The preseason AP Top 25 is always a guessing game, but this year’s men’s college basketball poll feels especially slippery with eligibility questions swirling around the sport. Even so, a few teams look like they landed a little too high or a little too low when the rankings dropped Monday.
Michigan is the clearest case of a blueblood getting dinged harder than it should have been. Yes, the defending national champions lost coach Dusty May to the NBA just a couple of months after finishing on top, and five-star freshman Brandon McCoy Jr. was knocked out for the season in late August.
But the Wolverines still have senior Elliot Cadeau and sophomore Trey McKenney giving the backcourt real stability, and McKenney’s March Madness impact off the bench suggests he’s ready for starter’s minutes. Add transfers J.P.
Estrella and Moustapha Thiam, and Michigan again has the kind of long, physical front line that should rebound and defend at a high level. Sixteenth is too low for the champs.
Tennessee, meanwhile, is the sort of team that could end up making the preseason voters look smart or a little too eager. The Volunteers brought in Sports Illustrated’s top-ranked transfer portal class, and the extra perimeter shooting should help a Rick Barnes offense that has too often fallen short in past NCAA tournaments.
Barnes also has a reputation for getting new pieces to click, even with 13 newcomers and four new starters in the mix. There’s a route to a strong offensive season in the SEC.
But the defense has to hold up, and that’s not a given after Xavier put up 59 second-half points in Tennessee’s first preseason exhibition this past week. Top 25, sure.
Top 10? Not yet.
Arkansas comes with all the usual John Calipari volatility. The roster has promising recruits, useful transfers and a key returnee in forward Billy Richmond, who was last year’s fourth-leading scorer.
But this is still a team that could lean heavily on freshmen, with as many as eight spots on the roster occupied by first-year players. That kind of youth can bring growing pains, especially with experienced transfers and starters Jeremiah Wilkinson and Cooper Bowser expected to matter so much.
The schedule does Arkansas no favors either, with three top-10 opponents on deck in nonconference play. Calipari joked that he was “on crack,” and the point is clear enough: those young players will have to grow up fast.
USC is the one that feels most in need of proof. After back-to-back seasons without an NCAA tournament berth and only seven conference wins last year, Eric Musselman badly needs a rebound in 2026-27.
The Trojans have the offensive firepower to make it happen, especially with Rodney Rice and Alijah Arenas in the backcourt. The frontcourt also has real promise with Jacob Cofie, the Ratliff twins and, if he’s healthy, Eric Reibe.
But the injury issues that hurt USC last season are back in the conversation, and Reibe’s status looms especially large as the program’s potential starting center. The talent is there, but with so many new faces and only one ball to go around, USC feels like a team worth waiting on before stamping as a Top 25 lock.
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USC's Big Ten Path Suddenly Looks More Open After Chaotic Weekend
A chaotic Big Ten weekend shook up the league picture in ways USC will notice right away. Washington, Northwestern, Ohio State, Rutgers, Michigan, UCLA and Oregon all came away with wins, and the slate was shaped as much by quarterback movement and injuries as by the final scores. Julian Sayin's injury altered Ohio State's path, while Dylan Raiola's return gave Oregon a different kind of lift, another reminder that the league's weekly balance can change fast.
For USC, the takeaway is less about any one result and more about how fluid the conference race has become. The Trojans have spent much of this stretch trying to measure where they fit in the new Big Ten pecking order, and a weekend like this only adds to the sense that the path ahead is not as fixed as it once looked. With so many teams dealing with shifting quarterback situations and uneven team dynamics, USC suddenly has more room to make its own case in the weeks ahead. [Read more 🡒]
USC Defense May Be Finding Its Edge At The Perfect Time
USC used its open week to do more than catch its breath. Inside a defense that has been under scrutiny at points this season, players like Jide Abasiri, Kameryn Crawford, Jahkeem Stewart and Luke Wafle were showing the kind of steady progress and voice that can matter just as much as scheme. Abasiri, even while dealing with injury, managed to get on the field for a snap and kept doing the unglamorous work of mentoring teammates, the kind of detail that can quietly raise a units standard.
Wafles development has been especially notable, with the freshman recording his first college sacks while building chemistry with the players around him. The broader result has started to show up in the details of the defense itself, including fewer penalties and a cleaner overall approach. For a Trojans team looking for every possible edge, the timing could hardly be better. [Read more 🡒]
USC Suddenly Has A Real Opening In The Big Ten Race
The Big Ten picture tightened up in a way that should have USC paying close attention. Ohio State still sits at the top of the league despite some injury concerns, and the latest Week 7 ranking reflects a conference that has already started to sort itself out, with several teams dealing with uneven form and key players either banged up or trending in different directions. For the Trojans, that kind of week matters because the path in a new league often opens up when the top group stops looking as secure as it once did.
USC has been mentioned as a potential contender, and now the conversation feels more real because the league around it is no longer spotless. The Trojans do not need the entire conference to collapse, but they do need the teams ahead of them to keep showing cracks, especially with injuries beginning to shape how some of those contenders can look from one Saturday to the next. For a program trying to establish itself in the Big Ten race, this is the kind of stretch where momentum can turn a hopeful season into something much bigger. [Read more 🡒]