AP Top 25 poll reactions: North Carolina overrated, Kansas underrated in preseason college basketball rankings

The AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll was released Monday, signaling that the start of the 2025-26 college basketball season is on the horizon. Purdue earned the No. 1 spot in the poll after receiving 35 of 60 possible first-place votes. Houston, Florida, and UConn — the teams ranked behind the Boilermakers — all received first-place votes.

Rounding out the top five of the poll is St. John’s.The Red Storm reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 under coach Rick Pitino and will be one of the favorites to win the Big East alongside UConn.

The Cooper Flagg era may be over at Duke, but the Blue Devils have plenty of talent on their roster entering this season, including star freshman Cameron Boozer — a projected top-three pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Duke opened last season ranked No. 7 in the preseason poll and will start this year ranked No. 6. 

Speaking of the ACC, Louisville coach Pat Kelsey led a remarkable turnaround last season and helped the program reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. The Cardinals are one of our “underrated” teams heading into the season.

With that said, here are the overrated and underrated teams from the poll.

Overrated: St. John’s

AP Top 25 ranking: No. 5

The hype around St. John’s program entering the season is real. There is no denying that. After reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament and loading up in the transfer portal by adding players such as Bryce Hopkins (Providence), Joson Sanon (Arizona State) and Ian Jackson (North Carolina), it’s clear to see why a voter would rank St. John’s so high entering the season.

However, my biggest concern heading into the season for St. John’s is what they do at point guard. After landing Jackson this offseason, Pitino labeled him as “the next great point.” However, Pitino told reporters this month that Oziyah Sellers is the starting point guard and Dylan Darling, another transfer, is the backup. St. John’s has the talent to be a Final Four team, but it’s hard not to question if these pieces will fit together.

Underrated: Louisville

AP Top 25 ranking: No. 11

If you’re a fan of an NBA team that needs a point guard in the draft, you should be watching every single Louisville game this season. Five-star Mikel Brown Jr. is a star in the making and someone who can raise the ceiling of this Louisville team. 

I loved what Louisville did in the transfer portal by adding Ryan Conwell, Isaac McKneely, and Adrian Wooely. Louisville has the talent to be a team that’s playing for a national title this spring. Three years ago, that sentence almost seemed impossible to utter because former coach Kenny Payne had Louisville at rock bottom. I would be very surprised if Kelsey’s squad doesn’t finish ranked in the top 10 at the end of the season.

Overrated: North Carolina

AP Top 25 ranking: No. 25

It’s pretty simple. This season is a make-or-break for UNC coach Hubert Davis. The Tar Heels surprisingly heard their name called on Selection Sunday this past spring after finishing the regular season 22-13 with just one win (UCLA) over a ranked opponent. By sneaking in as one of the last teams in the field, North Carolina avoided missing the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons under Davis. Regardless, that standard isn’t acceptable for a program of its stature.

North Carolina’s frontcourt of Caleb Wilson — a projected lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft — and Arizona transfer Henri Veesaar will be its greatest strength heading into the season. However, I think it’s more likely that North Carolina finishes unranked than higher than 25. Obviously, I am not a voter in the poll, but it wouldn’t be surprising if in-state foe NC State, under first-year coach Will Wade, had a better season than UNC. NC State received the most votes in the poll without being ranked.

AP Top 25 ranking: No. 14

Even after all the chaos that transpired in John Calipari’s first season at Arkansas after his breakup with Kentucky, his team still had a chance to reach the Elite Eight before a late collapse against Texas Tech. Something not common for Calipari during his tenure with Kentucky was continuity, as most of his best players were one-and-done.

However, this version of Calipari’s roster will return several key players, including DJ Wagner, Karter Knox, Trevon Brazile and Billy Richmond III. On top of that, five-star Darius Acuff Jr. is going to be the next one-and-done point guard Calipari produces. The returning experience, coupled with the newcomers on the roster, makes Calipari’s squad a threat to play deep into March and finish as a top 10 team.

AP Top 25 ranking: No. 19

Kansas is in an unfamiliar spot heading into the season. The Jayhawks began the season as the preseason top-ranked team in each of the last two years and will instead start at No. 19 behind Big 12 foes Houston, BYU, Texas Tech, Arizona and Iowa State.

The Jayhawks have massively underperformed during the last three seasons, with three consecutive exits in the NCAA Tournament before the second weekend. What makes this version of Kansas (potentially) different is five-star Darryn Peterson, who profiles as the projected No. 1 pick this summer and one of the best guard prospects in recent memory. Peterson alone raises the ceiling and floor of this Kansas team. The Jayhawks haven’t had a player like Peterson in the Self era. There’s a reason why the Kansas coach has labeled him the best player he has recruited at the school. I’m buying all the hype around Peterson bringing Kansas’ program back to glory.