With fewer than 50 days until Notre Dame faces off against Villanova in Rome, college basketball is soon to be back in the spotlight. And even with eligibility-based lawsuits still an open-ended question for many rosters, there are still plenty of national storylines to keep an eye on for the 2026-27 season.
Focusing on those who are 100% cleared to play next season, here’s a look at the top 10 storylines that’ll impact the sport.
1. What Mark Pope needs to do to stay at Kentucky
Throughout the offseason, the name most talked about in Big Blue Nation was Pope, coming off an underachieving year at Kentucky and navigating the transfer portal’s ups and downs. Yet the result is a top-25-caliber roster, led by 6-foot-8 senior forward and Iowa State transfer Milan Momcilovic (16.9 points per game). Still, making the NCAA Tournament is just the baseline of expectations, with a Sweet Sixteen appearance potentially the only way for him to get off the hot seat, along with avoiding embarrassing losses during the regular season. Will they be good enough to please the restless fans?
2. Tyran Stokes impact at Kansas
Stokes is the clear No. 1 incoming prospect both in the 2026 recruiting class and early 2027 NBA Draft boards. The 6-foot-7 freshman forward is one of the top players Bill Self has ever brought in, and there’s pressure on Stokes to deliver for the Jayhawks. That’s because there’s a chance this is the Hall of Fame coach’s final season (an under-the-radar storyline to watch).
3. Michael Malone’s coaching debut at UNC
The biggest coaching carousel move of the offseason was the Tar Heels landing Malone, who won an NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets a few years ago. But there’s no Nikola Jokic in Chapel Hill, and former professional head coaches coming to the college ranks hasn’t always worked, with the UNC football school an obvious example. Expectations are still high at North Carolina, including competing with Duke. How well Malone does in his first year will be a solid indication of whether UNC can be a consistent national contender in the coming seasons.
4. Big East looking to bounce back
Last season was one the conference will look to forget, with just three teams (St. John’s, UConn, and Villanova) out of 11 making the NCAA Tournament. Worse, the other eight schools had no real claim to even be on the bubble. As a result, several coaching changes and roster revamps followed. On paper, there’s a real shot that the top three teams in the Big East standings could remain the same, but there’s hope that several teams from the other group can bounce back and get back into the Big Dance.
5. Mike Boynton’s requirements to stay at Michigan
With national champion head coach Dusty May off to the NBA, Boynton has been given the job at Michigan. But it’s not even guaranteed after this season, and he must meet several benchmarks to earn another year. That includes 24 regular-season wins and finishing in the top four of the Big Ten standings. With 6-foot-5 freshman guard Brandon McCoy Jr. out for the season with a torn ACL, the task for Boynton has gotten even more difficult.
6. Gonzaga the team to beat in the Pac-12?
The Pac-12 is back, with the heavyweight programs from the WCC and Mountain West coming together for a potential top-seven conference. Gonzaga, one of the nation’s most consistent programs, stands as the league’s flag bearer. But as we’ve seen with Saint Mary’s in the past few years, the Bulldogs aren’t unbeatable. Programs such as Utah State and San Diego State are good teams in their own right and should offer the toughest tests.
7. Purdue moving on from golden era
In the last five years, Purdue won 29-plus games four times, claimed multiple Big Ten regular-season titles and made a 2024 national championship appearance. But the two All-American players most responsible for this era, 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey and 6-foot guard Braden Smith, are now gone. It’s a completely new roster and rotation, with question marks all over as to who’ll be the next Boilermaker stars. Coach Matt Painter has always kept Purdue nationally relevant, but are they due for a step back?
8. Duke’s depth chart crunch
Duke will be a consensus preseason top-three team next season, with some of the most depth in the country. They bring back several rotation pieces, along with several five-star prospects. That includes 6-foot-9 freshman forward Cameron Williams, as well as 7-foot freshman center Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje. There’s also 6-foot-4 senior guard John Blackwell, who averaged 19.1 points per game at Wisconsin, set to be the team’s focal point on offense.
9. UConn’s young frontcourt
The Huskies had one of the best frontcourts in the nation last season, led by 6-foot-10 center Tarris Reed, as well as four-year starter Alex Karaban. The duo inside for next season will be second-year players, featuring 6-foot-10 sophomore center Najai Hines (6.5 points and 5.5 rebounds at Seton Hall) and Nikolas Khamenia, a 6-foot-8 sophomore forward and former five-star prospect who averaged 5.7 points per game at Duke. UConn is getting top-10 preseason hype, but that partly depends on a sophomore breakout for Khamenia and Hines. If it goes UConn’s way, the Huskies could be in the Final Four mix again.
10. SEC’s historic depth
Admittedly, the eligibility saga affects this storyline, as the league could be on par with the 14-team NCAA Tournament group a couple of years ago if certain commits are cleared to play. But even without them, this offseason has put the SEC in a great position to be dominant. Alabama, Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Florida all brought back projected first-round picks from the NBA Draft process, while Tennessee, Texas and Arkansas all had top-tier incoming high school and portal classes. Even programs such as Oklahoma, Auburn, Ole Miss and Mississippi State brought back their top scorers from a year ago.
LSU, which easily could be a storyline all in itself, adds another layer to what will be a strong and intriguing SEC campaign from top to bottom.
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