College basketball rankings: Jon Scheyer has built another NCAA title contender at Duke

Scheyer has built another talented team as the Blue Devils navigate the offseason

Gary Parrish

Apr 22, 2026

7:30 pm ET

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2 min read

In each of the past three years, Duke's Jon Scheyer has assembled, developed and coached a team good enough to win a national title. It's now clear, on paper at least, that he'll have another one next season.

The Blue Devils added their second top-30 prospect from the transfer-portal on Tuesday when they secured a commitment from John Blackwell, a 6-foot-4 guard with one year of eligibility remaining who averaged 19.1 points and 3.9 rebounds this past season for a Wisconsin team that advanced to the 2026 NCAA Tournament and finished 22nd at BartTorvik.com. Most impressively, Blackwell made 38.9% of the more than seven 3-pointers he attempted per contest.

This development pushed Duke up to No. 3 in Version 10 of the 2026-27 CBS Sports Preseason Top 25 And 1 college basketball rankings, where Florida remains No. 1 followed by No. 2. Michigan. Illinois and UConn, in that order, make up the rest of the top five.

The problem of course, with consistently assembling rosters that on paper seem good enough to win the whole thing is that it becomes a criticism directed at you if you don't actually win the whole thing. And this is where Scheyer kind of finds himself now in his career, still young as he is at just 38 years old. He's had three straight teams finish in the top four at KenPom.com but has only one Final Four to show for it -- and zero national titles. And it doesn't help that his Blue Devils have ended consecutive seasons by blowing double-digit leads against lower-seeded teams.

Do I agree with all of the criticism Scheyer has faced?

No, not really.

But I do understand what it's rooted in and am old enough to remember that Roy Williams, Billy Donovan, Bill Self and John Calipari -- i.e., four men who consistently assembled rosters good enough to win national championships for years but didn't quickly break through and do it -- faced similar questions at different points in their careers about whether they could "win the big one." As you know, they all eventually did -- with Williams ultimately winning three NCAA Tournaments while Donovan and Self got two apiece. And that's among the reasons I've long believed that almost any coach capable of consistently building national-championship-level teams will eventually get the national championship he or she is chasing.

It's usually just a matter of time.

For Scheyer, I think, it probably is just a matter of time.

Top 25 And 1 rankings

Biggest Movers

N. Carolina

Alabama

Teams

Chg

Rcrd

Florida

This ranking is based on the Gators returning six of the top seven scorers -- specifically Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon, Boogie Fland, Reuben Chinyelu, Urban Klavsar and Isaiah Brown -- from a team that finished 27-8 and advanced to the second round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. That core will be joined by a recruiting class highlighted by Kentucky transfer Denzel Aberdeen and 7-foot center Jones Lay.

27-8

Michigan

This ranking is based on the Wolverines returning three of the top five scorers -- specifically Morez Johnson Jr., Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney -- from a team that finished 37-3 and won the 2026 NCAA Tournament. That core will be joined by a recruiting class highlighted by five-star prospect Brandon McCoy Jr., Tennessee transfer J.P. Estrella, and four-star prospects Lincoln Cosby, Quinn Costello and Joseph Hartman.

37-3

Duke

This ranking is based on the Blue Devils returning four of the top six scorers -- specifically Patrick Ngongba II, Caleb Foster, Cayden Boozer and Dame Sarr -- from a team that finished 35-3 and advanced to the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. That core will be joined by a recruiting class highlighted by Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell, Belmont transfer Drew Scharnowski and five-star prospects Cameron Williams, Deron Rippey Jr. and Bryson Howard.

35-3

Illinois

This ranking is based on the Illini returning six of the top nine scorers -- specifically Andrej Stojakovic, David Mirkovich, Tomislav Ivisic, Zvonimir Ivisic, Jake Davis and Brandon Lee -- from a team that finished 28-9 and advanced to the 2026 Final Four. That core will be joined by a recruiting class highlighted by Providence transfer Stefan Vaaks, four-star prospects Quintin Coleman and Lucas Morillo and three-star prospects Ethan Brown and Landon Davis.

28-9

UConn

This ranking is based on the Huskies returning three of the top seven scorers -- specifically Braylon Mullins, Silas Demary and Jayden Ross -- from a team that finished 34-6 and advanced to the championship game of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. That core will be joined by a recruiting class highlighted by Duke transfer Nikolas Khamenia, Seton Hall transfer Najai Hines and four-star prospects Colben Landrew and