Florida a top-5 team according to way-too-early men's basketball poll
It's already time to look ahead to next year with a way-too-early ranking of next year's top 25 teams, which includes the Florida Gators.
The confetti has just been swept off the court inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis following the M ichigan Wolverines ' national championship win over the UConn Huskies, and the way-too-early predictions for next season are already out. USA TODAY Sports writers Erick Smith and Paul Myerberg issued their rankings for the 2026-27 men's basketball campaign on Tuesday, with some good news for the Gator Nation. Florida , which fell in the second round of the tournament to the Iowa Hawkeyes after a torrid second half of the season, comes in ranked fourth behind the Michigan State Spartans , Duke Blue Devils and Michigan , respectively.
The Arizona Wildcats round out the top five. It is hard to put much stock in these rankings, especially for Florida, which awaits decisions from Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon as to whether they intend to take the next step and enter the NBA draft. A return by both would easily justify this early outlook, but if both decide to depart, that will leave some gaping holes for Todd Golden to fill.
The transfer portal just opened on Tuesday morning as well, so there are plenty of other variables out there just waiting to be set. It remains to be seen if these outlooks age like wine or milk. Men's college basketball way-too-early poll for 2026-27 Michigan State Duke Michigan Florida Arizona Illinois Alabama Houston Arkansas Virginia Gonzaga UConn Iowa State St.
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