United States of College Basketball: Ranking the best team in each state for the 2025-26 season

There are a mere few days left of waiting before we can finally, again, hit the road. The road of uncertainty but a path paved with promises to untold surprises that await. The road that spans from California to Connecticut, from North Carolina to North Dakota, from Maine to Washington and all points between. 

The road to the Final Four.

It starts here, today.

I’ve broken out the utensils and once again drawn up a map for the season ahead. The graphic you see atop this story is a projection of the best team in all 49 states that compete in Division I basketball. A small handful of states only house one D-I program; their logos remain unchanged year over year. Others have a reliable rotation of alternating logos (think: California, Texas, Ohio and North Carolina), thanks to a high potency of competent programs and basketball pride. This is not a historic ranking; this is a here-and-now look at which teams are positioned to be the best over the next five months.

If you’re curious how I came to pick the best in each state, my map was sourced from my Top 100 And 1 rankings, which were researched and diligently built over the better part of a month. For states with schools that didn’t crack that list, I made my pick based on 2025-26 forecasts, including my own projections and relying on computer modeling from some of the best advanced metrics available. Pack your stuff, hop in the car and don’t forget the tunes. It’s time to tour the country as we take an epic trip that will finish in the first week in April in Indianapolis.

Alabama

Alabama Crimson Tide

With Bruce Pearl’s October retirement, the gap between Auburn and Alabama seems more pronounced than it would have been. After all, if you’re going to suggest that Auburn won’t slip at all without Pearl, that means you don’t think someone who won a D-II national championship and more than 700 games in his career meant anything to his program at the time of his departure. I can’t buy that. So, I’ve got Alabama on top, thanks to Labaron Philon’s return and a backcourt that should be one of the best in college basketball. 

And you know what? We’re a half-decade in now where Alabama vs. Auburn is a legitimate rivalry that matters nationally on the hardwood. This wasn’t the case for basically 90% of the programs’ existence. I look forward to seeing Steven Pearl try to keep the Tigers in the chase against the Tide.

Arizona

Arizona Wildcats

Arizona is viewed as a top-10 team, while Arizona State might not crack the top 75 in the metrics by the end of the season. This one’s another walkover. Tommy Lloyd is looking to get a top-four seed for the Wildcats for a fifth straight year and, barring bad injury luck, it’s hard to see how he won’t get there. 

Jaden Bradley will be the leader, but don’t let Koa Peat get lost in the shuffle. He’s not considered a top-five freshman in this superb class, but I do think he’ll wind up having a number of performances that jump him into the conversation with dudes like AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer. As for Arizona State, Bobby Hurley is in the final year of his contract, and barring a top-10 finish in the Big 12, he’s considered likely to be gone next spring. At Grand Canyon, Bryce Drew is guiding the Antelopes into their first season in the Mountain West.

Arkansas

Arkansas Razorbacks

Forever the kings in the Natural State. And the closer we draw to the start of the season, the more I like John Calipari’s roster. If he can make all the pieces work, Arkansas will be a top-10 team, without question. 

Arkansas bringing back DJ Wagner, Karter Knox, Trevon Brazile and Billy Richmond makes for the best returning corps in the SEC (even better than Florida, I think). Freshmen Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas will also be gobs of fun. This should be one of the better defensive teams in the country — and I’d bank on them having double-digit games where the Hogs hit 80-plus points.  

California

UCLA Bruins

Always a competitive race in the most populated state in the country. UCLA is the pick as California’s best thanks to a pricey but worthwhile addition: Donovan Dent’s promotion from New Mexico to Mick Cronin’s program could alter the dynamic of the Big Ten race underneath Purdue’s presumptive chase for No. 1. 

Elsewhere in Cali, look for San Diego State, Saint Mary’s, USC and UC Irvine (battling with UC Santa Barbara) to make NCAA Tournament pushes. I could see SDSU actually beating out UCLA as the best team in California, but I’ll go with one of the best point guards to get it done and give Bruins fans a prideful year in Westwood.

Colorado

Colorado Buffaloes

I’m dubious any team from this state makes the NCAA Tournament, but Colorado fans can take a bit of solace in the fact they’ve won back the logo from Colorado State, which had it a few times in recent years under former coach Niko Medved (who’s now at Minnesota). 

