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Two shameless plugs: A cool read from @TriumphBooks and a silent version of me from @BobbleheadHall. One is actual size... 🏀🏀
Must check this out! @PaintBasketball A No. 1 seed in every respect!!
Joe Lunardi retweeted
ESPN Digital & Social had its best month EVER in September
✅ 236.5M unique fans
✅ ESPN Fantasy App: best month ever, up 44% YoY, over double the nearest competitor
✅ ESPN Social: 617M engagements (20.6M/day)
More: bit.ly/4A4SBnm
Joe Lunardi retweeted
Which conference has the best shot at producing this year's national champion? 🏆👀
@ESPNLunardi ranks the top six men's college basketball conferences as the 2026-27 season gets underway. spr.ly/6018BHLoxm
Yes!
It is SO great to see and hear @PhonzLovesHoops back on @espn!!
Sounding GREAT next to the outstanding @MikeMonaco_ ! 🏀🗑️
Random thoughts from a whirlwind Opening Day/Night:
• Only 66 teams were idle (including Notre Dame and Villanova, who played Sunday).
• Among power conferences, the SEC still has half its teams waiting to take the floor. Its first eight to play went 7-1, with Oklahoma suffering not just the only loss in the league but also the worst loss in America (a buy game to No. 341 East Texas A&M).
• Every Big East member has played its opener (10-1 record), with only Villanova taking a loss.
• Among just a handful of true road victories nationwide, the most notable were posted by Miami-OH (at James Madison), Charlotte (at Indiana St) and Davidson (at Washington St).
• In its first game in 25 years without Randy Bennett on the bench, Saint Mary's was outplayed for 38 minutes on its home floor by Illinois State, but found a way to win in overtime, 90-85. Mickey McConnell starts 1-0 for the Gaels and has already exceeded the number of 90-point games in Bennett's career (just kidding on that one...).
• If Oklahoma suffered the worst loss of the day, Memphis posted the best win (knocking off Iowa State in Sioux Falls, S.D.). That's exactly the kind of results the American needs to regain multibid status in the NCAA tournament.
• Lipscomb, likely the top challenger to Queens in the Atlantic Sun, will play a back-to-back tonight at Iowa. The Bisons went down as favorites on Monday at SEMO and will travel 361 miles to Iowa City for what would be an unwelcome 0-2 start.
• If we posted a new bracket today, UConn would bump Arizona for the fourth No. 1 seed (that's for you Lem!).
👏
Huge credit to @TheFieldOf68 for the opening 24-hour marathon event, this is how we should be starting every college basketball season.
Great spotlight for some fantastic mid-major programs.
Joe Lunardi retweeted
To start, picks and predictions from me, @MedcalfByESPN, @ESPNLunardi and @Neil_Paine:
-- Final Four, All-American teams and award picks
-- Winners for every single conference
-- Breakout players, darkhorse teams, potential disappointments
espn.com/mens-college-basket…
👏
ESPN's #NCAAMBB coverage tips off Nov. 2 with 4,000+ games in '26-'27
🏀 Featuring 24 of AP Preseason Top 25
🏀 Signature events return, plus the addition of @Players_Era
🏀 18 ranked matchups in Nov. & Dec.
Schedule: bit.ly/3UOc4d6
espn.com/espn/feature/story/… 🏀🏀 Three seasons ago, Connecticut was the dominant team in college basketball and won a second straight national championship.
Two seasons ago, Florida emerged as the best team by February and won 12 of its final 13 games on the way to the NCAA title.
Last season, Michigan revived the UConn script and dominated from start to finish to cut down the nets.
This season? So far, it feels a lot more unpredictably normal. Florida is the consensus preseason No. 1 team, but not in a way that screams national champion with any certainty. At least a half dozen other teams could be just as good by March -- if not better -- albeit after a bit more seasoning.
All of which has me circling back to Illinois, which has produced Elite Eight and Final Four appearances over the past three campaigns. Star forward David Mirkovic still being in a boot as of this update is concerning, but the upcoming marathon favors patience, balance and depth.
The Illini should have it all when it matters most.
espn.com/espn/feature/story/… 🏀🏀 The return and (temporarily) reinstated eligibility of veteran guard Denzel Aberdeen further cements the Florida Gators as a clear choice for the nation's preseason No. 1 team.
The Gators were sitting pretty even without Aberdeen, returning four starters from a second straight No. 1 seed roster, but they can now fill the final spot with their top backcourt reserve from the 2025 national title year.
It's hard not to forget the Gators falling to Iowa in the 2026 second round, but it's harder to remember how dominant they were winning a loaded SEC by three full games last season.
Should Aberdeen's temporary injunction against the NCAA stand, these Gators can be every bit as good as the 2025 champions, and their quest for a second title in three years is every bit as realistic.
