The only real competition Jon Scheyer and Duke faced to be the preseason No. 1 team in college basketball for next season is Todd Golden's Gators in Gainesville.
Florida has had an unprecedented run of roster retention in the frontcourt, with Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon, and now Rueben Chinyelu - all key pieces to the Gators' 2025 National Championship - running it back yet again.
Haugh, in particular, was an impressive retention by Golden. He was projected as high as the late lottery in most mock drafts, and elected to return to Florida without even participating in the NBA Combine.
Chinyelu went through the draft process, but on Thursday announced his intentions to return to Gainesville for another season after seeing himself as an early second-round pick in most projections.
With their frontcourt intact, Florida is the most popular choice to be preseason No. 1 next season.
That might be premature.
Duke still has a massive advantage in the backcourt over Florida next season
There's no denying that 3-5, no team can stack up with Haugh, Condon, and Chinyelu. It's the best frontcourt trio in college basketball, bar none.
But what tripped up Florida in the second round of the NCAA Tournament this past season wasn't that group. It was the backcourt, which remains a question mark for the Gators heading into the 2026-27 season.
Florida's projected starting group is Boogie Fland, a solid, if unspectacular point guard, and Denzel Aberdeen, the one-time Gator who transferred to Kentucky last season. Aberdeen has already played four seasons of college basketball, however, and is awaiting a waiver from the NCAA for a fifth season of eligibility that is far from guaranteed. The basis for the waiver is Aberdeen only playing 41 total minutes across 12 games as a freshman.
While Duke is still waiting on Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell to formally remove his name from the NBA Draft, that one step is all Jon Scheyer needs for the Blue Devils to have arguably the best backcourt in college basketball next season.
It's undoubtedly the best backcourt of Scheyer's tenure as the head coach. Along with Blackwell, Duke returns both Cayden Boozer and Caleb Foster, while also adding 5-star guard Deron Rippey Jr. in the high school class.
And it's not like Duke's frontcourt is any slouch, either. Rising sophomore Dame Sarr has the potential to be one of the best two-way wings in the country next season. Freshman Cameron Williams is the projected starter at PF, and he is one of the best players in the 2026 high school class.
Then there's Patrick Ngongba II at the five, who is one of the single most impactful centers in the country.
The strength of Duke isn't just in its projected starting five, either; it's the depth. The Blue Devils could easily go 10 deep, if not more, next season. That's a luxury Scheyer has not been afforded during his tenure in Durham yet.
At the end of the day, however, which team ends up preseason No. 1 is inconsequential. Michigan won the National Championship this year after starting the season ranked No. 7. When Florida won the title, they opened the season ranked No. 21.
Neither Scheyer nor Golden will be bothered by a preseason ranking. They each have bigger goals in mind, and could be on a collision course in Detroit.
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