Florida took home the NCAA championship on Monday after a last-second win against Houston to end the 2024-2025 college basketball season.
Congratulations to the Gators, but we’re ready to look forward to next season’s champion. In this week’s staff pick, the Scout Sports Staff gives predictions on which team will cut down nets in 2026.
Duke
By Mark Wagner
After losing in the Final Four, the Blue Devils are set to lose many players to the NBA draft, including Cooper Flagg, Khaman Maluach and Kon Knueppel. This may seem like a death sentence to their chances of becoming national champions next season, but there is much to be excited about.
First, the team has the best odds to win the championship next season, over teams like Houston, Purdue and UConn. Despite their key players moving to the professional level, Duke has recruited a few young bucks to fill the holes left in those positions. More specifically, four of the top 25 recruits in the nation signed on to play for head coach Jon Scheyer. If the freshmen can reach their potential, the Blue Devils could have another golden generation on their hands that will be ready to compete for a national title in no time.
UConn
By Ethan Diamond
After winning back-to-back national championships, the Huskies took a step back in 2024-25 after the departures of Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle, among others, to the NBA. However, it didn’t stop them from making noise in the NCAA tournament, as they nearly shocked everyone and almost upset the eventual champion Florida after a masterful coaching job from Dan Hurley.
With the retool year having passed, it’s time for Hurley’s Huskies to step back up to the elites of the sport. Solo Ball had a breakout year last year and should continue to grow into a top player. Adding Georgia guard Silas Demary Jr. through the transfer portal should also boost their backcourt. Alex Karaban’s future is still to be decided, but if he returns for his senior season, UConn will keep one of its top players who played on both championship squads. This is a team with a high ceiling and their lackluster season should not overlook them going into next year.
Purdue
By Steffen White
Experience, experience, experience. That is what Purdue brings to the table. Led by one of the best coaches in the country, Matt Painter, the Boilermakers bring back all of their stars. They lost some depth pieces, but that will happen to every team in the country in this current era of college basketball. What’s more important to focus on is who is staying.
Braden Smith is the only AP first-team All-American returning to college basketball next season. Look for him to be the preseason favorite for player of the year. Along with him, Purdue returns the remainder of their core three in Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn. Painter has utilized the transfer portal so far, grabbing Oscar Cluff, who averaged 17 points and 12 rebounds per game for South Dakota State this season. Overall, Painter has a veteran-laden team, looking to return to the championship game for the second time in three years.
Houston
By Owen Dimpfl
Houston lost in heartbreaking fashion to Florida in the national championship on Monday night, but this team will be back. The Cougars should return Emanuel Sharp and Joseph Tugler, and they boast one of the best recruiting classes in the country, adding Chris Cenac Jr. (No. 6 in ESPN 100), Isaiah Harwell (No. 13 in ESPN 100) and Kingston Flemings (No. 20 in ESPN 100). And it’s safe to assume Houston will find additions through the transfer portal.
Kelvin Sampson has proven to be one of the top coaches in college basketball and the Cougars have positioned themselves as the team to beat in the Big 12 Conference. Sampson’s teams are consistently ranked and considered contenders year after year because of the defensive standard they’ve set. Defense wins championships, and Houston will get theirs soon.
St. John’s
By Latif Love
St. John’s took college basketball by storm this season after placing fifth in the Big East in 2023-24. They finished with a 31-4 record before being upset by Arkansas in the round of 32. Coach Rick Pitino led the team to a 13-win improvement and looks to take the next step into championship contention next season. Pitino has been active in the transfer portal and is looking for added scoring because the Red Storm had a lackluster half-court offense this season.
In the three weeks that the portal has been open, he has already added freshman guard Joson Sanon, who averaged 12 points per game and shot 37% from three and senior forward Bryce Hopkins, who has averaged 15 points or more over his last three seasons. St. John’s will look to continue to add scoring from the portal to add to a top-five defense in the country and return the program to glory.
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