Preseason Basketball Tiers Stall as Court Rulings Loom Over Rosters
ESPN analysts split 75 teams into 11 groups, with several rosters waiting on eligibility decisions before the season opens.
By Emmanuel Faure ·
College basketball's preseason forecasting has shifted from ranking teams to sorting them by potential court outcomes, a calculation that could reshape betting markets before the first tip-off.
On Oct. 26, ESPN's Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf released a tiered breakdown of 75 programs across 11 categories. The list places Florida, Duke and Illinois in a top tier of title favorites. It creates a separate category for teams whose players remain in eligibility limbo.
The tier list arrives with the season about a week away. Hundreds of players still lack a definitive answer on their eligibility status, according to Borzello.
The offseason began with players seeking a fifth year of competition through lawsuits filed across the country. Courts have issued injunctions that have cleared some athletes to play while other cases remain pending. Denzel Aberdeen, who spent last year at Kentucky, is currently eligible after an injunction, though his status for Florida remains unsettled. Trey Kaufman-Renn received a court injunction allowing him a sixth year at Kansas.
Rulings have moved in both directions. Darius Acuff Jr. departed Arkansas, and Michigan State lost its frontcourt of Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper. Michigan has replaced its coaching staff and lost three lottery picks since winning the 2026 national title, with Mike Boynton Jr. taking over.
The tier containing Arizona, UConn, Texas, Michigan State, Tennessee, Virginia and Arkansas sits below the title group. A separate tier holds Kansas, Louisville, Missouri, Miami, Kentucky, Michigan, Alabama, USC, Vanderbilt, UCLA and Houston, with eligibility questions attached to several of those rosters.
The tier covering teams awaiting eligibility rulings includes Texas Tech, St. John's, Gonzaga, BYU, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and LSU. Texas Tech awaits decisions on Darrion Williams, Donovan Atwell and Jamichael Stillwell. St. John's has three players awaiting court decisions after Quinn Ellis was cleared to play.
The season opens in early November. Court dates stretch into 2027, with Donovan Atwell's trial not scheduled until June.
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Source: ESPN
