The 2026-27 college basketball season begins in less than a month, which means preseason predictions, polls and accolades are starting to roll in before the season begins next month. On Monday, the SEC released its preseason poll ahead of conference media day this week and, unsurprisingly, Florida was picked to win the conference.
The Gators will be the favorites to win the SEC and national title this season. And when the preseason AP Top 25 poll is released next week, Florida is expected to take the top spot. Florida had an incredible offseason of retention after returning four starters (Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu, Boogie Fland and Alex Condon) from a team that captured the top seed in the NCAA tournament for the second straight season.
While Florida is the heavy favorite, the other teams in the conference should make some noise. Among them is Texas, which was picked to finish No. 2 in the SEC preseason poll. The Longhorns reached the Sweet 16 in Sean Miller’s first season with the program and should open the season ranked somewhere in the top 10 in the AP poll.
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David Cobb
Arkansas, Tennessee and Alabama round out the top five in the poll. LSU, led by Will Wade, was notably picked to finish No. 14 in the SEC. The Tigers have question marks regarding their squadwith a handful of players currently in eligibility limbo.
Here’s the complete SEC media poll, followed by a breakdown of overrated and underrated teams and players.
SEC Preseason Media Poll
Overrated: Alabama
Expected end: 5
In our preseason predictions on CBS Sports, I ended up being the Crimson Tide’s lowest. Alabama was picked fourth overall in the SEC and eighth overall in our CBS predictions. Here’s what we know about Alabama heading into the season: The Crimson Tide will be elite offensively. This was demonstrated during Alabama’s first scrimmage of the season, where Brandon Garrison received praise from coach Nate Oats.
Why am I lower in Alabama? I just like the SEC teams ranked slightly below them more. I think they have a more talented workforce and the right candidates. I picked Missouri (more on them shortly) and Kentucky to finish ahead of Alabama in the SEC preseason poll. For Alabama to finish at or above their preseason projection, Amari Allen will need to have a serious breakout in year two, which is very possible.
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Underrated: Missouri
Expected end: 8
Based on where Missouri was picked to finish, I’m guessing Mark Mitchell’s eligibility — which remains a question mark heading into the season — isn’t taken into account. If Mitchell is cleared to play this season, Missouri is a top-five team in the SEC.
Get Mitchell back and add five-star guard Jason Crowe Jr. – who was the most prolific scorer in high school basketball – and the addition of Bryson Tiller and Jamier Jones makes them the most underrated team in the conference. Again, I ranked Missouri higher (I picked them fifth) than all of my colleagues. However, I am taking into account and assuming that Mitchell is exonerated, which is a significant part of the projection.
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Overrated: Georgia
Expected end: 11
Most of my projections were perfectly consistent with what the SEC released. However, one difference (two places) between my ballot and the actual ballot was the finish of Georgia. The Bulldogs finished 13th in the SEC, ahead of only Oklahoma, Mississippi State and South Carolina.
The Bulldogs were embarrassed by Saint Louis in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Even with the tournament expansion, I think Georgia will be one of the at-large teams from last season to miss the Big Dance entirely. as I wrote last month. The Bulldogs lost leading scorer Jeremiah Wilkinson to Arkansas and big man Somto Cyril to Miami, which is why Georgia will finish in double figures in the final SEC standings.
Underrated: LSU
Expected end: 14
Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to projecting which LSU players will be eligible and which will be on the outside looking in. However, the talent that Wade has assembled cannot be ignored, even if more than half of the roster has a real chance of not playing this season.
If you asked me which projected team near the bottom of the SEC would surprise this season, it would be an easy answer in favor of LSU. Key players who will need to be eligible are Skyy Clark, Donovan Dent and Saliou Niang. If RJ Luis Jr. is cleared — and at this point, it could be a long shot due to the SEC’s stance on former professionals returning to college — he would project as LSU’s best player. There are some serious question marks around the roster, but LSU’s team is too talented to finish 14th in the SEC.
Preseason All-SEC Team
The SEC released its preseason all-conference teams on Monday. Florida star Thomas Haugh was named SEC Preseason Player of the Year. Here is the complete team.
First team
Second team
Third team
Underrated: Jordan Smith Jr., Arkansas
Last season, Darius Acuff Jr. produced one of the best single seasons from a guard in college basketball history and is arguably one of the best freshmen at the position that John Calipari has ever coached. This season, Calipari welcomes back another freshman who should surpass his projection as a second-team All-SEC player.
The 6-foot-2 combo guard can run downhill with ease and should be able to put up numbers. Smith should be the consensus favorite to win the SEC Freshman of the Year award.
Overrated: Malachi Moreno, Kentucky
It’s hard to single out one player on this list, but if I had to pick one, it would be Moreno, simply because (aside from the one freshman on this list) he is the most inexperienced player. Moreno has a very high ceiling and should thrive in his second season playing in Mark Pope’s system.
However, if there was another player I would have made third team All-SEC, it would be Crowe, who could legitimately end up as one of the best scorers in the SEC, especially if Mitchell is not allowed to play.
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