Why Florida, Duke start as men’s college hoops favorites & who can crash their party

The 2026-27 men’s college basketball season has two clear favorites, but the title race is still wide open. Florida entered as the preseason No. 1 in the AP poll, driven to avenge last year’s early tournament exit. Duke is right behind them at No. 2, though analytics models like KenPom and betting sportsbooks actually give the Blue Devils a slight edge. Both squads are loaded with talent and have what it takes to make a deep run in March.

Florida’s biggest strength is keeping its core together. Its big men inside are all back, bringing valuable experience and chemistry to the floor. Duke, on the other hand, reloaded fast by grabbing proven talent out of the transfer portal and bringing in another elite freshman class, giving the Blue Devils tons of depth for the long grind of the season.

Advertisement

MORE: 8 reasons November’s ‘meaningless’ men’s college hoops games actually shape March

Still, neither roster is perfect. Florida has to show it can knock down outside shots consistently, while Duke has to figure out who becomes its go-to scorer after losing its top stars from a year ago. Meanwhile, powerhouses like Illinois, UConn, Houston and Michigan State are right there in the mix, and teams like Arizona and UCLA have already proven they can knock off top-ranked competition.

Here is a closer look at why Florida and Duke sit at the top, along with the biggest contenders ready to challenge them.

Why Florida & Duke are favorites

1. The polls split between the two

Duke Blue Devils center Patrick Ngongba II (21) drives to the basket as Florida Gators center Micah Handlogten (3) defends during the second half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils won 67-66. Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)

Florida and Duke lead the preseason rankings, but the polls cannot agree on which team is better.

Advertisement

Florida sits at No. 1 in the AP preseason poll, marking its first time in that position since 2006. The Gators received 47 of 59 first-place votes. Duke collected 10,…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/why-florida-duke-start-men-134508455.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-11-09 13:45:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.