College basketball fans were surprised to see defending national champion Florida ranked 10th in CBS Sports’ 2025-26 preseason rankings, while last year’s runner-up, Houston, claimed the top spot, and Sweet Sixteen participant Purdue secured No. 2.
The Gators’ championship run, which culminated in a victory over those same Cougars, seemingly carries less weight than roster projections and returning talent.
Houston and Purdue: CBS’s Top Choices
CBS Sports justified Houston’s top ranking by highlighting the return of three top scorers from their runner-up squad, including Emanuel Sharp and Joseph Tugler.
The Cougars also added transfers Pop Isaacs from Creighton and Kalifa Sakho from Sam Houston, alongside five-star freshman Chris Cenac Jr. and four-star freshmen Isiah Harwell and Kingston Flemings.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL RANKINGS: The 2025-26 @CBSSports preseason Top 25 And 1 has been updated to reflect recent developments.
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1. Houston
2. Purdue
3. Duke
4. UConn
5. BYU
6. Texas Tech
7. UCLA
8. Arizona
9. Michigan
10. Floridahttps://t.co/dAzYYlrSHp— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) April 17, 2025
Purdue’s elevation to No. 2 stems from returning five of their top six scorers, including Trey Kaufman-Renn and the guard duo of Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer.
Coach Matt Painter’s team also added transfers Oscar Cluff from South Dakota State and Liam Murphy from North Florida, presenting a strong roster that CBS analysts clearly favor over the defending champions.
The Boilermakers’ consistent regular season excellence factors heavily into their ranking, though their tournament results have historically fallen short of their seeding.
Their projection ahead of Florida suggests preseason rankings tend to weigh roster construction and potential more heavily than postseason achievements from the previous year.
Are the Gators Overlooked?
Florida returns seven of their top ten scorers from their championship roster which is more than twice Houston’s returning production.
Key contributors Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, Denzel Aberdeen, Reuben Chinyelu, Sam Alexis, Urban Klavzar and Micah Handlogten all return to Gainesville under Todd Golden’s system that proved championship worthy just months ago.
The addition of Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee helps address the departure of Florida’s starting backcourt, filling what analysts likely consider the team’s biggest weakness.
Even with this significant addition addressing their primary roster gap, the Gators find themselves ranked behind nine programs they outperformed when it mattered most last season.
Florida’s placement behind not just Houston and Purdue but also Duke, UConn, BYU, Texas Tech, UCLA, Arizona, and Michigan presents an interesting perspective on how preseason rankings are formulated.
Texas Tech’s Elite Eight appearance was the closest any of these teams came to matching Florida’s championship run last year.
While On3.com positioned Florida sixth in their own preseason rankings, the No. 10 placement in CBS Sports’ hierarchy offers a different assessment of their championship roster.
The contrast between these rankings highlights the subjective nature of preseason projections across different media outlets.
Perhaps the most telling aspect of this ranking disparity is the different standards applied to Houston versus Florida.
KEEP READING: How Xaivian Lee’s Ivy League IQ Could Reshape Florida’s Offense
Houston returns three key players from a runner-up team and earns the top spot, while Florida returns more than twice as many contributors from the squad that defeated Houston for the championship yet finds itself nine spots lower.
As the Gators prepare to defend their title, this No. 10 ranking might just provide the perfect motivational fuel for a team that knows championships are won on the court, not in preseason polls.
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