No great surprise here, but Duke was voted the preseason favorite again, and not just the men’s team. The women’s team was also voted #1.
For the men, here’s the expectation:
- Duke
- Virginia
- Louisville
- Miami
- UNC
- Clemson
- Florida State
- NC State
- Virginia Tech
- SMU
- Syracuse
- Pitt
- Stanford
- Wake Forest
- Cal
- Notre Dame
- Boston College
- Georgia Tech
For the women, it’s like this:
- Duke
- Louisville
- UNC
- Notre Dame
- NC State
- Virginia
- Syracuse
- Virginia Tech
- Clemson
- Cal
- Miami
- Georgia Tech
- Stanford
- Florida State
- SMU
- Wake Forest
- Pitt
- Boston College
It hadn’t really occurred to us, but our favorite stat of the Jon Scheyer era is this, as Barry pointed out in his recent chart: Duke’s home record since Scheyer took over is 63-3, including two undefeated home schedules. That’s 95.5 percent.
As far as the rankings go, of course, it’s mostly guesswork,
but the tiers are more or less correct.
The first tier is 1-5, the second is 6-11, and the third is 12-18.
The teams we’re most curious about are UNC, NC State, Syracuse, Pitt, Boston College, and Georgia Tech.
Other than Jeff Capel’s Pitt, obviously, it’s the schools with new coaches. They’re all quite different hires. At UNC, Michael Malone is a grinder who made his name in the NBA. NC State hired alum Justin Gainey, who built Tennessee’s defense into a powerful force.
Syracuse’s Gerry McNamara is a fan favorite, an Orange legend, and a guy who nearly led #16 Siena to what would have been a remarkable upset over Duke in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. We’ve followed Luke Murray closely, and he’s more than ready for his shot. Interestingly, he chose B.C. because he wanted to prove himself in a job that’s not easy.
Finally, what we’ve seen of Scott Cross is impressive. He’s got a tough job too, and someone has to finish last, but he aims to build a culture at Georgia Tech. We’d like to see that program revived.
Beyond that, we’ve learned not to underestimate a Brad Brownell team, and it’ll be interesting to see what Year II brings for Jai Lucas at Miami. Finally, Louisville spent liberally to put this year’s roster together. What does Pat Kelsey have, and can his team put the Cardinal critics to bed?
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