The AP Top 25 men's basketball poll was released Monday, another signal that the start of the 2026-27 college basketball season is around the corner. Unsurprisingly, Florida earned the No. 1 spot in the poll after receiving 47 of 59 possible first-place votes. The Gators are the favorites to win the 2027 national title after returning four starters from a team that earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament last season.
Duke, Illinois, UConn and Arizona rounded out the top five of the preseason rankings. This year's Top 25 poll was significantly harder to fill out than in previous seasons, as many teams are still awaiting word on whether one or more of their players will be granted a fifth year of eligibility. For Kansas, news dropped just hours before the first poll of the season, revealing that former Purdue star Trey Kaufman-Renn would be joining the program.
Kaufman-Renn is hoping to be granted a sixth year of eligibility to play during the 2026-27 season. His new teammates at Kansas -- Melvin Council Jr. and Tre White -- are seeking a fifth year of eligibility. If all three players are cleared, the Jayhawks are a top 10 team in the sport.
With the first AP poll of the season out, let's dive into the overrated and underrated teams, which are headlined by the reigning national champions and Kansas. In our AP poll predictions, I had Michigan slotted at No. 17. Heading into the season, Michigan's roster is somewhere in the 20s.
Last season, I predicted Michigan to win the Big Ten because of the talent on the roster and how good a coach Dusty May is/was at the college level. With May now off to the NBA, and questions about the roster looming -- in part because of Brandon McCoy Jr. being out of the season and the eligibility status of Roddy Gayle Jr. in question -- I'm expecting Michigan to take a step back this season. Even if Gayle is ruled eligible, Michigan will finish behind USC and UCLA -- two teams ranked behind them in the poll -- in the final Big Ten standings.
News broke quite literally hours before the AP poll came out that Kaufman-Renn would be joining Kansas' roster. There are still major questions about whether TKR will ultimately be ruled eligible to play, but on paper (as of today!), Kansas is a top 10 team. A frontcourt of Kaufman-Renn and Tyran Stokes is very intriguing.
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