Tad Boyle will be chased by retirement rumors all season. I could see it. I could also see him bucking up and chasing one more year of coaching in 2026-27. Colorado wasn’t good last year, but it also didn’t have to completely blow up its roster. A bottom-four Big 12 finish seems likely. At Colorado State, a new era under Ali Farokhmanesh. CSU will be better in its league, but I think it’s a couple of notches short of bubble consideration in March.

Connecticut

UConn Huskies

So eager to see how UConn bounces back this season. Last year wasn’t a disaster, unless you’re Dan Hurley and that staff and the standard is as high as any program in the sport. The Huskies had some bad skids, Hurley made some obvious mistakes, but a nail-biting second-round exit to the eventual national champs is an honorable way to exit. 

Now this team has an improved backcourt, some excellent returning pieces and should be a top-five team if all goes to plan. If you missed it, here are my Big East Media Day sit-downs with Alex Karaban and Hurley. Elsewhere in the Nutmeg State, look for Yale to be the best in the Ivy League again and Quinnipiac to make a serious run in the MAAC. The University of New Haven joins the D-I ranks this year, becoming the 365th team.

Delaware

Delaware Blue Hens

Per usual, the Blue Hens are on top in the two-program state. It’s only UDel and Delaware State. The Hornets are ranked 351st at KenPom out of 365 teams. Yikes. At Delaware, Martin Inglesby stuck around after getting a couple of calls. He’s going into Year 10, but a reminder that Delaware is making a change. After 23 years in the CAA, this season will be the program’s first in CUSA.

Florida

Florida Gators

The reigning champs. And Todd Golden gets the benefit of returning Thomas Haugh, Micah Handlogten, Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon. It looks like the best frontcourt in the country and it’s why UF was placed in the preseason top five. 

You can catch the Gator boys to see if they stay hot when they open the season Monday against Arizona. Pretty nice to have a matchup of that caliber tip off the season. No other team in the Sunshine State is within range of the Gators. Miami has some talent under first-year coach Jai Lucas but the ‘Canes are viewed as an NCAA Tournament team, while Florida State undergoes a huge reboot with Luke Loucks taking over following more than two decades of Leonard Hamilton’s reign.

Georgia

Georgia Bulldogs

As a program, Georgia has not been able to sustain consistency … for essentially its entire existence. That pattern will be put to the test again, as Mike White has to retool after losing some serious talent, in addition to a key member of his coaching staff (who left for Miami). 

Even with uncertainty in Athens, I like the roster more for UGA than I do with Georgia Tech, who is also hoping to overcome some NIL deficiencies in the ACC. Two programs so close to talent for decades, and yet the Dawgs and Bees still find themselves perpetually in the third tier (or worse) of the power-conference hierarchy. 

Hawaii

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors

Year 11 for Eran Ganot begins out on the Big Island. Hawaii should be respectable in the Big West. I don’t think it has the might to go for 10 weeks and still be level with the likes of UC Irvine, but predictive metrics slate this team into the preseason top 120, which makes the Rainbow Warriors a viable team to win the league tournament. Hawaii last danced in 2016, which also happens to be the first season Ganot was on the job. 

Idaho

Boise State Broncos

The only D-I team in Idaho to make an NCAA Tournament in the past 30-plus years will again make the NCAA Tournament in 2026. That’s my prediction for Boise State, which averages out at 53rd across KenPom, Torvik and EvanMiya. I slotted the Broncos No. 43 in my rankings. Leon Rice lost a lot, but the cupboard is hardly bare. Put me down for Boise State to finish second in the league to San Diego State in the final season before those two and others leave the Mountain West for the Pac-12.

Illinois

Illinois Fighting Illini

Brad Underwood’s team is the best in its state, but it might not be the group that wins its conference. Ryan Pedon’s Illinois State Redbirds are the Missouri Valley favorites. In the Atlantic 10, Loyola Chicago could be a surprise team that fights for at-large consideration. But the best team is Illinois and it’s not close. Underwood’s brought on a Baltic-blooded base of ballers who could turn this team into one of the most entertaining and offensively efficient in the sport. For the seventh straight year, the program should have an NCAA Tournament team.

Indiana

Purdue Boilermakers

Indiana, Butler and Notre Dame have been helpless to overthrow Purdue in the state that cares about basketball more than any other. The Boilermakers are preseason No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the first time in school history. Braden Smith is the near-consensus preseason national player of the year choice. Trey Kaufman-Renn also comes back as an All-American. 

