One Sentence on Every Top 100 Team

By Jonathan Lidskin

Photo: Dylan Buell/Getty Images

I was not able to keep up with my Top 100 this season. It was unfortunate, but I still wanted to find a way to put out some content about my Top 100 teams. Including the teams I posted, I’m going to write a simplified version of the blurbs. One sentence on 100 teams for the 2025-26 college basketball season.

100. George Washington

The return of Rafael Castro could mean a breakthrough year for Chris Caputo’s group.

99. Colorado State

They made the right move promoting Farokhmanesh, and I like the upside swing with Carey Booth.

98. Towson

Returning Tyler Tejada and Dylan Williamson make them CAA contenders again.

97. Bradley

The JaQuan Johnson/Demarion Burch pairing could surprise people.

96. Florida Atlantic

Kanaan Carlyle returning to his Stanford version could change their ceiling.

95. DePaul

Very excited for an All-Conference caliber season from Layden Blocker.

94. Illinois State

Chase Walker and Johnny Kinziger will spearhead one of the best offenses in mid-major basketball.

93. Charleston

The roster has a ton of talent even with the uncertainty of Connor Hickman’s eligibility.

92. George Mason

Brayden O’Connor and a handful of transfers will make for an upper-half A10 team.

91. Nebraska

Rienk Mast will remind everyone how good he was.

90. UC Irvine

Derin Saran will be one of the best players at the mid-major level.

89. LSU

Dedan Thomas leads a team that will make or break Matt McMahon’s tenure in Baton Rouge.

88. Yale

Elite starting five that is the runaway favorite in the Ivy League.

87. UNC Wilmington

Takayo Siddle grabbing a pair of in-conference transfers in the backcourt, is a fun offseason storyline.

86. Northern Iowa

RJ Taylor’s return is being overlooked as one of the most important developments in the Missouri Valley.

85. Pitt

Watch out for Brandin Cummings and Papa Kante as breakout candidates.

84. South Carolina

Meechie Johnson back as a double MARFO should undoubtedly be this team’s leading scorer.

83. Grand Canyon

Bryce Drew has enough talent to have a competitive squad in their first year in the Mountain West.

 82. Davidson

Team is a lot deeper than last year and should be improved on the defensive end.

81. Georgia Tech

Baye Ndongo and Mo Sylla both have NBA upside.

80. Murray State

Despite having all new players, Ryan Miller has an elite roster led by international freshman Roman Domon, who I think will be one of the best players in the MVC.

79. TCU

The backcourt pairing of Brock Harding and Tanner Toolson will be really fun on the offensive end.

78. High Point

Flynn Clayman in year one has Brackets, Bubbles and Bid Stealers favorite Owen Aquino as well as plenty of other talent.

77. Wake Forest

Juke Harris is my pick to be the Steve Forbes breakout player of 2025-26.

76. Memphis

This team has plenty of scoring juice, including my guy Julius Thedford, who should benefit from playing with a passer like Dug McDaniel.

75. UNLV

Josh Pastner historically has had success early in tenures, so watch out for the Rebels as a Mountain West sleeper.

74. Dayton

Amaël L’Etang is a monster breakout candidate, and I’m buying into De’Shayne Montgomery and Jordan Derkack bouncing back.

73. Butler

Jalen Jackson might be the point guard that Thad Matta was missing last season.

72. Liberty

Zach Cleveland leads one of the strongest returning cores in all of mid-major basketball.

71. Syracuse

A Donnie Freeman breakout could give Red Autry his best team yet.

70. Utah State

Mason Falslev is a known commodity, but the backcourt of Kolby King and MJ Collins could be what makes or breaks the season.

69. Providence

Could be the Big East surprise team if a couple of the sophomores break out.

68. Xavier

I wonder how often All Wright reminds Gabriel Pozzato that he beat him out for Missouri Valley Freshman of the Year.

67. Florida State

Luke Loucks has a great perimeter trio of Martin Somerville, Rob McCray V & Kobe MaGee.

66. Colorado

Internal development is always something that gets overlooked with Tad Boyle teams.

65. San Francisco

Tyrone Riley is a WCC Player of the Year contender, and watch out for freshman Legend Smiley.

64. Notre Dame

I still am a huge Micah Shrewsberry fan, and I think Jalen Haralson will be a true difference maker as a freshman.

63. Villanova

Would be concerning if Devin Askew played a key role, but Acaden Lewis and Matt Hodge could both be studs.

62. Georgia

The defense should still be good and could be terrific if Somto Cyril takes a jump.

61. South Florida

Wes Enis is one of the best players in the country that nobody knows about.

60. VCU

Phil Martelli Jr. could have a sick defensive backcourt if Nyk Lewis and Ahmad Nowell both hit.

59. Ohio State

The talent led by Bruce Thornton is year, but this is a prove-it year for Jake Diebler.

58. West Virginia

Ross Hodge’s team will grind out some wins even if it won’t be super enjoyable to watch.

57. New Mexico

Betting on Eric Olen and a big season for Antonio Chol.

56. Cincinnati

Freshman Shon Abaev is the guy who could change this offense.

55. Minnesota

A bounce back season for Cade Tyson is in order in the Niko Medved system.

54. Miami

I expect a defense-first team in year one of the Jai Lucas era.

53. Boise State

Hoping to see more minutes from Javan Buchanan this season.

