The 2025-2026 College Basketball Manifesto

We’ve made it, folks. The college basketball season tips off at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, November 3rd for another winter featuring the greatest sport on the planet. This will be year six of releasing The College Basketball Manifesto here on Kentucky Sports Radio dot com. The goal is to provide you with a one-stop shop for everything you need to know about the upcoming season. If you love hoops, this is the article for you.

Per usual, opening day doesn’t exactly provide a ton of high quality matchups. Our friends at The Field of 68 have the true college basketball sickos covered with their opening day marathon. Winthrop and Queens will tip-off at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time as the first of six games played between Rock Hill, South Carolina and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In total, there are 169 Division I games to be played on Monday. However, only two of those matchups will feature preseason KenPom Top 100 teams on both benches. Florida versus Arizona and Villanova versus BYU, both played at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, are the marquee games of the day.

Along with the Manifesto, I’ve broken down 25 of the biggest storylines heading into the season over the course of the last 25 days. You won’t have to leave this website to be fully ready for the games to begin.

• 5 Storylines 25 Days Out From College Basketball
• 5 Storylines 20 Days Out From College Basketball
• 5 Storylines 15 Days Out From College Basketball
• 5 Storylines 10 Days Out From College Basketball
• 5 Storylines 5 Days Out From College Basketball

Whether you are looking for conference previews, NCAA Tournament predictions, All-American selections, coaches on the rise, or even some gambling futures, The College Basketball Manifesto has you covered. As Jon Rothstein would say: And Here. We. Go.

Predicting/Previewing the Power Five Conferences

The Blue Bloods and Power Conference schools are still the programs that move the needle. We bid farewell to the PAC 12 prior to last season, but many of the now power five conferences are bigger and better than ever. In fact, every power conference teams across the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC are preseason KenPom Top 100 teams. We could see a staggering number of teams make the NCAA Tournament from those leagues. Here is a breakdown of the predicted winner of each Power Five conference along with a sleeper pick to watch and projected All-Conference selections.

ACC

• Champion: Duke. Let’s not overthink this one. The Duke Blue Devils ran through the Atlantic Coast Conference last season going 19-1. It won’t be the cakewalk through the bottom half of the league that is was last season, but Coach Scheyer still has the best team. Look for Clemson, Louisville, North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Virginia to make things more competitive at the top of the standings as well. However, this group led by Cameron Boozer is deserving of wearing the crown until someone dethrones them. Boozer obviously captures the headlines, but returning rotation pieces Maliq Brown, Isaiah Evans, Caleb Foster, and Patrick Ngongba provide important continuity from 2024-2025.
• Sleeper: North Carolina State. There is nothing “under-the-radar” about Coach Will Wade, but people still aren’t quite prepared for how good his first Wolfpack team could be. Darrion Williams was one of the biggest transfer portal additions in the country. The 6’6″ forward was a First Team All-Big 12 performer last year at Texas Tech averaging 15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. Michigan State transfer Tre Holloman and Houston wing Terrance Arceneaux bring additional high-major experience from winning programs. Winners generally find ways to win. This North Carolina State teams has winners both on the court and on the coaching staff.
• All-ACC First Team Prediction: Player of the Year – Cameron Boozer (Duke), Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville), Isaiah Evans (Duke), Malik Thomas (Virginia), Darrion Williams (North Carolina State)

Big 12

• Champion: Houston. Coach Kelvin Sampson won the Big 12 in 2024 and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Then, last season, the Cougars went 19-1 to win the league by four games and were one possession away from a national championship. Houston, led by Milos Uzan, Emanuel Sharp, and Joseph Tugler, will once again be one of the best teams in college basketball. Look for freshmen Chris Cenac Jr., Isiah Harwell, and Kingston Flemings to potentially get Coach Sampson over the hump to a national title in 2025-2026. However, at the least, they should win their third straight Big 12 title.
• Sleeper: Kansas. It feels weird referring to the Kansas Jayhawks as a sleeper. From when Coach Bill Self got the job in 2004-2005 through 2017-2018 the Jayhawks earned at least a share of the conference title. They have won it three more times since then as well. However, Kansas is picked to finish sixth this season putting them in “sleeper” territory. Superstar freshman Darryn Peterson alone is enough to at least consider the potential upside of this team. Sophomore Flory Bidunga is expected to make a big leap in year in two in Lawrence as well. It certainly doesn’t feel far-fetched for Kansas to be in the hunt heading into March.
• All-Big 12 First Team Prediction: Jaden Bradley (Arizona), AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Player of the Year – Darryn Peterson (Kansas), JT Toppin (Texas Tech), Milos Uzan (Houston)