And you want to know why Purdue should be the favorite in the Big Ten beyond the personnel and recent success? The Boilermakers do not have to go on the road in league play to face three of the projected top five teams in the league: Illinois, Michigan or Michigan State. Meanwhile, Indiana will try to scrape together a tournament-worthy team in Year 1 under Darian DeVries, while Notre Dame should jump under Micah Shrewsberry in his third season.

Iowa

Iowa State Cyclones

The gap between Iowa State and Iowa might be a lot closer than ISU fans want to acknowledge. I have little doubt T.J. Otzelberger will coach ’em up again in Ames and get the Cyclones to a good seed. 

But Ben McCollum could be one of the immediate-impact high-major hirings from last spring. Iowa has Bennett Stirtz; Iowa State has Tamin Lipsey. Things are pretty great with point guard situations in the Hawkeye State. By the way, Drake and Northern Iowa also should be respectable. Few states can match the pound-for-pound quality as Iowa. 

Kansas

Kansas Jayhawks

After an offseason that led the media to most picking Kansas in the 15-23 range, it seems the Darryn Peterson Effect is changing some minds heading into November. I ranked KU No. 7 (the highest of any prognosticator) because I believe Peterson can be nearly Flagg-like in his impact on winning. 

There’s been a huge reboot in Lawrence and I can’t see Bill Self having three below-average years in a row. Over in Manhattan, Kansas State should be competitive and viable again following the flop from last season. PJ Haggerty is an All-American in purple for Jerome Tang’s team. 

Kentucky Wildcats

I’m just thrilled that the Bluegrass rivalry between Louisville and Kentucky is ready to return to some real stakes. It’s been six years since these two actually battled in a season where both were good enough to do some damage in the NCAA Tournament. I’ve got Kentucky No. 3 and Louisville No. 12 in my Top 100 And 1 rankings. 

Pat Kelsey’s team will be led by a stud freshman, Mikel Brown Jr., who should be the second-best ACC newcomer to Cameron Boozer at Duke. Kentucky isn’t freshman-dependent, Mark Pope’s got a talented young class that will support the likes of Otega Oweh, Brandon Garrison, Arizona State transfer Jayden Quiantance and Pitt transfer Jaland Lowe. The teams face each other Nov. 11 in Louisville, the earliest the two have ever squared off in a season and only the third November tilt in series history.

Louisiana

LSU Tigers

These are dark times for sports teams in Louisiana these days. Brian Kelly just got sacked, Will Wade left McNeese for NC State and LSU still isn’t a projected NCAA Tournament team. But at least the Bayou Bengals have taken the logo over their state from McNeese, which wasn’t the case a year ago when the Cowboys were rightfully slotted ahead of LSU. 

Matt McMahon is in a hot-seat season and will try to navigate into the top 10 of the 16-team SEC. If LSU slips up, there is another team that could prove to be best: Tulane is a viable contender in the American, led by the league’s preseason Player of the Year, Rowan Brumbaugh. 

Maine

Maine Black Bears

The Black Bears continue to improve under alum Chris Markwood, who went from 13 wins in Year 1 to 15 in Year and then a 20-14 record last season, including 10-6 in the America East. The team is expected to be slightly worse this season, per preseason metrics, but it will be the most tracked team in the conference for one obvious reason: Ace Flagg, Cooper’s twin brother, begins his freshman season in his home state. How many games do we think the NBA schedule will enable Cooper to pop in and watch his bro play? I’ll say he gets out to at least one.

Maryland

Maryland Terrapins

A year ago, this was near-impossible to envision. Kevin Willard burning the boats on his way out of College Park, only then for Maryland to bring aboard Buzz Williams. The Terps are just outside my top 50, but I think they’ll have some good moments and spring a few upsets in the Big Ten. Whether Williams can build up the program to be good enough to have a team with Final Four talent (like last year’s had, even though it was out in the Sweet 16), is another question. Elsewhere in the state, look for Towson to be good again in the CAA and to compete with Charleston and UNCW for top billing in a good league race. 

Massachusetts

Boston College

A year ago, I had UMass’ logo here. It was a miss. Frank Martin’s team went 12-20 in its final year in the Atlantic 10. Now, thanks to football, UMass is part of the MAC. I’ll never accept this. It’s one of the weirdest realignment decisions of the past 20 years, which says a lot. 

