season.
The rest of the top 10 included Tennessee at No. 6, Arizona at No.
7, Michigan at No. 8, Michigan State at No. 9 and Arkansas at No.
Florida opens the season Nov. 2 against Miami (Fl.) at Tampa’s Benchmark International Arena, the same building where last season ended with a loss to No. 9-seeded Iowa. The home opener follows on Nov. 5 against Jacksonville University, first reported by Swamp247.
From there, the Gators travel to Florida State on Nov. 10, host Merrimack on Nov. 13 and head to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival, where they’ll face Notre Dame on Nov. 17 before two more opponents are determined for Nov. 18 and Nov. 19.
Milwaukee visits Gainesville on Nov. 24.
The nonconference slate keeps rolling after Duke, with Vermont on Dec. 6.
Florida also has two open dates on Dec. 12 and Dec. 18, though Swamp247 previously reported the Gators were finalizing an agreement to play Georgia Tech on Dec. 12 in Orlando at the Kia Center. Nonconference play wraps with home games against Florida A&M on Dec. 21 and Long Island University on Dec.
SEC play begins Jan. 2 in Austin against Texas. Florida’s first home league game is Jan. 5 against Oklahoma, followed by Vanderbilt on Jan.
- The Gators then go to Mississippi State on either Jan. 12 or Jan. 13, travel to Alabama on Jan. 16, host Texas A&M on either Jan. 19 or Jan. 20 and visit Georgia on Jan. 23 to face Mike White’s Bulldogs.
The month ends with a trip to Tennessee on Jan. 30.
February opens with South Carolina on either Feb. 2 or Feb. 3, then Texas comes to Gainesville on Feb. 6.
Florida goes to Auburn on either Feb. 9 or Feb. 10, hosts Missouri on Feb. 13, plays at LSU on either Feb. 16 or Feb. 17, meets Georgia again on Feb. 20 and then hosts Ole Miss on either Feb. 23 or Feb. 24.
The Gators finish the road portion of SEC play at Arkansas on Feb. 27 and at South Carolina on either March 2 or March 3.
Senior Day arrives March 6 against Kentucky, and the SEC tournament is set for March 10-14 in Nashville.
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Among the most interesting is the NFL preseason game involving Anthony Richardson, along with a high school game featuring recruit Braxton Rein and a college game that puts former Florida coach Dan Mullen back in the spotlight. They are all different in setting, but each gives Gators fans a reason to stay plugged in while the real countdown to kickoff continues. [Read more 🡒]