Big East

• Champion: UConn. This will be a battle all season long between UConn and St. John’s. However, the overall roster makeup of the Huskies just makes a little more sense. Solo Ball had a breakout sophomore season and has All-Big East upside now as a junior. Alex Karaban is a proven winner who will, once again, be one of the top players in the Big East. Georgia transfer Silas Demary Jr. and preseason Big East Freshman of the Year Braylon Mullins add an influx of talent to the backcourt as well. It isn’t fun to bet against Coach Pitino, but betting on Coach Hurley is a pretty safe place to fall.
• Sleeper: Providence. Jason Edwards averaged 19.1 points per game at North Texas in 2023-2024 and 17.0 points per game last season at Vanderbilt. He will now suit up for the Friars and could be one of the most dynamic playmakers in the league. Providence is also very excited about the return of sophomore forward Oswin Erhunmwunse who has NBA upside. Both Erhunmwunse and Ryan Mela were Big East All-Freshman team selections last season. Florida State transfer Daquan Davis is one to watch out for as well. Look for Coach Kim English’s team to be much improved from their 12-20 mark last year. This Friars team could make the NCAA Tournament.
• All-Big East First Team Prediction: Solo Ball (UConn), Jason Edwards (Providence), Player of the Year – Zuby Ejiofor (St. John’s), Alex Karaban (UConn), Malik Mack (Georgetown)

Big Ten

• Champion: Purdue. The Boilermakers won the Big Ten by three games in both 2023 and 2024. However, they fell off a bit finishing tied for fourth last year at 13-7. With the return of Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn, and Fletcher Loyer it will be hard to pick against Purdue in 2025-2026. Smith and Kaufman-Renn are preseason All-Americans. Meanwhile, the addition of South Dakota State transfer Oscar Cluff and international star Omer Mayer provides an influx of talent. Sophomore CJ Cox is an exciting returner as well who could take a step forward. This team checks a lot of boxes and has earned their preseason number one ranking.
• Sleeper: Oregon. Jackson Shelstad is back to run the show for the Oregon Ducks after earning Third Team All-Big Ten honors last season. Wei Lin, a two-time All-Star in the Chinese Basketball League, could be one of the most fun players to watch in the country this season. However, Oregon’s front court could be even better than their backcourt. 7’0″ center Nate Bittle averaged 14.2 points and 7.6 rebounds on his way to earning Third Team All-Big Ten honors last year. Former McDonald’s All-American Kwame Evans Jr. is back for his third season and could make a significant leap. The same is true for Sean Stewart who comes over from Ohio State by way of Duke. Elon transfer TK Simpkins will be one to watch in the backcourt as well. This team has a ton of talented pieces.
• All-Big Ten First Team Prediction: Donovan Dent (UCLA), Trey Kaufman-Renn (Purdue), Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan), Player of the Year – Braden Smith (Purdue), Bruce Thornton (Ohio State)