52. Virginia Tech

There is a Greek Freak in Blacksburg in the form of Neoklis Avdalas.

51. Texas A&M

Will be interested to see if Bucky Ball can, translate to the SEC.

50. Loyola Chicago

I believe in the upside of Loyola, especially with elite rim protector Miles Rubin back.

49. Kansas State

Another talented, but wonky roster for Jerome Tang.

48. Texas

Sean Miller has some great athletes that he will have to make work together.

47. Maryland

This team is half of Buzz Williams’ Texas A&M identity and half forming a new identity.

46. Washington

The injury to Jacob Ognacevic moved them down, but the Huskies still are intriguing with Hannes Steinbach and others.

45. Michigan State

Tom Izzo will need a couple of breakouts for this offense to be any good.

44. Oklahoma

Xzayvier Brown and Nijel Pack could be the highest-scoring backcourt in the country.

43. SMU

I like freshman Jaden Toombs, but is him and Pierre enough to get them out of the Enfield zone?

42. Mississippi State

Team has become more offense-slated with Josh Hubbard and the addition of Jayden Epps.

41. Saint Louis

The Josh Schertz second-year leap will get the Billikens to the NCAA Tournament.

40. Oregon

Jackson Shelstad and Nate Bittle make up one of the best point guard/center duos in the country.

39. Northwestern

This team is severely underrated despite Nick Martinelli being one of the best scorers in college basketball.

38. Ole Miss

I might be too low on this team especially if Ilias Kamardine hits right away.

37. USC

Athletes and depth will continue to be the Eric Musselman specialty.

36. Georgetown

Defense could be suffocating, and KJ Lewis will have a huge year.

35. Creighton

Offense will have plenty of firepower, but can they get enough stops?

34. Mizzou

Dennis Gates plays a high-variance style, but returns key pieces in Mark Mitchell and Anthony Robinson.

33. UCLA

Definitely the low man on UCLA, as I have questions about Dent’s fit and the depth of the roster.

32. Marquette

Shaka Smart has become one of the internal development masters, and I think that keeps them afloat.

31. Baylor

This will be a different identity from Scott Drew with long athletes on the perimeter, including Tounde Yessoufou and Cam Carr.

30. Clemson

This front court is really good, and watch out for a major breakout from Dillon Hunter.

29. UNC

We know the talent is there, but I think the ceiling of this team relies on how good Caleb Wilson can be.

28. Saint Mary’s

Randy Bennett will be reloading, but a big season from Mikey Lewis should keep them at least in the tournament picture.

27. Virginia

A nice mix of American and International flavor in Ryan Odom’s first season in Charlottesville.

26. Indiana

Darian DeVries is a fantastic X’s & O’s coach and the pieces to build a great offense in his first season.

25. Arkansas

John Calipari might have a depth issue again, but a lot of last year’s issues could be fixed by Darius Acuff being a stud.

24. Wisconsin

Greg Gard always has a solid floor, and John Blackwell will be one of the best players in the Big Ten.

23. Gonzaga

This will be too low based on the history of Gonzaga’s KenPom finishes, but I believe the Zags will reclaim the WCC throne.

22. NC State

Getting Darrion Williams was massive, but more importantly, this program is getting preseason hype for the first time in forever.

21. Vanderbilt

The names might not be eye-popping, but this team has so many good players and an excellent coach.

20. Auburn

Steven Pearl takes the reins with a roster led by star guard Tahaad Pettiford.

19. Iowa

Bennett Stirtz is All-American level good, but the rest of the roster should be getting more credit.

18. St. John’s

Defense will be great again, but Rick Pitino could go insane with the different lineup combinations he might try.

17. Illinois

The Balkan jokes and memes are all fun and games, but the roster itself is a very serious Big Ten contender.

16. Tennessee

Ja’Kobi Gillespie is one of the best guards in the country and will lead a Tennessee team replacing a lot.

15. BYU

The AJ Dybantsa hype is deserved, but don’t forget about Richie Saunders.

14. San Diego State

Very reminiscent of the national runner-up team with a high-upside offense and great defense.

13. Louisville

Deserved preseason hype with all of the snipers they have in the backcourt.

12. Iowa State

TJ Otzelberger always has a high-floor team, and with the returners he has this season should be no different.

11. Kansas

The post-hype team could surprise people, and having a player of Darryn Peterson’s caliber never hurts.

10. Alabama

The Labaron Philon first-team All-American campaign starts right now.

9. Arizona

Relying on some younger guys, but Tommy Lloyd has yet to finish lower than 15th in KenPom.

8. Florida

The reigning national champs return what I would call the best frontcourt in the country.

7. Texas Tech

Roster is somewhat thin, but the first five or six guys could make up the best starting group in the sport.

6. UConn

Improved point guard play and an older roster puts Dan Hurley’s team right back in title contention.

5. Duke

The roster is much more than just Cam Boozer, but Boozer himself is one of the most physical freshmen I have ever seen.

4. Kentucky

The conversation around who has the best depth in the country should start in Lexington.

3. Purdue

If they hit their peak, this could be one of the best offenses in recent memory.

2. Michigan

Elite defense combined with Dusty May’s offensive genius makes for my pick to win the Big Ten.

1. Houston

Kelvin Sampson, with the guys he returns, has earned the right to start the season #1.