Over the coming months, you're going to hear a lot of back-and-forth over which team deserves to be preseason No. 1 and the national title favorite between Duke and Florida.
The case for Florida is due to unbelievable roster retention, with the Gators bringing back their frontcourt trio of Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon, and Rueben Chinyelu. There are questions in the backcourt, however, a big one of which could be answered if Denzel Aberdeen is granted an additional year of eligibility.
The case for Duke is a trifecta of roster retention, excellent high school recruiting, and Transfer Portal additions.
Jon Scheyer retained key rotational pieces from last year in Patrick Ngongba, Dame Sarr, Caleb Foster, and Cayden Boozer, while signing the No. 1 high school class in the country featuring a quarter of 5-star recruits in Cameron Williams, Deron Rippey Jr., Bryson Howard, and international sensation Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, and then landing a portal haul headlined by star Wisconsin guard John Blackwell.
Florida might be a slight favorite in national title odds, but the Blue Devils have a strong case to be preseason No. 1, too. Some seem to prefer Duke.
CBS Sports is among them, putting Duke ahead of Florida as the No. 1 overall seed in their preseason bracketology.
Duke is the No. 1 overall seed in CBS Sports' preseason NCAA Tournament bracketology
Duke and Florida are joined on the 1-line in the projection by UConn and Houston. Illinois, Michigan, Arizona, and Gonzaga make up the 2-seeds.
Of those seven additional seeds on the top two seed lines, Scheyer and the Blue Devils will play five of them during their non-conference schedule.
That includes a true road game at Florida during the annual ACC-SEC challenge in a game that will likely be the most anticipated regular-season matchup in college basketball next season.
It will certainly serve as a measuring stick for both Scheyer and Florida's Todd Golden.
Duke might be one of the few teams that can match up with Florida in the frontcourt. Sarr can likely guard Haugh, but Scheyer would have the option to go even bigger, though he would sacrifice a little experience by placing both Williams and Boumtje Boumtje on the floor with Ngongba at the five.
But it's an option at Scheyer's disposal. Duke's versatility next season will be one of its greatest strengths. They can play smaller with three-guard lineups thanks to the backcourt depth, and they can play gigantic lineups with a trio of frontcourt players while even playing the 6-foot-8 Sarr at the two spot.
Scheyer has led Duke to No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons, though those tournament runs have ended in heartbreak with deflating collapses against Houston in the 2025 Final Four and UConn in the 2026 Elite Eight.
While Duke will once again be among the elite teams in college basketball next season, the next step for Scheyer and company will be exorcising the tournament demons and bringing home the national championship for the first time since 2015.
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