SEC

• Champion: Florida. The defending national champions return what could be the best front court in college basketball and landed two of the best guards in the transfer portal. Replacing four high level guards certainly isn’t easy, but it is hard to expect anyone to do much better than bringing in Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee. Ohio transfer AJ Brown will provide some three-point shooting in the backcourt as well. Meanwhile, Alex Lloyd and CJ Ingram II will factor into the equations as freshmen as well. The Southeastern Conference will be a gauntlet once again, but Florida is in as good of a position to win it as anyone.
• Sleeper: Mississippi State. Josh Hubbard might be the best player in the country that doesn’t get national attention. He is a two-time All-SEC performer and has already scored 1,240 points in two seasons at Mississippi State. The Bulldogs return senior guard Shawn Jones Jr. and add Georgetown transfer Jayden Epps and UAB transfer Ja’Borri McGhee to what should be an explosive backcourt. Then, in the front court, Wichita State transfer Quincy Ballard will immediately be one of the best rim protectors in the SEC. Two-time All-Southland Conference performer Achor Achor comes after playing seven games at Kansas State last season. Arizona State transfer Amir Ali has upside as a sophomore as well. Don’t be surprised to see this team make their fourth straight NCAA Tournament performance under Coach Chris Jans.
• All-SEC First Team Prediction: Alex Condon (Florida), Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Tennessee), Player of the Year – Josh Hubbard (Mississippi State), Otega Oweh (Kentucky), Tahaad Pettiford (Auburn)

Mid-Major Breakdown – Teams and Players to Watch

By the time March Madness rolls around the mid-major programs become the national darlings. However, they don’t get the consistent love throughout the season. That is why we always take time in our preseason previews to try and give you a few teams worth following beginning in November. These are some mid-major programs that should have great years and be ready to contend for a Cinderella run when March rolls around. We also highlighted five specific players, from other programs, that could become household names throughout the season.

Akron Zips. Coach John Groce has turned Akron into about as consistent of a mid-major contender as you can in the NIL and transfer portal era. Now entering year nine, Coach Groce could have his best team yet. They will begin the year inside of the KenPom Top 100 (#94) led by senior guard Tavari Johnson who earned First Team All-MAC honors last season. Look for Ohio State transfer Evan Mahaffey to make an instant impact alongside a handful of veteran returns as well. The Zips went 17-1 in MAC play last season and will be looking to make their third straight NCAA Tournament.

High Point Panthers. Coach Alan Huss quickly turned High Point into one of the exciting, and best, mid-majors in the country. Now, Coach Flynn Clayman will look to take over the reigns and keep the Panthers on top of the Big South. Rob Martin and Scotty Washington were both selected as Preseason First Team All-Big South honorees while High Point gathered eight of nine first place votes to be selected at the top of the conference poll. Both Martin (Southeast Missouri) and Washington (CSUN) are transfers that earned All-Conference honors at their previous stops. You won’t have to wait long to watch High Point play as they take on Furman in a battle of potential conference champions at 6:30 p.m. in Rock Hill as part of the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon.

Yale Bulldogs. An NCAA Tournament each of the last two seasons, Yale returns forward Nick Townsend who should make a push for Ivy League Player of the Year. The 6’7″ senior averaged 15.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game last season. In total, the Bulldogs return five rotation players from last year’s team that went 13-1 in conference play and only lost twice after December 21st. Coach James Jones is 418-319, including a 225-125 mark in Ivy League play, entering his 27th season as the Bulldogs’ head coach.

Robbie Avila (Saint Louis) – After breaking out as a star at Indiana State as a sophomore, Avila followed Coach Josh Schertz to Saint Louis. The 6’10” skilled center averaged 17.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game for the Billikens. Avila is back for his senior season after earning Second Team All-A10 honors last year. He will be one of the top mid-major players in the country.

Miles Byrd (San Diego State) – Byrd played in four games as a freshman, came off of the bench averaging 4.0 points per game as a sophomore, and then blew up into a Second Team All-Mountain West performer as a junior. The 6’7″ “3-and-D” wing averaged 12.3 points per game for the Aztecs and could play his way into the NBA Draft as a senior.

Mason Falslev (Utah State) – Utah State finished the season as a Top 20 offense according to KenPom’s adjusted efficiency thanks in large part to Falslev. The 6’3″ guard averaged 15.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.3 steals and shot 53-136 (39.0%) from three-point range. He will once again be the best player on one of the best mid-major teams in the country.

