College basketball is back, and the first challenge is figuring out where everybody belongs.
The 2026–27 season features 365 Division I men's basketball programs across 32 conferences. There are established national championship contenders, programs beginning new conference chapters, teams trying to replace NBA talent and smaller schools hoping to become the next great March Madness story.
Ranking all of them is not as simple as putting the preseason AP Top 25 at the top and sorting everybody else by last season's record.
The transfer portal has changed rosters across the country. Eligibility rulings have created uncertainty for some teams, and conference realignment means several programs are entering completely different competitive environments.
That makes this year's national ranking especially interesting.
Florida gets the first spot, but the gap is small
Florida begins at No. 1 in our rankings, followed by Duke, Illinois, Arizona and UConn.
The Gators have an experienced foundation featuring Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu. That continuity provides an important advantage at the beginning of the season.
Duke has the talent to challenge Florida, while Illinois brings back several important contributors from last season's Final Four team.
Arizona, Houston, Michigan State and Virginia also belong near the top of the national conversation.
There is no overwhelming favorite in this group. Several teams have legitimate arguments for the top position, and early nonconference games should help separate them.
The mid-majors deserve serious attention
One of the most interesting parts of ranking 365 programs is deciding where the best teams outside the traditional power conferences belong.
Gonzaga enters the top 10 as it begins its first season in the Pac-12. Utah State and San Diego State also enter the top 35, while Saint Mary's, Santa Clara and New Mexico remain programs worth watching.
High Point and Liberty are among the teams with an opportunity to make national noise.
High Point has already provided an early reminder of its potential, defeating Liberty 72–57 in Monday's midnight opener.
The best mid-major programs should not automatically be pushed behind every team from a larger conference. Their returning talent, coaching stability and ability to win important games matter.
Realignment makes the middle especially difficult
The rebuilt Pac-12 creates new conference races, while the Mountain West and West Coast Conference have undergone significant changes.
The United Athletic Conference replaces the Western Athletic Conference name, and the Metro Conference replaces the MAAC name.
These moves affect schedules, conference championship expectations and the strength of opponents teams will face throughout the season.
The middle of the rankings is where those changes may be most visible.
A program ranked No. 110 can have a very different path to the postseason than one ranked No. 150. That does not necessarily mean the lower-ranked team has a worse chance of reaching the NCAA Tournament.
How we ranked all 365 teams
These are editorial preseason power rankings, weighing roster continuity, coaching, transfers, returning production, conference strength and recent program performance.
They are not official NCAA rankings and should not be confused with the NET, KenPom or the AP poll.
Here is our complete national ranking.
National rankings: 1–100
1. Florida
2. Duke
3. Illinois
4. Arizona
5. UConn
6. Houston
7. Michigan State
8. Virginia
9. Texas
10. Gonzaga
11. Louisville
12. Tennessee
13. Arkansas
14. Kansas
15. St. John's
16. Iowa State
17. Miami (Florida)
18. Michigan
19. Texas Tech
20. Alabama
21. Purdue
22. UCLA
23. Kentucky
24. Vanderbilt
25. BYU
26. USC
27. Nebraska
28. Texas A&M
29. Auburn
30. Ohio State
31. North Carolina
32. Clemson
33. Missouri
34. Utah State
35. San Diego State
36. Indiana
37. Marquette
38. West Virginia
39. Creighton
40. Saint Mary's
41. Wisconsin
42. Oklahoma
43. Baylor
44. NC State
45. Providence
46. Boise State
47. Colorado State
48. Memphis
49. Santa Clara
50. New Mexico
51. George Mason
52. VCU
53. Dayton
54. Iowa
55. Oregon
56. Cincinnati
57. Villanova
58. Florida State
59. Georgia
60. Kansas State
61. SMU
62. Wake Forest
63. Virginia Tech
64. Texas State
65. Nevada
66. Grand Canyon
67. Washington State
68. Arizona State
69. UCF
70. Ole Miss
71. Mississippi State
72. Rutgers
73. USF
74. UAB
75. Saint Louis
76. Saint Joseph's
77. Akron
78. Miami (Ohio)
79. High Point
80. Liberty
81. McNeese
82. Illinois State
83. Belmont
84. Bradley
85. Northern Iowa
86. Drake
87. Murray State
88. Wright State
89. Robert Morris
90. UC Irvine
91. UC San Diego
92. Princeton
93. Yale
94. Chattanooga
95. East Tennessee State
96. Furman
97. San Francisco
98. Xavier
99. Seattle
100. Wichita State
