Welcome back to the FINAL off-season edition of “You’re Nuts!” Ohio State tips off Monday night, officially kicking off the 2025-26 college basketball season. In addition to IU Indy-Ohio State, there are
173 other games on Monday night, so kick back, enjoy yourself, and watch some ball.
Last week, Connor and Justin debated whether the final score of this weekend’s preseason game against Ohio really mattered all that much. There was no “correct” answer to that one, but Connor said yes, and Justin said no.
Connor said yes because we can learn a bit about Ohio State’s pace, and — let’s face it — it’s important because if they had lost, people would have cared. Justin said no, because the game doesn’t count, and even if Ohio State had lost, fans would’ve gotten over it quickly if the Buckeyes started out the actual season strong.
This week, Connor and Justin are following tradition and predicting the Final Four before the season begins. Last season, Justin predicted Duke to make the Final Four, and Connor missed on all four of his guesses. Between the two of them, only Connor picked a Big Ten team — Oregon — who ended up bowing out in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 2026 Final Four will be played in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium from April 4-6, 2026. That’s only a three hour drive from Columbus, but — spoiler alert — neither of our writers picked Ohio State. Here are our choices for the 2026 Final Four.
This week’s Question: Who teams will make the 2026 men’s Final Four?
Connor
Houston
Houston is running it back this year with the trio of Joseph ‘Jojo’ Tugler, Emmanuel Sharp (the guy who held on to the ball with the clock running out against Florida), and Milos Uzan. It’s very un-Kelvin Sampson-like, but they will probably start a pair of freshmen in 6-foot-10 Chris Cenac and 6-foot-6 guard Isaiah Harwell.
Houston is projected to have the best defense in the country, and we’re a big fan of the comeback plot here. Houston, back to the Final Four. Book it.
UConn
The Huskies were this close to beating the eventual national champions last year, losing to Florida 77-75 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. UConn’s problem last year was defense, as they finished at No. 75 in defensive efficiency on KenPom.
Historically, teams that are that lopsided (highly ranked on offense but not great on defense, or vice versa) don’t make it to the second weekend of the tournament. Dan Hurley’s squad should be better rounded this year. Somehow, Alex Karaban is still in college, and picking up Silas Demary from Georgia was a massive addition.
They open the season No. 5 in KenPom and No. 4 in the AP Poll.
Gonzaga
I’m not sure how many more years Mark Few has left, but making his third Final Four at Gonzaga sounds like a perfect end to the story. He made it to the Final Four in 2017 and in 2021, and I think that, thanks to some excellent transfer additions, he could get there again in 2026.
The Bulldogs are ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll to start the season, but No. 8 in KenPom. Tyon Grant-Foster is going to be one of the oldest players in college basketball this year, but he also has an awesome, inspiring story explaining why he is still playing. Graham Ike is a stud, and — keeping with the old guys trend — Few also added former Illinois, LSU, and Arizona State guard Adam Miller.
Gonzaga will be good and they will be old. Final Four.
UCLA
Yes, excellent. This is the part where I find a reason to include a Big Ten team in the Final Four, even though it’s rarely a good strategy.
I think the Bruins will finish top-four in the Big Ten, and I think relying on Xavier Booker at center is really rolling the dice. However, they’re loaded at every other spot, and have the third-highest retention from last year in the conference, behind Purdue and Ohio State.
Tyler Bilodeau, Eric Dailey, and Skyy Clark should all be double-digit scorers, and UCLA also added Donovan Dent, who is so good he could end up being an All-American. Booker is the wild card here, but he’s put on some weight, bulking up to 245 pounds.
Mick Cronin is gambling on potential over proven production at that spot. Even with that, UCLA’s starting five is just so good.
Justin
Purdue
I think Purdue is the best offensive team in the country so as long as their defense is decent (it likely won’t be good), they will be able to just overpower teams on offense. Braden Smith is the top point guard in the country, Trey Kaufman-Renn should average 20 and 10, Fletcher Loyer is back as a starter and South Dakota State transfer Oscar Cluff should help on the defensive end a little.
Florida
Florida lost a lot from last year’s team, but the entire frontcourt is back with Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh and Reuben Chinyelu, and they added two of the top guards in the transfer portal with Boogie Fland from Arkansas and Xaivian Lee from Princeton.
Bench depth could be a concern, but that starting five is one of the best in the country.
Duke
I am all in on the Boozer twins and Isaiah Evans. Cameron Boozer recorded a stunning 24 points and 23 rebounds in an exhibition against Tennessee. Add in Caleb Foster and Dame Sarr with a solid bench and I think the Blue Devils did enough to replace Cooper Flagg and company and make another deep run.
Tennessee
I had to take one team that isn’t a preseason top-10 team and one that I think will overachieve, and I am going with Tennessee. Maryland transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie is the new point guard, Nate Ament is one of the top freshman in the country and I love the frontcourt of Jaylen Carey and Felix Okpara.
