Staff Picks: Which college men’s basketball team will be the scariest to face this season?

The men’s college basketball season begins this week. Teams will compete over the next five months to earn a spot in March Madness and face the best to cut down the nets in Indianapolis in April.

In the spirit of Halloween, the Scout Sports Staff has selected which teams we believe will be the scariest to face this season.

Purdue

By Ethan Diamond

Just two years removed from a national championship appearance, Matt Painter’s side looks poised to make another deep run this season. 

The Boilermakers retain three seniors from last year’s team that advanced to their third Sweet Sixteen in four years, including reigning Big Ten Player of the Year and First Team All-American Braden Smith. Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn join him in that group, and the team added Oscar Cluff from South Dakota State to man the paint. Sophomore guard C.J. Cox is also expected to take a significant leap. There are also some interesting reserve choices, such as freshman guard Omar Mayer and 7’4 sophomore center Daniel Jacobsen.

Purdue has gained a reputation in recent years as one of the top programs in the country. With a demanding non-conference schedule early on that includes ranked teams such as Alabama and Auburn, we’ll see how scary this Boilermaker side could be this season.

Houston

By Jake Aimone

Last season, the collegiate basketball fanbase witnessed one of the most magical runs by any team in the tournament. After being down countless times in the second half, Walter Clayton Jr. put the Florida Gators on his back and blew those in attendance away to lead the team to a national title. 

Seeing as Clayton has moved on to the NBA, it only makes sense that the scariest team in the nation is the Houston Cougars. They took out the powerhouse that was Duke in the Final Four and had a 12-point lead in the second half against the Gators. Unfortunately for the Cougars, Florida was destined to win the tournament last year.

This year, head coach Kelvin Sampson’s defense will continue to lock up every team they play. As mentioned, they beat the Blue Devils, who produced three of the top ten picks in the 2025 NBA draft. Barring another magical run from any team in the country, the Cougars are primed to win their first national championship if you know what they say about defense.

Duke

By Jaylen Harris

The Duke Blue Devils are the scariest NCAA men’s basketball team to face this season. The primary reason is the concentration of elite, top-end talent, particularly in their newest McDonald’s All-Americans and highly-touted freshmen batch. In the one-and-done era, a team that can blend experienced players with a truly generational freshman class has the potential for an unparalleled ceiling. Duke has once again nailed this formula.

The arrival of a player like Cameron Boozer – an incredibly skilled and physically mature forward for a freshman – makes them a nightmare matchup. Boozer’s versatility to score inside and out, combined with his ready-for-the-ACC size, gives Duke a foundational star who can dominate games from day one. Pair this batch of high-end youth with proven talent and a coach who consistently gets his teams to peak in March? The threat level becomes nightmarish. The Blue Devils’ mix of elite scoring ability, projected top-tier defense and the general “Duke” aura, combined with their expectation of winning makes them the team that no one will want to see in their region come NCAA Tournament time.

UConn

By Ian Manley

After winning back-to-back NCAA national championships, the UConn men’s program took a step back last year. They were the eighth seed in their NCAA tournament bracket and lost to one-seeded Florida in the second round.

However, the team is ready to bounce back strong this year. Point guard Silas Demary Jr. is a talented transfer player ready to bolster an already talented roster. Power forward Tarris Reed is the reigning Big East Sixth Man of the Year winner, and fellow forwards and second-team All-Big East selections Solo Ball and Alex Karaban join him.

On top of that, they have some talented freshmen with their new starting shooting guard and Big East Preseason Freshman of the Year Braylon Mullins, as well as Eric Reibe, a four-star recruit power forward.

UConn has one of the most solid rosters in men’s college basketball, and can strike fear into any opponent they face. They are poised to accomplish great things this season.

Kentucky

By Mark Wagner

It’s been a while since the Wildcats have been at the top of the NCAA basketball mountaintop, but their new lineup will be a scary unit.

Kentucky was busy in the transfer window, adding the likes of Jayden Quaintance from Arizona State, Jaland Lowe from Pitt and Denzel Aberdeen from Florida. Meanwhile, guard Otega Oweh returns to Lexington for his senior season, and they have a top 25 freshman recruit in Jasper Johnson. With all these players combined onto one team, the Wildcats have a decent chance to improve their performance in the NCAA tournament last year, making it to the Sweet Sixteen.

Former BYU head coach Mark Pope leads this team into the second season of his tenure, but this time around, his roster can strike fear into the hearts of any of their opponents. Look for Kentucky to make some noise, both in the regular and postseason seasons.