Javohn Garcia (McNeese) – Guys who earn Conference Player of the Year honors at the mid-major level usually end up bolting for the high-major ranks in the transfer portal era. However, that was not the case for Javohn Garcia as he elected to return to McNeese after bringing home Southland Player of the Year honors last season. Coach Will Wade left, but the Cowboys are still the clear favorite to go dancing for a third straight season. Garcia averaged 12.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in 2024-2025. His two-way ability in the backcourt, and his impact on winning, is impressive.

Chase Walker (Illinois State) – The Redbirds were much improved last season and now are a legitimate Missouri Valley Conference contender in 2025-2026. Chase Walker’s return is a big reason why. A massive 6’9″ 270 pound presence, Walker averaged 15.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Walker, along with teammate Johnny Kinziger will be appointment television at the mid-major level.

All-American Predictions

First Team

Player of the Year – Cameron Boozer (Duke)

Donovan Dent (UCLA)

AJ Dybantsa (BYU)

Darryn Peterson (Kansas)

Braden Smith (Purdue)

Second Team

Zuby Ejiofor (St. John’s)

Graham Ike (Gonzaga)

JT Toppin (Texas Tech)

Milos Uzan (Houston)

Darrion Williams (NC State)

Third Team

Alex Condon (Florida)

Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Tennessee)

Josh Hubbard (Mississippi State)

Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan)

Emanuel Sharp (Houston)

Winner’s Win – Coaches to Watch in New Places

Last season we wrote about finding college basketball’s version of Coach Curt Cignetti. Oddly enough, the easiest comparison ended up being Vanderbilt’s Coach Mark Byington who, like Coach Cignetti, came from James Madison. He won 20 games and took the Commodores to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. Here are four coaches in new situations this season that will look to replicate their winning ways from the past. Oddly enough, one coach was on this list last season as well. Let’s dive on in.

• Ben Howlett (IU-Indy). Very few coaches, at any level, have done more winning than Coach Howlett lately. The new IU-Indy head coach spent the last eight seasons at Division II West Liberty. During that span, Coach Howlett recorded a 217-37 record which included a National Runner-Up finish in 2023. He brought a handful of West Liberty players with him and landed several Indiana-native transfers. The Jaguars will bring a fun, unique style of play to the Division I level under Coach Howlett’s direction.
• Ben McCollum (Iowa). Coach McCollum went 395-91 in 15 seasons leading Division II Northwest Missouri State. He won four national championships during his time there including an undefeated season in 2019. Then, Coach McCollum went 31-4 and won a game in the NCAA Tournament after making the jump to Drake. He now is at Iowa for the 2025-2026 season. His star guard, Bennett Stirtz, has taken the ride to the high-major ranks as well. Stirtz was the Missouri Valley Player of the Year last season averaging 19.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game. Don’t sleep on the Iowa Hawkeyes this season.
• Bucky McMillan (Texas A&M). This story starts in the high school ranks. Coach McMillan went 333-74 in 13 seasons as the head coach at Mountain Brook High School. He won five state champions during that span. Then, he landed the Samford job and quickly popularized “Bucky Ball” at the Division I level. His teams routinely played at one of the fastest paces in the country and shot a ton of three-pointers. Coach McMillan went 99-52 at Samford before landing the Texas A&M job when Coach Buzz Williams left to go to Maryland.
• Will Wade (NC State). Love him or hate him, Coach Will Wade wins basketball games. His first head coaching job was at Chattanooga where he racked up a 40-25 record in two seasons. Then, he went 51-20 in two years at VCU going to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments. If not for the 2020 NCAA Tournament getting cancelled, Coach Wade would have led LSU to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments during his time there. Then, he resurfaced at McNeese after a year away and led them to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. NC State definitely has the pieces to go dancing in 2025-2026.

National Championship Favorites Feature Varying Storylines

Two of the best coaches in college basketball, Coach Matt Painter and Coach Kelvin Sampson, have yet to win a NCAA Championship. Oddly enough, they are the previous two National Runner-Up coaches. However, they also were voted the most likely by their peers to be the next first time champions. This season Purdue and Houston check in at #1 and #2 respectively in the preseason AP Top 25. We are in a great position for one of these two future Hall of Fame coaches to cut down the nets for the first time in Indianapolis.

