SEC basketball 2026-27 preseason poll and predictions: Alabama, Georgia overrated; LSU, Missouri underrated

Florida is the favorite to win the SEC after earning back-to-back No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament The 2026-27 college basketball season begins in less than a month, which means preseason predictions, polls and accolades are starting to trickle out before the season starts next month. On Monday, the SEC released its preseason poll ahead of the conference's media day this week, and, unsurprisingly, Florida was picked to win the conference. The Gators will be the favorite to win the SEC and the national title this season. And when the preseason AP Top 25 poll is released next week, Florida is expected to occupy the top spot. Florida had an incredible offseason of retention after bringing back four starters (Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu, Boogie Fland and Alex Condon) from a team that earned a No.

1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. While Florida is the overwhelming favorite, other teams in the conference are expected to make noise. Among them is Texas, which was picked to finish No. 2 in the preseason SEC poll. The Longhorns reached the Sweet 16 in Sean Miller's first season with the program and are expected to open the season ranked somewhere inside the top 10 of the AP poll. Arkansas, Tennessee and Alabama rounded out the top five of