AP Top 25 Poll Reactions: North Carolina Overrated, Kansas Underrated in Preseason College Basketball Rankings

The AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll was released Monday, indicating the start of the 2025-2026 college basketball season is approaching. Purdue earned the No. 1 spot in the poll after receiving 35 of 60 possible first-place votes. Houston, Florida and UConn – the teams trailing the Boilermakers – all received first-place votes.

Rounding out the top five of the poll is St. John’s. The Red Storm reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 under coach Rick Pitino and will join UConn as one of the favorites to win the Big East.

The Cooper Flagg era may be over at Duke, but the Blue Devils have plenty of talent on their roster this season, including freshman Cameron Boozer – a projected top-three pick in 2026. NBA draft. Duke opened last season at No. 7 in the preseason poll and will start this year at No. 6.

Speaking of the ACC, Louisville coach Pat Kelsey led a remarkable turnaround last season, helping the program reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. The Cardinals are one of our “underrated” teams heading into the season.

That said, here are the overrated and underrated teams from the poll.

Overrated: St. John’s

AP Top 25 Rankings: No. 5

The hype surrounding the St. John’s program entering the season is real. That cannot be denied. After reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament and loading into the transfer portal by adding players like Bryce Hopkins (Providence), Joson Sanon (Arizona State) and Ian Jackson (North Carolina), it’s clear why a voter would rank St. John’s so highly at the start of the season.

However, my biggest concern heading into the season for St. John’s is what they do at point guard. After landing Jackson this offseason, Pitino called him “the next big thing.” Pitino, however told reporters this month that Oziyah Sellers is the starting point guard and Dylan Darling, another transfer, is the backup. St. John’s has the talent to be a Final Four team, but it’s hard not to doubt these pieces will fit together.

Underrated: Louisville

AP Top 25 Rankings: No. 11

If you are a fan of one NBA team who needs a point guard in the draft, you should watch every game in Louisville this season. Five-star Mikel Brown Jr. is a star in the making and someone who can raise the ceiling of this Louisville team.

I loved what Louisville did in the transfer portal by adding Ryan Conwell, Isaac McKneely and Adrian Wooely. Louisville has the talent to be a team that plays for the national title this spring. Three years ago, that sentence seemed almost impossible to say as former coach Kenny Payne had Louisville at rock bottom. I would be very surprised if Kelsey’s team doesn’t finish in the top 10 at the end of the season.

Overrated: North Carolina

AP Top 25 Rankings: No. 25

It’s quite simple. This season is make-or-break for UNC coach Hubert Davis. The Tar Heels surprisingly heard their name called on Selection Sunday last spring, after finishing the regular season 22-13 with just one win (UCLA) over a ranked opponent. By sneaking in as one of the last teams in the field, North Carolina avoided missing the NCAA tournament for the second time in three seasons under Davis. Regardless, that standard is not acceptable for a program of its size.

North Carolina frontcourt prospect Caleb Wilson, a projected lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, and Arizona transfer Henri Veesaar will be the biggest strengths heading into the season. However, I think North Carolina is more likely to finish unranked than higher than 25th. Obviously I’m not a poll voter, but it wouldn’t be surprising if domestic foe NC State, under first-year coach Will Wade, had a better season than UNC. NC State received the most votes in the poll without being ranked.

AP Top 25 Rankings: No. 14

Even after all the chaos that took place in John Calipari’s first season at Arkansas following his split with Kentucky, his team still had a shot at reaching the Elite Eight before collapsing late against Texas Tech. One thing that wasn’t common to Calipari during his tenure at Kentucky was continuity, as most of his best players were one-offs.

However, this version of Calipari’s roster will return several key players, including DJ Wagner, Karter Knox, Trevon Brazile and Billy Richmond III. Additionally, five-star Darius Acuff Jr. the next one-and-done point guard that Calipari produces. The returning experience, combined with the newcomers to the roster, makes Calipari’s roster a threat to play deep into March and finish as a top 10 team.

AP Top 25 Rankings: No. 19

Kansas is in an unfamiliar spot heading into the season. The Jayhawks entered the season as the top-ranked preseason team in each of the past two years and will instead start at No. 19 behind Big 12 foes Houston, BYU, Texas Tech, Arizona and Iowa State.

The Jayhawks have massively underachieved over the past three seasons, with three consecutive NCAA Tournament eliminations before the second weekend. What makes this version of Kansas different (potentially) is five-star Darryn Peterson, who is shaping up as the projected No. 1 pick this summer and one of the best guard prospects in recent memory. Only Peterson raises the ceiling and floor of this Kansas team. The Jayhawks have never had a player like Peterson in the Self era. There’s a reason why the Kansas coach has labeled him as the best player he has recruited from college. I buy all the hype about Peterson bringing the Kansas program back to glory.