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Florida is No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, the Coaches poll, and in Thursday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. But, right now, the Gators are not the favorite in the betting markets to win the 2027 NCAA Tournament.
Duke is.
Undeniable talent is the reason.
Just take a look at Adam Finkelstein's latest 2027 NBA Mock Draft. Patrick Ngongba II is projected ninth. Dame Sarr is projected 13th. Cameron Williams is projected 17th -- and he just came off of the Blue Devils' bench in Monday's 84-50 season-opening victory over Army.
That's three projected top-17 picks at Duke.
Beyond that, Duke has John Blackwell, a 6-foot-5 guard who averaged 19.1 points last season for a Wisconsin team that secured a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Then there's Cayden Boozer, a five-star prep recruit who started 11 games last season for a Duke team that finished 35-3. Then there's Caleb Foster, another former five-star who started 30 games for that same Duke team. Then there's Deron Rippey Jr., who was ranked 12th in the Class of 2026, according to 247Sports. And then there's Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, the 17-year-old phenom who got 15 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in his first regular-season game in a Duke uniform.
Boumtje Boumtje is so young he won't even be eligible for the 2027 NBA Draft. He's also so talented that he's the favorite to be the first pick in the 2028 NBA Draft.
So, yeah, Duke is loaded.
And so, like I told Matt Norlander on Wednesday's episode of the Eye On College Basketball Podcast, the Blue Devils' game against Coastal Carolina is the matchup I'm most looking forward to Thursday -- mostly because the schedule is largely boring, sure, but also because I'm eager to get a second look at the sport's most-talented roster.
Rk |
Teams |
Chg |
Rcrd |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | Thomas Haugh finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Monday's 77-67 win over Miami. The Gators' next game is Thursday against Jacksonville. | -- | 1-0 |
| 2 | Duke | Dame Sarr finished with 16 points and four rebounds in Monday's 84-50 win over Army. The Blue Devils' next game is Thursday at Coastal Carolina. | -- | 1-0 |
| 3 | Illinois | Andrej Stojakovic finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Monday's 120-45 win over Fairleigh Dickinson. The Illini's next game is Thursday against Penn. | -- | 1-0 |
| 4 | UConn | Braylon Mullins finished with 20 points and two steals in Monday's 86-46 win over Gardner-Webb. The Huskies' next game is Friday against Michigan. | -- | 1-0 |
| 5 | Kansas | Tre White finished with 22 points and five rebounds in Monday's 95-65 win over Fordham. The Jayhawks' next game is Friday against Middle Tennessee. | -- | 1-0 |
| 6 | Texas | Matas Vokietaitis finished with 22 points and six rebounds in Monday's 109-59 win over Chicago State. The Longhorns' next game is Thursday against Gardner Webb. | -- | 1-0 |
| 7 | Michigan St. | Jeremy Fears Jr. finished with 13 points and 11 assists in Monday's 96-59 win over Quinnipiac. The Spartans' next game is Thursday against Toledo. | -- | 1-0 |
| 8 | Louisville | Flory Bidunga finished with 16 points and nine rebounds in Monday's 84-70 win over Chattanooga. The Cardinals' next game is Saturday against Morehead State. | -- | 1-0 |
| 9 | Virginia | Sam Lewis finished with 20 points and three assists in Tuesday's 89-60 win over Drexel. The Cavaliers' next game is Friday against Northeastern. | -- | 1-0 |
| 10 | Arkansas | Jeremiah Wilkinson finished with 23 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 106-61 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Razorbacks' next game is Sunday against Virginia. | -- | 1-0 |
| 11 | Gonzaga | Davis Fogle finished with 22 points and five rebounds in Monday's 78-72 win over Purdue. The Zags' next game is Saturday against New Mexico State. | -- | 1-0 |
| 12 | St. John's | Keyshawn Hall finished with 26 points and nine rebounds in Monday's 78-63 win over Monmouth. The Red Storm's next game is Sunday against Iona. | -- | 1-0 |
| 13 | Houston | Dedan Thomas Jr. finished with 16 points and five assists in Monday's 94-55 win over La Salle. The Cougars' next game is Sunday against Cal. | -- | 1-0 |
| 14 | UCLA | Trent Perry finished with 21 points and five assists in Monday's 84-75 win over Arizona. The Bruins' next game is Friday against North Florida. | -- | 1-0 |
| 15 | Arizona | Derek Dixon missed 12 of the 17 shots he attempted in Monday's 84-75 loss to UCLA. The Wildcats' next game is Thursday against Cal Poly. | -- | 0-1 |
| 16 | Tennessee | DeWayne Brown II finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds in Tuesday's 90-59 win over Wofford. The Vols' next game is Monday against Radford. | -- | 1-0 |
| 17 | Texas Tech | Cruz Davis finished with 15 points and six rebounds in Monday's 76-42 win over Jackson State. The Red Raiders' next game is Thursday against Bethune Cookman. | -- | 1-0 |
| 18 | Michigan | Trey McKenney finished with 17 points and four rebounds in Monday's 84-68 win over Oakland. The Wolverines' next game is Friday against UConn. | -- | 1-0 |
| 19 | Miami | Shelton Henderson missed 11 of the 13 shots he attempted in Monday's 77-67 loss to Florida. The Hurricanes' next game is Friday against Wagner. | -- | 0-1 |
| 20 | Kentucky | Milan Momcilovic finished with 24 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 85-57 win over Manhattan. The Wildcats' next game is Friday against James Madison. | -- | 1-0 |
| 21 | Alabama | Drew Fielder finished with 15 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 96-74 win over Sam Houston. The Crimson Tide's next game is Friday against Arkansas State. | -- | 1-0 |
| 22 | USC | Adonis Ratliff finished with 25 points and six rebounds in Monday's 95-63 win over Milwaukee. The Trojans' next game is Sunday against Wichita State. | -- | 1-0 |
| 23 | Missouri | Jason Crowe Jr. finished with 23 points and two assists in Tuesday's 111-50 win over Cleveland State. The Tigers' next game is Friday against Saint Louis. | -- | 1-0 |
| 24 | BYU | Robert Wright III finished with 33 points and five assists in Monday's 94-83 win over Ohio State. The Cougar' next game is Friday against Nebraska Omaha. | -- | 1-0 |
| 25 | Vanderbilt | Tyler Tanner finished with 20 points and six assists in Monday's 93-47 win over Bellarmine. The Commodores' next game is Thursday against Wake Forest. | -- | 1-0 |
| 26 | Purdue | Omer Mayer missed nine of the 11 shots he attempted in Monday's 78-72 loss to Gonzaga. The Boilermakers' next game is Friday against Valparaiso. | -- | 0-1 |
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