Now, as for BC? Earl Grant’s team being the best in the Bay State is not a good look for the region. The Eagles went just 12-19 last season. I think an improvement is on the way, but it might not be enough to get Earl Grant another season. Other teams with some sleeper potential in their leagues in this state include UMass Lowell in the America East, Harvard in the Ivy League and Boston U in the Patriot League.

Michigan

Michigan Wolverines

The rivalry fires have been stoked between Michigan and Michigan State. Dusty May’s arrival in Ann Arbor immediately translated to Michigan being a quality program again, though Tom Izzo taught the Big Ten newbie a thing or two by sweeping the Maize and Blue last season. Sparty made the Elite Eight, while U-M reached the Sweet 16. 

I’m taking Michigan to be better this season by a tad because I’d rank May’s portal haul No. 2 in the sport behind Kentucky. Size, shooting, good guard play — and a lot of pieces back from a quality team. Hopefully Izzo still wants to coach another two or three years to give this intra-state battle some real juice before he calls it quits on a Hall of Fame run.

Minnesota

Minnesota Golden Gophers

A coaching change in Minneapolis. Niko Medved is back in his hometown of Minneapolis after having built up a really nice career in the prior decade at Furman, Drake and Colorado State. The Golden Gophers don’t figure to factor into the Big Ten race immediately, but I do think Medved is a terrific long-term fit and will make multiple NCAA Tournament appearances with the program in the ensuing decade. The state’s other D-I school, St. Thomas, should be top-three in the Summit League in its fifth season of D-I. 

Mississippi

Ole Miss Rebels

Quite literally the closest race on the map — and a very close call for the second straight year. I have Chris Beard’s Rebels one spot ahead of Chris Jans’ Bulldogs in my Top 100 And 1 list, with Mississippi sitting at No. 36. Both teams should be good enough to make the NCAA Tournament again. 

Look for the Rebels, who probably don’t have quite as much talent as last season, to be deeper and capable of grinding out wins in a variety of styles. Mississippi State will have the state’s best player, Josh Hubbard, who is a fun pick to lead the SEC in scoring despite standing about 5-9 (if that).

Missouri

Missouri Tigers

Dennis Gates takes back the state. Last season, I was off: I put Saint Louis here under new coach Josh Schertz. Here’s the ironic part: SLU is absolutely going to be better this season — and I’m writing the Billikens into the NCAAs — but they still won’t be as good as Mizzou. 

The Tigers return Mark Mitchell, Anthony Robinson and Trent Pierce, in addition to adding Sebastian Mack from UCLA. I could see Mizzou being as good as fifth in the SEC. The school hasn’t gone to consecutive Big Dances since 2012 and 2013, but barring something problematic, we should see Missouri in the big bracket again in 2026.

Montana

Montana Grizzlies

This is a close call. Montana is ahead of Montana State at KenPom and EvanMiya, while MSU is ahead of Montana at Torvik. Travis DeCuire is coming off his third NCAA Tournament appearance in 11 seasons and has truly built a reliable mid-major program in a part of the country that almost never receives attention for its basketball. A ton of credit to him. 

At Montana State, Matt Logie is set for a solid year after a down second season. Logie’s overcome the challenges of the portal, and even found a way to stay on the up-and-up despite outdated NCAA rules when it comes to APR data and how that’s impacted with so many transfers.

Nebraska

Creighton Bluejays

While I’d love to be wrong, my prediction is that this will be Greg McDermott’s final year with the Jays. The school announced in the spring that McDermott was bringing back his former assistant, Alan Huss, who’d done an outstanding job turning around High Point. Huss is the coach-in-waiting, and while a two-year standby is clearly on the table, something tells me Huss will be running the show in Omaha a year from now. 

I like Creighton to finish third in the Big East behind UConn and St. John’s, sending McDermott out on a good note with a sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament that includes at least one Creighton win as a single-digit seed. Over in Lincoln, Nebraska is coming off its first back-to-back seasons with 20-plus wins since the late 1990s. Fred Hoiberg’s team will revolve around Rienk Mast, who sat due to injury last season but is probably going to be one of the comeback players of the year in all of college hoops.

Nevada

UNLV Runnin’ Rebels

If you’re devoted enough to ready every one of these capsules and you aren’t the editor in charge of publishing this piece, well, first off: THANK YOU. But secondly, you’ll be noticing an unusual uptick in schools that rank No. 1 in their state while also bringing on a new coach. That’s the case in Nevada, where I’ve got Josh Pastner taking over at UNLV and immediately moving ahead of Steve Alford’s Wolf Pack in Reno. It’ll probably be a close race, and I’d say the chances of these teams touching each other in the Mountain West standings at the end of the season are pretty high. I also have both in my Top 100 And 1. I say Pastner makes noise in Year 1 and gets Vegas to the NCAAs by his third season. 

