100. Seton Hall Pirates- Last Season Ranking: 80
Conference: Big East
Player to know: Budd Clark
Let's all do the Pirates a favor and not talk about last season. The one that saw Seton Hall win 7 games and rank second-worst in scoring offense in the country. Seton Hall had to fix the offense and has to start getting back to playing coach Shaheen Holloway's defense. The roster this season is a good start, especially on defense. The Pirates will be far more competitive in the deep Big East.
99. McNeese State Cowboys- Last Season Ranking: 103
Conference: Southland
Player to know: Javohn Garcia
It was a historic season for the Cowboys, who won 28 games, 19 games in the Southland, and beat Clemson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Then their head coach, Will Wade, left to take the open job at NC State. New coach Bill Armstrong was on staff under Wade and was able to keep most of the roster intact. McNeese should win the Southland going away again.
98. New Mexico Lobos- Last Season Ranking: 64
Conference: Mountain West
Player to know: Antonio Chol
It is going to be an interesting year for New Mexico. The Lobos enter the year with a new roster, a new coach, and what many would consider a rebuild. Don't be so sure of that. New head coach Eric Olen is one of the best coaches in the game, and he's going to coach his team to play havoc defense and shoot a ton of threes. It may take a year, but New Mexico is still going to win a lot.
97. Liberty Flames- Last Season Ranking: 113
Conference: Conference USA
Player to know: Kaden Metheny
Liberty won the Conference USA last year and was a trendy pick to pull a first-round upset in the NCAA Tournament. The Flames are always one of the best defensive teams in the country and always take and make a lot of threes. Those things combined have helped head coach Ritchie McKay win a ton of games. Liberty has a lot of talent returning from last year and is the favorite in the Conference USA again.
96. Boston College Eagles- Last Season Ranking: 101
Conference: ACC
Player to know: Donald Hand
The Eagles had a rough season last year after looking like they were finally turning a corner under head coach Earl Grant. Boston College didn't play much defense, and when you couple that with their inability to score, you get a team that finished at the bottom of the ACC. The Eagles have a roster full of high-ceiling guys, but if they don't commit to defense, they won't get better.
95. UAB Blazers- Last Season Ranking: 87
Conference: American Athletic
Player to know: Ahmad Robinson
The Blazers do not have a single player on their roster who received minutes at UAB last year. They do have a lot of transfers who received significant minutes at other schools. Every transfer is a guy who has a history of scoring and leading their team in scoring, which is exactly what head coach Andy Kennedy is looking for in a player. The offense will probably be elite again.
94. Nevada Wolf Pack- Last Season Ranking: 79
Conference: Mountain West
Player to know: Tayshawn Comer
Nevada took a step back last year, and it was odd considering that same group of players had made the NCAA Tournament two years in a row and had dominated the Mountain West. This year, the roster doesn't have the normal firepower that it once had. The Wolf Pack doesn't look like their former dominant selves, at least on paper. Nevada has surprised before under coach Alford, but this doesn't appear to be one of those times.
93. Florida State Seminoles- Last Season Ranking: 99
Conference: ACC
Player to know: Chauncey Wiggins
Leonard Hamilton is out, and Luke Loecks is in, which means Florida State has a lot of new pieces on its roster. The facts are that rebuilding in the ACC is extremely hard, and the Seminoles have way too many question marks for anyone to feel confident that they will finish in any position outside the bottom three in the league. The Seminoles are in a complete rebuild, and it will be a challenging year for Florida State.
92. Loyola-Chicago Ramblers- Last Season Ranking: 76
Conference: Atlantic 10
Player to know: Xavier Amos
Loyola-Chicago was back to winning and winning a lot. The Ramblers won 25 games and finished third in the league. That was good enough for a postseason tournament but not good enough for the Loyola standard. The Ramblers alleviated that problem by going out and getting transfers from winning programs, and most of them from the power 5 ranks. The Ramblers are going to get some power schools this year.
91. Akron Zips- Last Season Ranking: 125
Conference: MAC
Player to know: Tavari Johnson
Akron dominated the MAC last year with a 17-1 record. That earned them a 1 seed in the conference tournament and eventually an NCAA Tournament appearance. Akron lost to Arizona, but head coach John Groce might have a budding dynasty. The Zips return a ton of talent from last season and will likely make the NCAA Tournament again.
90. George Washington Revolutionaries- Last Season Ranking: 164
Conference: Atlantic 10
Player to know: Rafael Castro
Head coach Chris Caputo has done a fantastic job with George Washington. The Revolutionaries made the College Basketball Crown last season, and even though they lost to Boise State, getting there was half the battle. Heading into the 2025-2026 season, George Washington is loaded. They have most of last year's roster returning and have added very high-profile transfers. The Revs are a favorite in the A10.
89. Rutgers Scarlet Knights- Last Season Ranking: 38
Conference: Big Ten
Player to know: Tariq Francis
Rutgers headed into last season with a ton of expectations because of its two 5-star lottery picks. The problem was that the Scarlet Knights didn't play much defense, and outside of their two lottery picks, they had no depth. That was a wasted season for head coach Steve Pikiell, because the roster had no expectations. The defense will be more like Rutgers' defense, but the offense looks like a struggle again.
