Purdue, Duke, Houston and defending national champion Florida are the No. 1 seeds in the first USA TODAY Sports bracketology unveiled ahead of the start of the 2025-26 men’s basketball season.
The Boilermakers are the No. 1 team in the preseason USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball poll. Duke is reloading post-Cooper Flagg with twin freshmen recruits Cameron and Cayden Boozer. Houston is welcoming in a top signing class and the Gators will look to repeat behind preseason All-America center Alex Condon.
On the No. 2 line are Michigan, Brigham Young and Connecticut and St. John’s from the Big East. The Wolverines have an elite transfer class starring forward Yaxel Lendeborg and the Cougars are looking to reach the first Final Four in program history behind freshman AJ Dybantsa.
Rounding out the top four lines are No. 3 seeds Texas Tech, UCLA, Alabama and Louisville, and No. 4 seeds Illinois, Iowa State, Kentucky and Arizona.
Kansas is a No. 5 seed in our debut bracket. North Carolina lands on the No. 8 line after losing in the first round of last year’s tournament. Gonzaga is a No. 7 seed but is picked to win the West Coast Conference regular-season championship for the first time since 2022-23.
The play-in games pit Kansas State against Marquette and Virginia and Vanderbilt.