A new college basketball season is fast approaching, and I am thrilled that I have a new writing home here at Hoops HQ.
I have been colleagues and good friends with HHQ’s Editor-in-Chief Seth Davis for more than 30 years, so it’s about time we teamed up. Over the next six months, I’ll be contributing the inside information and opinions that you’ve come to expect from me during all of my previous stops. That will of course extend beyond the season as we track the madness of the coaching carousel, transfer portal and summer recruiting.
For my first installment, here’s an early look at the top 10 storylines I’m excited to follow during the 2025-26 season.
The ball is tipped!
The renaissance in college basketball has arrived.
The glory days are no longer in the past.
We are now guaranteed older, more experienced teams for the foreseeable future — and the quality basketball that comes with it.
Credit Name, Image and Likeness, revenue sharing or simply the NBA being more transparent and honest with players that need to stay in school another year or two rather than be lost in the undrafted abyss.
And that translates into the top storylines heading into a 2025-26 season that will end with a basketball bonanza in Indianapolis, with all three men’s divisions crowning champions in April.
1. Florida is a legit title contender
The Gators have a legit chance to repeat, just like UConn did in 2023 and ’24. This is hardly the Gators of 2006 and ’07 when Florida returned its starting five, but coach Todd Golden and his staff have stuffed the roster with the pieces to make it happen again. Getting Arkansas guard Boogie Fland and Princeton guard Xaivian Lee to join stud freshman CJ Ingram on the perimeter to go along with returning frontcourt players Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu means the Gators have the goods. Florida will still need to navigate a brutal nonconference and SEC slate that will make getting a No. 1 seed difficult. But it’s doable.
2. Purdue is back in the pole position for the national title
The Boilermakers had the two-time National Player of the Year in Zach Edey and did reach the title game in 2024 before losing to UConn. Purdue had a chance to get to the Final Four a year ago, but lacked the defensive intimidation from the previous three seasons. Well, the Boilermakers have the Big Ten Player of the Year returning in Braden Smith, and All-Big Ten forward Trey Kaufman-Renn is back, but the difference maker may be Daniel Jacobsen. He was supposed to be Edey’s replacement last season but suffered a season-ending leg injury in week one. Jacobsen is back, healthy and won a FIBA gold medal this summer. The 7-foot-4 big man is the rim protector the Boilermakers needed. They also have plenty of help offensively with the return of shooter Fletcher Loyer, C.J. Cox and the arrival of Omer Mayer and Oscar Cluff. The Boilermakers are one of the favorites to get to a hometown Final Four in Indy and take the title.
3. A freshman could win National Player of the Year
The odds are better than 50-50. Kansas’ Darryn Peterson and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa will compete for Big 12 Player of the Year as well as National Player of the Year and could go 1-2 in the NBA Draft. Duke’s Cam Boozer and Tennessee’s Nate Ament are going to have a say, as well; all four will be stat stuffers for their respective teams. This is the second straight season the freshman class could dominate the narrative during the season and into the NBA Draft discussion. And all four of these freshmen are on teams that have Final Four aspirations.
4. Rick Pitino could be back in the Final Four
Pitino does not get enough credit for possibly being the one of the greatest, if not the best coach in the last quarter century. No other coach can say they took two arch rivals to national championships like Pitino did at Kentucky in 1996 and Louisville in 2013. He has the goods to get the Red Storm back to the Final Four for the first time since 1985. If Pitino gets St. John’s to the Final Four it would be his fourth school and second from the Big East after leading Providence to the Final Four in 1987. Winning a national title with this third school would be a historic achievement.
5. The SEC could dominate the bids again
The SEC had a record 14 NCAA Tournament bids last season. The odds of duplicating it this season are slim, but the league shouldn’t be far off. Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Ole Miss, Texas, Missouri and Mississippi State should all take a turn in the top 25 this season, and there’s no reason to think Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Georgia, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and LSU won’t have their flirtation with a bubble spot.
6. UConn is back in the title discussion
The Huskies didn’t defend like they did the previous two title years. Not having Donovan Clingan was a large reason why. Injuries didn’t help, either. But expecting a third straight title after losing multiple lottery picks was asking too much. Dan Hurley is driven to get back to the Final Four. He’s got a better defensive team, a true leader in Alex Karaban, a rising star in Solo Ball, a steady guard in Malachi Smith and an anchor in Tarris Reed Jr. The Huskies will play a brutal nonconference slate, but that means we’ll know by January if this team has championship character.
7. The ACC could experience a revival
Well, maybe not quite. Still, there’s a chance the ACC could at least bring back more respect. Duke is a title contender. Louisville will be in the mix. Never discount North Carolina as a factor. Will Wade should have NC State back in the NCAA Tournament and there should be more depth with Clemson, Syracuse and Georgia Tech. These three could lead a third tier to give the league possibly eight bids by season’s end. There is plenty of room for others to nudge in there, but don’t expect an embarrassingly low four bids like 2025.
8. Duke and Houston are on a mission
As part of my duties covering the Final Four for Westwood One radio, I interview the losing head coaches in the semifinals and finals. I’ve never seen two coaches be as disheartened as Duke’s Jon Scheyer was after losing to Houston in the national semifinal, and then as Kelvin Sampson was after Houston lost to Florida in the title game. The Blue Devils had the Cougars beat and then caved. Houston had Florida down and then got swallowed up by the moment. Both schools have restocked and returned a few key leaders to be in position to make another Final Four run. Scheyer and Sampson are on opposite ends of their head coaching careers but both are determined to get another shot at a title.
9. Gonzaga could be back in the top 10
The Zags had been to nine straight Sweet Sixteens (not including the 2020 postseason that was canceled). Last season, the Zags ended their run in the second round. But center Graham Ike has returned to be one of the top bigs in the country, and adding Grand Canyon guard Tyon Grant-Foster and Arizona State guard Adam Miller gives the Bulldogs plenty of scoring pop around the perimeter. Expect Braden Huff to have a bust-out season, as well. The Zags play a loaded nonconference slate and will be one of the most intriguing teams to track.
10. New coaches will make their mark
There were significant head coaching moves and a number of them should take their new schools to the NCAA Tournament.
Expect Indiana (Darren DeVries), Texas (Sean Miller), NC State (Will Wade), Auburn (Steven Pearl), VCU (Phil Martelli Jr.), Buzz Williams (Maryland) all to be in the field of 68. But don’t be shocked if Xavier (Richard Pitino), Villanova (Kevin Willard), Texas A&M (Bucky McMillan), Iowa (Ben McCollum), New Mexico (Eric Olen), UNLV (Josh Pastner), Virginia (Ryan Odom), Miami (Jai Lucas), West Virginia (Ross Hodge), Florida State (Luke Loucks) and Alex Jensen (Utah) are all in the hunt for bids come February.