National rankings: 101–200
101. Seton Hall
102. UNLV
103. Notre Dame
104. UNC Wilmington
105. Maryland
106. Arkansas State
107. Western Kentucky
108. Pacific
109. Florida Atlantic
110. UTEP
111. Charleston
112. Stanford
113. TCU
114. Butler
115. James Madison
116. Kent State
117. Middle Tennessee
118. Tulsa
119. Oregon State
120. Loyola Marymount
121. North Dakota State
122. Richmond
123. UC Santa Barbara
124. Syracuse
125. Hawai'i
126. Towson
127. Oklahoma State
128. Washington
129. Lipscomb
130. Troy
131. DePaul
132. Ohio
133. North Texas
134. Green Bay
135. Abilene Christian
136. Kennesaw State
137. California Baptist
138. Rhode Island
139. St. Thomas
140. Montana
141. Vermont
142. Pepperdine
143. Hofstra
144. California
145. LSU
146. Samford
147. Wyoming
148. Northwestern
149. Utah
150. Louisiana Tech
151. Queens
152. Winthrop
153. Iona
154. Colgate
155. Oakland
156. Tulane
157. Toledo
158. Austin Peay
159. Georgetown
160. Jacksonville State
161. Utah Valley
162. Montana State
163. UMBC
164. William & Mary
165. Tennessee State
166. Davidson
167. South Carolina
168. Harvard
169. Georgia Tech
170. Wofford
171. South Dakota State
172. Minnesota
173. App State
174. Colorado
175. Quinnipiac
176. Portland
177. Stephen F. Austin
178. UC Davis
179. American
180. UNC Asheville
181. Jacksonville
182. Northern Kentucky
183. Temple
184. Fresno State
185. UMass
186. Tarleton State
187. Missouri State
188. Cal Poly
189. UIC
190. Weber State
191. UMass Lowell
192. Drexel
193. Morehead State
194. Pittsburgh
195. Cornell
196. Penn State
197. Siena
198. Mercer
199. South Alabama
200. Lamar
National rankings: 201–300
201. St. Bonaventure
202. Omaha
203. Bucknell
204. Milwaukee
205. Longwood
206. San José State
207. FGCU
208. San Diego
209. East Carolina
210. Little Rock
211. Bowling Green
212. Sacramento State
213. Northern Colorado
214. New Mexico State
215. UAlbany
216. Southern Illinois
217. Elon
218. Saint Peter's
219. UTRGV
220. Southern Miss
221. Boston College
222. SIUE
223. Western Carolina
224. Detroit Mercy
225. Loyola Chicago
226. Penn
227. LIU
228. Navy
229. South Dakota
230. Presbyterian
231. Air Force
232. Charlotte
233. Stetson
234. UT Arlington
235. Ball State
236. Cal State Northridge
237. Portland State
238. Denver
239. Bryant
240. Monmouth
241. Indiana State
242. Sam Houston
243. Merrimack
244. Nicholls
245. Georgia Southern
246. Southeast Missouri
247. Purdue Fort Wayne
248. UNC Greensboro
249. Mercyhurst
250. Boston University
251. Bethune-Cookman
252. George Washington
253. Columbia
254. Oral Roberts
255. Charleston Southern
256. Cal State Fullerton
257. Rice
258. Eastern Kentucky
259. North Florida
260. Eastern Washington
261. Howard
262. Buffalo
263. Fairfield
264. Maine
265. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
266. Stony Brook
267. Louisiana
268. Youngstown State
269. Central Connecticut State
270. Valparaiso
271. Delaware
272. UT Martin
273. Tennessee Tech
274. Lehigh
275. Prairie View A&M
276. Duquesne
277. Brown
278. Cal State Bakersfield
279. Radford
280. Idaho
281. North Dakota
282. UTSA
283. Central Arkansas
284. Norfolk State
285. Bellarmine
286. Marist
287. Northwestern State
288. Western Michigan
289. Binghamton
290. Campbell
291. Marshall
292. Northern Illinois
293. Le Moyne
294. FIU
295. Lindenwood
296. Evansville
297. The Citadel
298. Southern
299. Lafayette
300. UC Riverside
National rankings: 301–365
301. Dartmouth
302. Fordham
303. Idaho State
304. USC Upstate
305. UIW
306. Niagara
307. North Alabama
308. NC Central
309. Arkansas-Pine Bluff
310. NJIT
311. Cleveland State
312. Eastern Michigan
313. Georgia State
314. Wagner
315. Northeastern
316. West Florida
317. Grambling
318. Southern Indiana
319. Holy Cross
320. Florida A&M
321. Long Beach State
322. Utah Tech
323. East Texas A&M
324. La Salle
325. Mount St. Mary's
326. Alabama A&M
327. West Georgia
328. Stonehill
329. South Carolina State
330. New Hampshire
331. Old Dominion
332. IU Indy
333. Hampton
334. Central Michigan
335. Jackson State
336. Loyola Maryland
337. Eastern Illinois
338. Southern Utah
339. Sacred Heart
340. LSU New Orleans
341. FDU
342. Coastal Carolina
343. Morgan State
344. North Carolina A&T
345. Texas Southern
346. Army
347. Chicago State
348. Northern Arizona
349. Manhattan
350. Houston Christian
351. New Haven
352. UL Monroe
353. Maryland Eastern Shore
354. Alabama State
355. Southeastern Louisiana
356. South Carolina State
357. Rider
358. Kansas
359. VMI
360. Binghamton Canisius
361. Gardner Webb
362. Delaware State
363. Coppin State
364. Western Illinois
365. Mississippi Valley State
The first national rankings establish a starting point. The more important work begins now, when teams get opportunities to prove that the preseason expectations were right or wrong.
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