Jeff BorzelloCloseJeff BorzelloESPN Staff Writer Basketball recruiting insider. Joined ESPN in 2014. Graduate of University of Delaware.Follow on X and Myron MedcalfCloseMyron MedcalfESPN Staff Writer Covers college basketball Joined ESPN.com in 2011 Graduate of Minnesota State University, MankatoFollow on XMultiple AuthorsMar 9, 2026, 09:00 AM ET
play1:06Cameron Boozer’s double-double leads Duke past UNCCameron Boozer scores 26 points and grabs 15 rebounds in a dominant Duke win over North Carolina.
play9:56Florida Gators vs. Kentucky Wildcats: Game HighlightsFlorida Gators vs. Kentucky Wildcats: Game Highlights
play0:37Miami (Ohio) survives in OT on Ohio miss to improve to 31-0Ohio is off the mark at the end of overtime, and Miami (Ohio) holds on to improve to 31-0 on the season.
Why fans should be on the lookout for Auburn going into the tournament (1:00)Joe Lunardi breaks down why Auburn stands out the most of the teams “on the bubble” heading into the tournament. (1:00)
Cameron Boozer’s double-double leads Duke past UNCCameron Boozer scores 26 points and grabs 15 rebounds in a dominant Duke win over North Carolina.
Florida Gators vs. Kentucky Wildcats: Game HighlightsFlorida Gators vs. Kentucky Wildcats: Game Highlights
Miami (Ohio) survives in OT on Ohio miss to improve to 31-0Ohio is off the mark at the end of overtime, and Miami (Ohio) holds on to improve to 31-0 on the season.
Ohio is off the mark at the end of overtime, and Miami (Ohio) holds on to improve to 31-0 on the season.
play0:22Darryn Peterson drops in the smooth bucketDarryn Peterson drops in the smooth bucket
This is arguably the best freshman class of all time
Can Cameron Boozer take Duke further than Cooper Flagg did?
Florida has a legitimate chance to defend its crown
Will the Big Ten end its national championship drought?
Miami (Ohio) is the only unbeaten team still standing
Nebraska, Vanderbilt, more surprise teams will try to keep winning
The past five months of men’s college basketball have been filled with incredible wins, surprising defeats, devastating injuries, young stars and party crashers who could bust brackets.
Teams such as Nebraska have enjoyed a remarkable turnaround. And teams such as Auburn, a Final Four participant a season ago, might need a miracle to earn an NCAA tournament bid. Meanwhile, a collection of elite teenagers have been the headliners, not only because of their excellence but because they could be young stars for NBA teams by the end of the calendar year.
We know it’s a lot to digest. So, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf are short-listing the storylines, players, coaches, moments and possibilities you need to know ahead of March Madness.
This Sunday, 68 teams will hear their names called as participants in the NCAA tournament — and the ones at the top of the food chain have a significant edge over the rest.
Michigan is no slouch, either. The Wolverines’ only losses have come to Duke — on a neutral court — and a Wisconsin team that made 15 3-pointers against them. They’re in a stratosphere few other teams have been able to crack this season.
For its part, Arizona has as much depth as any team in the country. The Wildcats join Duke and Michigan as the only teams ranked in the top eight of both offensive and defensive efficiency. They also won their first 23 games of the campaign.
Taking UConn’s place on the top line? Florida, which is on a 10-win streak, similar to the late momentum of last season’s squad on its way to the national title. Per BartTorvik, Duke is the only team in America that has been better than Florida during that stretch.
The next tier of teams includes the likes of Illinois, Iowa State, Houston and Purdue — but none of them is anywhere near those listed above. — Medcalf
The high school class of 2025 was billed as a potentially generational group upon entering the season — and it has somehow exceeded those expectations.
The best player in the country is a freshman: Duke’s Cameron Boozer, son of former Blue Devils standout and NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer. The biggest threat for most of the season to Boozer’s status as the top player also is a freshman: BYU’s AJ Dybantsa. The best point guard in the country is arguably a freshman as well: Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. Illinois freshman Keaton Wagler is an All-America candidate, as was North Carolina frosh Caleb Wilson, before his season-ending thumb injury.
Arizona, another projected 1-seed, starts three first-year players: Brayden Burries, Koa Peat and Ivan Kharchenkov. Final Four hopeful Houston starts two: Kingston Flemings and Chris Cenac Jr. Title contender UConn has one too: Braylon Mullins. Then there’s Tennessee’s Nate Ament, Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. and Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie, who have been among the most productive players in conference play.
