Once again CBS Sports presents our annual Candid Coaches series, which spotlights relevant topics and issues in men’s college basketball. Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander polled nearly 100 coaches in recent weeks on a variety of subjects. Coaches spoke on background and were provided anonymity to offer unfiltered opinions. This is the first installment in our 2025 survey.
This year we’re leading with a question we ask every year, but typically save for the last publishing in Candid Coaches.
Who’s going to be the best team?
We’re coming off the most expensive, disorderly, temperamental offseason ever. Two thousand transfers, nearly 60 coaching changes, massive roster turnover yet again. Predicting elite teams may prove to be more difficult than ever, but that won’t stop us from trying.
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So, who’s set up to rule the roost? We wanted to get the coaches’ best guess on laying out the upper echelon of college hoops less than two months from the start of the season. From some of the most recognizable names in coaching to assistants at the low-major level, here’s how they collectively voted.
Who will be the best team in 2025-26?
Other schools receiving multiple votes: Michigan, BYU, Kentucky, Louisville
Quotes that stood out
About Purdue
“They are so consistent. With the amount of returning production they have, with their coach they have, it seems like it’s impossible to bet against them, especially when talking about the regular season and which team will be most consistent throughout the course.””Has Final Four experience, has a good amount of returning players, has a NPOY candidate, has won with dominant bigs and with balanced attack. Has the best culture and didn’t just go out and buy players.” “Any time you return two All-Americans, that’s a good start. (Braden) Smith and (Trey) Kaufmann-Renn should be as good of an inside-out combination as any in the country. Add another four-year starter in (Fletcher) Loyer and there’s three guys who were key pieces on a national championship runner-up two years ago. Combine that with their roster continuity and Painter and staff, and you have a team that should be as good as anyone. I have full confidence that they’ll be squarely in the mix all year long.””It really feels like this could be the year for (Matt) Painter. Talented. Old. Deep. Experienced. They might not be loaded with lottery picks. But they’re going to be tough.”
About Houston
“Milos (Uzan) coming back with the talent already on that roster I think puts them on top.” “High-level infusion of talent with great retention of key pieces. One of the best coaches in college basketball matched with a unique culture.””Was close last season, has a great team this year and will have a shot. … [Sampson] and his staff will keep putting themselves in play to win it these next three-to-four seasons.””They brought as much back as anyone. My hope is it’s them this year. Man, their big guys the last two years covered so much ground on the floor, I’ve never seen anything like it. I’m a guy who’s been pretty good at covering ball screens and coaching against it. Their guys were UNREAL. Now, two of those guys are gone, but most are back, and I’m just telling you, no one has bigs who recover like them.”
About St. John’s
“I think they’re going to be the toughest, most disciplined, grittiest combination of that — and freedom. I think there’s going to be some tough, hard-nosed coaches and teams, but they won’t have as much talent as St. John’s.””Rick Pitino is a master of creating buy-in to defense and rebounding. Very talented roster that will connect and compete at a high level. That’s hard to beat in this new model of college hoops.”
About Duke, Florida and UConn
Duke: “Cam Boozer’s a unicorn that has won at an insanely high level and they have good returning pieces around him.” Florida: “I’ll take Florida as a slight edge over St. John’s. I think they’ll play the double bigs. They’ll have the best frontcourt and frontcourt depth in the country. Their guard play will be terrific.”UConn: “Love what Danny Hurley and his staff have done with their roster. They have an excellent blend of returners, homegrown, impact transfers, older, and incoming freshmen. Three out of four? Hope not!”
The takeaway
So, how accurate are the coaches when it comes to picking, say, the top three teams ahead of each season? Here’s the recent Candid Coaches history.
A year ago, Kansas was the top pick, followed by Alabama and Houston. Kansas went on to its worst season under Bill Self and finished the year unranked. Alabama got a No. 2 seed and lost in the Elite Eight to Duke, but was a notch shy of being a top-three team. Houston was a hit, though. The Cougars lost in the national title game as a top seed and finished second at KenPom.com.
In 2023, Kansas was also the pick to be No. 1 … and just like 2025, the Jayhawks were not close to top-10 status. Purdue was second; that was a hit. The Boilermakers finished that season as national runners-up to UConn, got a 1-seed and were top-three at KenPom. The No. 3 preseason pick by coaches was Duke, which was a small miss. That Blue Devils team finished seventh at KenPom and got a No. 4 seed.
In 2022, our survey of 100-plus coaches had a clear-cut top three: UNC, followed by Houston and Gonzaga. The Tar Heels were an infamous flameout, becoming the first team to be preseason No. 1 and not make the NCAAs. Houston was a wise pick; the Cougars finished No. 2 at KenPom in 2022-23 and went 33-4, losing in the Sweet 16. The Zags went 31-6, finished eighth at KenPom and earned a No. 3 seed, so another close pick but not a true hit.
And going back four years to 2021, the top three: Gonzaga, UCLA, Texas. The Bulldogs didn’t win the title, but were No. 1 at KenPom that season and got a No. 1 seed. That’s a hit. UCLA went 27-8, finished 11th at KenPom and was a No. 4, while Texas was 15th with a No. 6 seed, so a bit off the mark there.
All in all, I’d say the coaches are semi-reliable, but chances are good that one of Purdue, Houston, Duke or St. John’s will not be a top 10-12 team and will fail to make a deep NCAA Tournament run, so keep that in mind. Also keep in mind that coaches are informed in large part by offseason rankings put together by the media. There were only a couple of schools that were truly outside-the-box choices. (For example, Texas Tech and Illinois each received one vote to be the best team in 2025-26.)
As for Purdue and Houston comfortably being the top two vote-getters, I’m not surprised, though I am slightly let down in this regard: Every year I root for four or five teams to settle into the “who should be preseason No. 1?” dialogue, and in most years it winds up settling to one or two teams instead; 2025 is fated to be the same. I commend Gary Parrish for buying in on St. John’s as preseason No. 1 back in the spring and not backing off. I only received one vote for St. John’s in my polling, but Parrish had many more, which led to their tie with Duke for third.
With the two most recent national champs (UConn and Florida) also poised to easily rank high in the preseason polls, it sets up for a tremendous season. A very good mix of big-name schools, familiar bullies and some high-profile coaches in search of their first national title.
When the preseason AP Top 25 is released in mid-October, I can almost guarantee you that Purdue and Houston will occupy the top two spots. When that happens, the stage will be set for the storylines that will follow those two over the ensuing five months. For Purdue, a chance to win its first national title and validate its status as a top-five program this decade with potential preseason player of the year Braden Smith. For Houston, it’s all about atoning for the awkward and heartbreaking ending in the national title game against Florida. Will the Cougars be able to scale that season-long mountain one more time and get Kelvin Sampson his first national title?
The season is 42 days away, and with this forecast on the top teams, I declare we can officially shift to preseason hype mode.
