Men’s College Basketball Power Conference Rankings 2025-26

Any reactions we have to the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season will be considered premature, given that it only lasts three nights.

What won’t be an overreaction is a first taste of the power conferences.

Last season, we correctly predicted that the SEC would be the best, in terms of strength, number of offers, average ranking – and eventual champion. This year, instead of measuring just NCAA bids and potential rankings, we’re ranking powerhouse conferences based on a single question: Which league is most likely to produce the 2026 national champion?

Given its history this century, the #1 pick might surprise you. Happy hoops!

Note: “Current Offerings” refers to the number of offerings a conference has in the latest Bracketology. “Projected bids” refers to the number of bids a conference could have on Selection Sunday.

5. VAC

Current offers: 5
Projected offers: 6
Average seed: 6.2
Bid percentage: 33.3%

Championship caliber: Duke is a legitimate and obvious national championship contender, but don’t sleep on Louisville. It’s hard to believe the Cardinals were a Quad 4 team just two years ago.

Joey Brackets says: In many ways, the ACC only has one path to go. The conference hasn’t sent at least half of its teams to the NCAA Tournament since 2018, and it hasn’t come close to that benchmark since expanding to 18 members two years ago. But bottom has been hit (we’re sure of it this time!) and a growing number of bubble teams could lead the league to exceed its projections for March.

Game of the year: Duke at Louisville (January 6, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN)

4. Great East

Current offers: 5
Projected offers: 4
Average seed: 4.8
Bid percentage: 36.4%

Championship caliber: If you live in the Northeast, tie yourself to a UConn-St. Neither side attempts to downplay John’s rivalry. Both have rosters good enough to play in April, and both have coaches who have won multiple national championships.

Joey Brackets says: The Big East is so much more fun with a little (a lot?) of friction. Jay Wright and Villanova’s years as the Sara Lee of college basketball (“Nobody Likes Them”) are over. All we need now is Danny Hurley to join Rick Pitino in a Louie Carnesecca sweater at Madison Square Garden. That hype might be hiding the extended NCAA tournament droughts for Nova (three years), Seton Hall (three), Georgetown (four), Butler (five) and, gulp, DePaul (we stopped counting at 20).

Game of the year: UConn at St. John’s (February 6, 8 p.m. ET, Fox)

3. Big 12

Current offers: 8
Projected offers: 8
Average seed: 4.3
Bid percentage: 50.0%

Championship caliber: Strangely, the Big 12 teams most talked about as Final Four contenders or better this season are recent additions (Houston, Arizona and BYU). Kansas and Baylor’s mini-slides, not expansion, led the conference to lose its long-held grip on the top spot in our rankings. If and when Kansas returns to form – which could be this season – watch out.

Joey Brackets says: The final Big 12 games every Monday during conference are my favorite two hours of the week. There’s little, if any, competition, and not much to do other than enjoy cold winter nights in old-school gyms. But the basketball remains exceptional, with the call of Big Monday from Boog Sciambi and Fran Fraschilla.

Game of the year: Houston at Kansas (February 23, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN)

2. SEC

Current offers: 11
Projected offers: 12
Average seed: 6.3
Bid percentage: 75.0%

Championship caliber: Florida’s very reasonable attempt to come back consecutively for the second time this century is enough to put the SEC at the top of our list. Up to a half-dozen others are good at the Final Four (and beyond?). I’m just not sure some are good at “cutting the nets”.

Joey Brackets says: Let’s give final props to the SEC’s parent group of last season’s NCAA bids (a record 14), top seeds (two 1s, two 2s), Final Four teams (two) and, of course, the champion Gators. Going from just three NCAA teams (2016) to 14 out of 16 last season is beyond remarkable. This could also be unique, as the pendulum of power tends to swing both ways.

Game of the year: Florida at Kentucky (March 7, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN)

1. Big Ten

Current offers: 11
Projected offers: 10
Average seed: 5.5
Bid percentage: 55.6%

Championship caliber: It’s obviously too early to really know, but Purdue, Michigan and Illinois certainly look like serious Final Four contenders. And all have the power to win once they get there, especially in Indianapolis, where there should finally be enough juice for the Big Ten to end its 25-year NCAA title drought.

Joey Brackets says: The SEC will have better numbers, but the Big Ten this season might finally trade some quantity for quality at the high end. Purdue cutting down the nets in Indy is the easiest scenario to follow, but I’m sticking with my preseason pick of Michigan. And on opening night, Illinois might have been the most impressive of all.

Game of the year: Illinois at Purdue (January 24, 3 p.m. ET, Fox)