88. South Carolina Gamecocks- Last Season Ranking: 61
Conference: SEC
Player to know: Meechie Johnson
The Gamecocks made the NCAA Tournament two seasons ago and were one of the worst power-conference schools in the country the following season. Head coach Lamont Paris is doing his best to try to get South Carolina competitive again in the SEC, but that is a tall order. The Gamecocks will be improved, especially with the additions from the transfer portal, but will still finish at the bottom of the SEC.
87. Stanford Cardinal- Last Season Ranking: 96
Conference: ACC
Player to know: Ryan Agarwal
Head coach Kyle Smith turned around the Washington State program, and there is nothing that leads me to believe he won't turn around the Stanford program, but it might take a few years. The Cardinal won 20 games last year and qualified for the postseason, which is a giant step in the right direction. The 2025-2026 roster is set up for a little rebuild, which is never easy in the ACC.
86. Grand Canyon Antelopes- Last Season Ranking: 58
Conference: WAC
Player to know: Dusty Stromer
It is hard to fathom that the Grand Canyon will ever have two years as successful as the last two seasons have been. The Lopes have made three straight NCAA Tournaments, but the previous two seasons have been the high point for the Grand Canyon program. The Lopes did lose a lot of talent from last year, but head coach Bryce Drew has turned the program into a WAC powerhouse. Trust the Lopes to exceed expectations.
85. George Mason Patriots- Last Season Ranking: 100
Conference: Atlantic 10
Player to know: Dola Adebayo
The Patriots were one of the Atlantic 10 co-champions but didn't finish the job, losing in the Atlantic 10 tournament to VCU. George Mason did make the postseason, but it wasn't the NCAA Tournament. This season, head coach Tony Skinn loaded up on scoring and defense in the transfer portal. The Patriots will be one of the best teams in the Atlantic 10 again.
84. Arizona State Sun Devils- Last Season Ranking: 73
Conference: Big 12
Player to know: Marcus Adams Jr.
Bobby Hurley is in prove-it mode when it comes to Arizona State. Every season, the Sun Devils have intriguing prospects — none more than last year — but they underachieve and find new ways to lose games. This season, it is time to be highly cautious with Arizona State. They do have a lot of high ceiling guys from mid-majors, but can Hurley do enough to get them to reach the ceiling?
83. Colorado Buffaloes- Last Season Ranking: 85
Conference: Big 12
Player to know: Bangot Dak
The Buffaloes finished last in the Big 12 last year, primarily because they couldn't score. The 2025-2026 roster doesn't look much better for Colorado. They were able to keep some players from last season with high ceilings and add a scorer from the portal, but the roster has eight freshmen and not much depth beyond the top 3 players. Rebuilding in the Big 12 is never easy.
82. San Francisco Dons- Last Season Ranking: 88
Conference: West Coast
Player to know: Tyrone Riley IV
The Dons have turned into one of the most consistent teams in the country. San Francisco is going to shoot a ton of threes, protect their home floor at War Memorial, and push Gonzaga and Saint Mary's in the West Coast Conference. The Dons program has become a top-three team in the conference every year, no matter the roster. The roster has a lot of athleticism, and they will surprise teams that are not ready for them.
81. Colorado State Rams- Last Season Ranking: 74
Conference: Mountain West
Player to know: Josh Pascarelli
The Rams came out of nowhere last year to win the Mountain West, make the NCAA Tournament, and beat Memphis. That performance earned head coach Niko Medved a job with Minnesota. New head coach Ali Farokmanesh has a roster that should still win some games and qualify for the postseason, but it won't be the NCAA Tournament.
Conference: ACC
Player to know: John Camden
It is going to be a long climb back to the top for Mark Madsen as the head coach of the Bears. California is getting much better and has shown massive improvement from year 1 to year 2, but they are still not there yet. Unfortunately, the Golden Bears were crushed in the transfer portal, losing a ton of talent they didn't replace. They will still finish close to .500, but at the bottom of the ACC.
79. North Texas Mean Green- Last Season Ranking: 84
Conference: American Athletic
Player to know: Je’Shawn Stevenson
New head coach Daniyel Robinson isn't going to be much of a change in the style of play from the previous two North Texas head coaches. Robinson loves defense and has players who run an efficient offense. The Mean Green do have some talent this year, as coach Robinson brought the best pieces of his former team with him. North Texas will still be a force in the American.
78. Virginia Tech Hokies- Last Season Ranking: 91
Conference: ACC
Player to know: Amani Hansberry
77. DePaul Blue Demons- Last Season Ranking: 160
Conference: Big East
Player to know: CJ Gunn
The Blue Demons showed significant improvement under Chris Holtmann. Holtmann was tasked with rebuilding DePaul quickly through the transfer portal, and the fact that he led them to an appearance in the College Basketball Crown after winning 14 games—an 11-game improvement from the year before—is a massive step in the right direction. DePaul has more depth this year and will be much improved.
76. Georgetown Hoyas- Last Season Ranking: 89
Conference: Big East
Player to know: Malik Mack
Georgetown was one of the hardest teams to watch last year because of its immense talent and its rare ability to reach its ceiling. They qualified for the College Basketball Crown tournament the previous season, when everyone got a glimpse of the future. The Hoyas have the pieces to make some noise in the Big East, but can coach Ed Cooley bring the best out of these guys every night?