New Hampshire

Dartmouth Big Green

The University of New Hampshire and Dartmouth are the only two Division I schools in the Granite State. They seem to alternate on my map every other year. Heading into November, if you average out KenPom, Torvik and EvanMiya, Dartmouth’s ranking is 220th. 

Dave McLaughlin hasn’t done much in a decade there, but this is a season with some optimism to be top-four in the Ivy. At New Hampshire … it’s not pretty. It’s 342 or worse in the predictives. Nathan Davis is in his third season and will need some real magic in order to avoid a forgettable next five months.

New Jersey

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

It’s not great in Jersey right now. I think Rutgers can be better than last season, when it was one of the all-time busts despite having two top-five picks on the roster. Even then … 16th, 17th or 18th in the Big Ten is my prediction for RU. And I still think that puts the Scarlet Knights ahead of Seton Hall, which is the near-universal choice to finish last in the Big East. Shaheen Holloway’s coaching acumen may shine, though. He’s done some tremendous things in his career. I’m interested to see if he or Steve Pikiell can totally overshoot shin-low expectations in 2025-26.

New Mexico

New Mexico Lobos

Eric Olen guided the way at UC San Diego, bringing that program from Division II and into the Big West — where he won 30 games last season and got to the NCAA Tournament. That kind of accomplishment will catch the eye of athletic directors. Olen is now the coach at New Mexico, which is not projected as an NCAA Tournament team. I didn’t rank it in my Top 100 And 1, and if I’m being honest, it’s the one team I didn’t rank that I’m the most worried will prove to be very wrong. 

If Olen does what he’s capable of, UNM hovering around that 70 or 75 range by March would be no stunner. At New Mexico State, which is in CUSA, the Aggies are expected to be a good team in that league but probably not on UNM’s level. That won’t matter when the teams have their annual battle, which goes down on Nov. 15.

New York

St. John’s Red Storm

For a generation, St. John’s fans waited to see their team reclaim supremacy in the Empire State. Last year, it happened with authority. Rick Pitino got SJU to a No. 2 seed and its first sweep of the Big East since the 1990s. It ended poorly in the second round of the NCAAs, but almost no one expects that pratfall to prevent St. John’s from being in the upper echelon again. The closest team to St. John’s is almost definitely going to be Syracuse, which figures to be one of the toughest-to-pin-down teams in the ACC. Some believe Cuse is going to rise to the level of being sixth or seventh in the ACC, while others forecast a third straight down year under Red Autry and a season hovering around .500. I’m also keeping an eye on St. Bonaventure, which might be good enough to finish top-four in the Atlantic 10.

North Carolina

Duke Blue Devils

Jon Scheyer’s program is coming off a Final Four loss that unfortunately instantly logged as one more infamous blown games in NCAA history. Still, Duke finished the season atop KenPom and ranked as the second-best team in that metric dating back to 1996-97. This season’s group won’t be as good, but it can be good enough to earn a No. 1 seed, thanks to Cameron Boozer, the freshman who could be Almost As Good As Cooper Flagg. 

Duke clears North Carolina with some ease, but UNC did plenty of spending in the portal and figures to have a Top 25 team in Hubert Davis’ fifth season. Those two slot ahead of NC State, which is poised to make noise right away in Will Wade’s first season in Raleigh; NCAA Tournament expectations are already on the menu there. At Wake Forest, Steve Forbes will again hope to do more with less and try to break through for his first NCAA Tournament with the Deacs. 

North Dakota

North Dakota State Bison

Dave Richman, as expected, got things back to normal in Fargo with a 21-win season in 2024-25. The two years prior, NDSU was hovering around .500. It should vie for a Summit League title again. At North Dakota, which is an hour and 15 minutes north, the Fighting Hawks project as a team in the 300s and will try again to finish ahead of NDSU at KenPom. It’s never happened dating back to their D-I inclusion in 2009-10.