Coach Jon Scheyer at Duke and Coach Mark Pope at Kentucky are two other coaches who haven’t won a title. The extra incentive for those two are that they are both alums of their respective blue blood programs. At those programs, winning a title memorializes you forever. The Blue Devils and Wildcats are certainly championship-level contenders entering the 2025-2026 season.

Then, there are the recent champions in Coach Todd Golden and Coach Dan Hurley. If Coach Golden, at the age of 40, won back-to-back National Championships he would be just ahead of Coach Billy Donovan who completed the feat in Gainesville at age 42. The Florida Gators are certainly in the conversation of preseason title contenders. Coach Hurley already went back-to-back at UConn in 2023 and 2024. He was the first coach to do so since the aforementioned Coach Donovan. However, adding a third title in four years would immediately elevate him to “all-time great” status. The list of coaches with three or more titles is currently six names long. John Wooden (10), Mike Krzyzewski (5), Adolph Rupp (4), Jim Calhoun (3), Bob Knight (3), and Roy Williams (3).

Finally, Coach Rick Pitino has to be mentioned here. He already has led six different programs to the NCAA Tournament and three different schools to the Final Four. However, if he could win a title at a third school it would really put him in the “greatest of all-time” discussion. St. John’s is ranked #5 in the preseason AP Top 25 putting them squarely in the discussion as a title contender.

Finding Value in the Futures Markets

Brandon’s Best Bets has been a lucrative venture for many followers over on KSBoard each of the last two seasons. We will be back, beginning November 3rd, with daily gambling advice.However, to get ahead of the game, let’s lay out some of our favorite futures before the college basketball season tips off. (All odds are provided by our partners at BetMGM). Always bet responsibly.

• Arizona +2500 National Championship Winner. Much has been made of the Wildcats’ three highly-touted incoming freshmen, but it is the return of three starters from last year’s Sweet 16 team that make this an intriguing value. After three Sweet 16 trips in four seasons, including each of the last two, this could be the year Coach Tommy Lloyd breaks through.
• Duke +150 ACC Regular Season Winner. This is pretty much a two horse race between the Blue Devils and the Louisville Cardinals. Getting Duke at plus odds is good value here. Ride with Cameron Boozer and Coach Jon Scheyer’s group.
• Kentucky +300 SEC Regular Season Winner. That is too juicy of a number for what could be a Top 5 team in college basketball. This is another year where 14-4 will likely give you a chance to win the league. That is very doable for this Kentucky team.
• Cameron Boozer +700 John R. Wooden Award Winner. Exhibition games should be taken with massive grains of salt, but Cameron Boozer completely dominated Duke’s two exhibition games against power conference competition. He has a chance to put up some ridiculous stats for one of the country’s best teams.

Four Hot Takes Sure To Go Wrong

Let’s have some fun and take a few big swings here. These are three hot takes that we will be following throughout the 2025-2026 season.

• Last year half of the preseason Top 10 did not finish in the Top 25. #7 Michigan, #8 BYU, and #10 Texas Tech will be the teams to do so in 2025-2026. Each team will still produce All-Americans and make the NCAA Tournament, but they will become a bit too one-dimensional and not have the sustained season-long success that is expected of them currently.
• Coach Tom Izzo retires after leading Michigan State to a somewhat surprising Elite 8 finish. The Spartans will be good all season long, but still pull an upset over a #1 seed in the Sweet 16 to reach Coach Izzo’s 13th Elite 8. He will decide to ride into the sunset after back-to-back Elite 8 finishes. Jeremy Fears Jr. and Coen Carr both earn All-Big Ten honors along the way.
• Kent State loses on Monday December 29th at Purdue as does Yale at Alabama. Saint Mary’s loses January 13th at San Francisco. High Point loses at Winthrop on January 14th. Those will be your three final undefeated teams that start to collect some national buzz.
• Coach Bill Armstrong leads McNeese to an undefeated regular season record in the Southland Conference and returns to LSU as head coach after the Tigers fire Coach Matt McMahon.

Final Four Predictions

Final Four: Arizona, Duke, Houston, UConn

National Championship Game: Houston over Duke