Way-too-early men's basketball rankings has Florida Gators among top 3
If Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu return to the Gators, Florida basketball is projected to be a top-3 team next season.
It has been mere hours since the Michigan Wolverines triumphed over the UConn Huskies for the 2026 men's basketball title, and already the sports media is offering its outlooks for the 2026-27 campaign. Among them is ESPN's Jeff Borzello, who issued his way-too-early rankings for the 2026-27 campaign shortly after the final horn of the national championship game. He admits that his approach to these probably premature prognostications has gotten looser over the years, so take these things with several grains of salt.
As far as the Florida Gators are concerned, Borzello is quite bullish on the Orange and Blue — but there is a catch. Their No. 3 spot in the rankings is entirely dependent upon the return of two of the program's frontcourt stars: Defensive Player of the Year Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon.
Both have significant NBA potential and their decisions will ostensibly be based on where they project in the NBA draft. "Will coach Todd Golden be able to run it back for a third consecutive season with the frontcourt duo of Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu? " Borzello rhetorically asks.
"Condon is projected in a similar draft range to last season, when he opted to return to Gainesville. Chinyelu really began to hit his offensive stride in SEC play this past season," he continues. "If both return, look out.