Ohio

Ohio State Buckeyes

The state of Ohio has a logo change as frequently as any other state on my map, dating back a decade of doing this. Ohio State is the easy call for 2025-26. Xavier has a new coach and probably won’t be a top-60 team. Dayton, I think, can be fairly good and might win the A-10, but that’s a risky pick by me. The Flyers figure to be well off from Top 25 material. 

Cincinnati still hasn’t put together a good run yet under Wes Miller, who’s in a hot-seat year but could have enough to make his first NCAA Tournament. In Columbus, Jake Diebler has the pieces to easily be in the top half of the Big Ten — and maybe as good as a No. 5 or 6 seed. Bruce Thornton was on my preseason All-America ballot as a Second Teamer (but he didn’t make the CBS team, alas). If Diebler is the guy, Ohio State cruises past 20 wins this season.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma Sooners

As much as I’d love to see the Sooners and Pokes tussling for a spot on this map, Oklahoma still seems to have an edge. Maybe that’s not the case a year from now, but if you checked in on my 100 And 1 rankings, you saw that I’m higher on Oklahoma than probably anyone or any metric. Top-30 forecast, with transfers Xzayvier Brown and Nijel Pack teaming up to maybe average 40-plus points for an improved Sooners offense (even without Jeremiah Fears, the one-and-doner who went top 10 in the draft). Steve Lutz is going to have a better team this season, for sure. OSU will not be near the Big 12 basement. But I don’t have the Cowboys vying for an NCAA bid in 2026.

Oregon

Oregon Ducks

Zero competition for the Ducks as the best in their state again. Dana Altman’s team returns Nate Bittle and Jackson Shelstad on what I think will be a top six-or-seven team in the Big Ten. Given all the drama with the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon really is the one basketball bright spot in the state on the men’s side. 

At Oregon State, Wayne Tinkle is hoping one more year in the WCC will do his program good. The Beavs won 20 games last season for just the second time in more than a decade under Tinkle’s leadership.

Pennsylvania

Villanova Wildcats

Pitt in fact had its logo on the Keystone State a year ago, but Jeff Capel got brutalized by the portal. It’s conceivable the Panthers could be a surprise team in the ACC, but I’m not seeing it, at least not to the point where Pitt will be better than Villanova in the Wildcats’ first season under Kevin Willard. I think VU is one of the last teams to squeak into the NCAAs and gives the Big East five bids in the process. Elsewhere in Pennsylvania: Fran McCaffery is now the coach at his alma mater, Penn. 

Rhode Island

Providence Friars

Friars coach Kim English told me at Big East Media Day that last season’s 12-20 endeavor with PC was “the worst” season of his life — playing days included. It’s unlikely to be repeated. English brought on Jason Edwards from Vanderbilt, who should be one of the best newcomers in the conference. The Friars forecast to be a borderline NCAA Tournament team, which is still comfortably ahead of URI, which isn’t expected to be in the top five of the Atlantic 10.

South Carolina

Clemson Tigers

Brad Brownell’s team will almost definitely take a step back vs. the recent seasons with 51 wins and single-digit NCAA seeds. Even still, Clemson should be the best in its state. And it wouldn’t surprise me if Bob Richey’s Furman Paladins gave South Carolina a strong chase for No. 2 in this state over the next five months. Furman is equipped to be the top team in the SoCon, while South Carolina might bring up the caboose again in the SEC.

South Dakota

South Dakota State Jackrabbits

A fourth coach in the relatively short Division I history for this program (dating back to 2005) starts this season, as Bryan Peterson takes over for Eric Henderson, who left for Drake. Scott Nagy, T.J. Otzelberger and Henderson all took SDSU to the NCAA Tournament multiple times. Now we see if Peterson can do it. Regardless of if or when it happens, the Jackrabbits still clear in-state South Dakota for the next five months. 

Tennessee

Tennessee Volunteers

Yet again, I don’t see the Volunteer State being a close race. Rick Barnes has a bit of a reload, but even still, Tennessee is a top-five SEC team until proven otherwise. The big name in Knoxville is Nate Ament, the program’s highest-rated recruit ever. Tennessee easily outpaces Memphis, which should still be the top dog in the American. In ranking out the top Tennessee-based teams for 2025-26, I’d go: 1. UT, 2. Memphis, 3. Vanderbilt, 4. Belmont, 5. Chattanooga.

