Florida is No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, the Coaches poll, and in Thursday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. But, right now, the Gators are not the favorite in the betting markets to win the 2027 NCAA Tournament.
Duke is.
Undeniable talent is the reason.
Just take a look at Adam Finkelstein’s latest 2027 NBA Mock Draft. Patrick Ngongba II is projected ninth. Dame Sarr is projected 13th. Cameron Williams is projected 17th — and he just came off of the Blue Devils’ bench in Monday’s 84-50 season-opening victory over Army.
That’s three projected top-17 picks at Duke.
Beyond that, the Blue Devils have John Blackwell, a 6-foot-5 guard who averaged 19.1 points last season for a Wisconsin team that secured a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Then there’s Cayden Boozer, a five-star prep recruit who started 11 games last season for a Duke team that finished 35-3. Then there’s Caleb Foster, another former five-star who started 30 games for that same Duke team. Then there’s Deron Rippey Jr., who was ranked 12th in the Class of 2026, according to 247Sports. And then there’s Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, the 17-year-old phenom who got 15 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in his first regular-season game in a Duke uniform.
Boumtje Boumtje is so young he won’t even be eligible for the 2027 NBA Draft. He’s also so talented that he’s the favorite to be the first pick in the 2028 NBA Draft.
Add it all up, and, yeah, Duke is loaded. And so, like I told Matt Norlander on Wednesday’s episode of the Eye On College Basketball Podcast, the Blue Devils’ game against Coastal Carolina is the matchup I’m most looking forward to Thursday — partly because the schedule is largely boring, but also because I’m eager to get a second look at the sport’s most-talented roster.