To further emphasize the dominance of first-year players this season, this might be all you need to know: Six of the 15 players on the final Wooden Award ballot are freshmen. — Borzello
Cameron Boozer scores 26 points and grabs 15 rebounds in a dominant Duke win over North Carolina.
Flagg had one of the most remarkable seasons of the one-and-done era, winning national player of the year by a landslide and taking Duke to the Final Four. The idea that another Duke freshman could top Flagg’s feats seemed unlikely at the start of the campaign. But Flagg and the 2024-25 Blue Devils ran into real Final Four competition from veteran teams Auburn, Houston and eventual national champion Florida; Boozer and the 2025-26 Blue Devils won’t face that same level of experience.
Boozer might also be better than Flagg: Boozer has a higher offensive rating on KenPom, is averaging more points (22.6 vs. 19.2) and rebounds (10.0 vs. 7.5), and is a better 3-point shooter. According to EvanMiya, Boozer is having the best season in college basketball since at least 2009-10, surpassing Zach Edey’s second consecutive Wooden Award season in 2023-24 (25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game).
Boozer and Flagg also are very different players. Flagg is an explosive athlete who could will his team to wins. Boozer is an elite playmaker who always seems to make the right play and control the game. Boozer also has the advantage of a supporting cast anchored by last year’s reserves, as Isaiah Evans, Patrick Ngongba II and Caleb Foster have each made significant strides in their games (though Ngongba and Foster are now contending with injuries).
This season’s Duke squad is better defensively — and more potent in the paint too. Boozer already has led the Blue Devils through tough tests. There certainly is a path — and perhaps an expectation — to cutting down the nets in Indianapolis. — Medcalf
It might not be a stretch to say the Gators played better over the final month of the regular season than they did during the same span of last season’s national championship run. They’ve run roughshod over the SEC, winning the outright title with games to spare.
Todd Golden has one of the elite frontcourts in the country in Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu, all holdovers from last season. Chinyelu has made the biggest jump of the trio and is arguably the best defensive player in the country as well as a double-double threat every night.
Three months ago, Florida looked nothing like a title contender. The Gators were 5-4 after a loss to UConn at Madison Square Garden in December. The biggest change since then has come on the perimeter, as Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee have figured out how to coexist in the backcourt while Urban Klavzar and Isaiah Brown have added some pop off the bench. The Gators have taken care of the ball better and have shot markedly better from 3.
Their defense also has improved from a year ago, particularly when it comes to protecting the rim and controlling the glass.
It all means that, much like last season, Florida has surged into the top tier of title contenders during the final stretch. — Borzello
Florida Gators vs. Kentucky Wildcats: Game Highlights
Florida Gators vs. Kentucky Wildcats: Game Highlights
The Huskies’ quest for a three-peat last season fell disappointingly short, though a different version of a dynasty is still very much within reach.
With the championship credentials of Dan Hurley and his staff on the sideline, UConn is squarely in the top tier or two of teams that can raise the trophy in Indianapolis. — Borzello
It has come close several times — most recently in 2024, when Purdue lost to UConn in the title game — but the Big Ten hasn’t won a men’s basketball national title since Michigan State did so in 2000, the longest drought for a high-major conference.
They’re elite offensively, they’re elite defensively and they have as much size as any team in the country.
There’s still an argument to be made that the Illini, the Spartans, the Boilermakers and even the Cornhuskers could reach the Final Four. Illinois has the nation’s best offense. Michigan State has Tom Izzo, Jeremy Fears Jr. and a top-five defense. Purdue has a veteran core that has won a lot of games together. And Nebraska combines high-volume 3-point shooting with the Big Ten’s best defense in conference play.
There’s a strong chance at least one Big Ten team will be playing in Indianapolis come early April. — Borzello
A run through this year’s MAC tournament would silence the debate and place Miami among some of the great teams in college basketball history. A loss, however, would make the RedHawks arguably the top storyline right up to Selection Sunday. — Medcalf
Miami (Ohio) survives in OT on Ohio miss to improve to 31-0
Teams with players who aren’t expected to return this season will be worth monitoring on Selection Sunday to see how those absences impact them from a seeding perspective. Two that fall into that bucket are Texas Tech without All-America forward JT Toppin and BYU without star guard Richie Saunders. Both players suffered season-ending ACL injuries, and their teams’ ceilings are now significantly lower.
Meanwhile, there are several high-level players whose timeline to return is more vague but who will significantly boost their teams once back. Gonzaga forward Braden Huff suffered a left knee injury in January, with an initial recovery timetable of four to six weeks; the most recent update had him still on crutches.