Texas

Houston Cougars

My No. 1 team in all of college hoops. Kelvin Sampson’s crew’s closest competition is to the west, in Lubbock. Texas Tech, a preseason top-10 team in the eyes of some, figures to be a force in the Big 12 thanks to bringing back All-American JT Toppin. I think that’ll be a tough group this season, but no one out-toughs Houston. The journey back to the Final Four will be one of the heavier cataloged stories of 2025-26. Milos Uzan, Joseph Tugler and Emanuel Sharp are the core of a team that is expected to be maniacal in their pursuit of avenging last season’s title game loss.

Utah

BYU Cougars

Has the gap ever been greater between BYU and Utah? The Cougars have potential No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa on campus, in addition to Rob Wright III and the return of Richie Saunders, which has posted BYU in the preseason AP top 10. There are Final Four visions and promises of one of the most electric offenses college hoops can offer. Utah, on the other hand, is in reboot. Alum Alex Jensen is about to start his first season as a head coach and Utah is understandably picked at the bottom of the Big 12. Let’s circle back in a year and see if one of the hottest rivalries in college sports can have the gap close a bit. 

Vermont

Vermont Catamounts

John Becker’s Catamounts were knocked off their perch last season by Bryant, which won the America East. With Phil Martelli Jr. off to VCU, UVM figures to again be the best team in the conference. It’s, of course, always the best team in the state. It’s Vermont! There’s only room for one D-I team. That said, a step back might be coming. This season’s squad is ranked 209th by KenPom heading in, by far the lowest preseason forecast in the 15 years Pomeroy has done them.

Virginia

Virginia Cavaliers

Tony Bennett’s retirement led to the worst season for Virginia in a generation. The program responded by bringing aboard Ryan Odom, whose approval rating lands near the top of the 14 high-major coaching changes that were made last spring. I’m putting the Wahoos in my preseason top 30 thanks to a huge spending spree that brought about a roster deep with big shooters. The Cavs aren’t guaranteed to be the best in their state, but I’d be surprised if VCU or George Mason were in shouting distance.  

Washington

Gonzaga Bulldogs

I can’t change my preseason rankings — I won’t; a man has to have his principles — but if I did shake things up, I’d have Gonzaga higher than No. 21. I put GU there because I was skeptical Tyon Grant-Foster would be granted one more year of eligibility. On Monday, he got it, and by being added to Mark Few’s team, I think Gonzaga has to be a preseason top-15 squad. Graham Ike and Braden Huff will occupy the frontcourt on a squad that is probably going to win the WCC by. multiple games. Over in Seattle, Danny Sprinkle has a Washington team that’s still a couple notches down from Gonzaga territory but is a Big Ten sleeper to make a run at the NCAA Tournament. 

Washington, D.C.

Georgetown Hoyas

Though it’s Georgetown again in the District, this is a close race. Chris Caputo’s George Washington team has Rafael Castro as the man in the middle and is one of the best in the A-10. GW gave Georgetown a good game in an exhibition recently, but there’s still some air separating the two. Ed Cooley’s program has expectations to be seventh or better in the Big East this season, signaling a clear step up from the past decade … while still not back to where Hoyas fans have been waiting for. I think Georgetown finishes sixth in the conference.

West Virginia

West Virginia Mountaineers

The Mountaineers lost Darian DeVries after just one season; DeVries practically left in the cover of darkness for Indiana, which opened a path for Ross Hodge’s hiring in Morgantown. He’s 45, a defensive savant and will probably have WVU in the middle of the pack in the Big 12 right away. I’ve got West Virginia far clear of Marshall once again. The Thundering Herd now play in the Sun Belt and aren’t a league contender. 

Wisconsin

Marquette Golden Eagles

This state’s up for debate, but as I explained on our Eye on College Basketball Big East preview, I’m riding with Shaka Smart’s no-transfer approach until it doesn’t work. Until this point, it’s worked. I’ve got Marquette in my preseason top 25 (with Chase Ross as the next big man on campus), while Wisconsin sits seven spots lower at No. 32. Both should be in the NCAA Tournament without too much of a sweat. Elsewhere in the state, many around the sport are looking at Doug Gottlieb’s situation at Green Bay and wondering how much the program will improve on that horrid 4-28 season.

Wyoming

Wyoming Cowboys

As is the case every year, we reach the end of the road and it’s Wyoming and only Wyoming eligible to be represented in the Equality State. This will be Year 2 for Sundance Wicks with the Cowboys. The team went 12-20 last season and will almost definitely be better in 2025-26 thanks to having as long of a roster of wings as anyone in the Mountain West.