Preseason human polls and analytics disagree on several top college basketball teams

Preseason college basketball rankings show clear disagreements between human voters and analytics, affecting where teams enter the 2026-27 season and how they are perceived nationally.

Fox News/Outkick columnist Danny Z wrote on Nov. 4, 2026, that comparisons using the preseason AP Top 25, the Coaches Poll and two analytics models — KenPom and TeamRankings — from the morning of Nov. 1 reveal several notable divergences.

Kansas is a prominent example: the Jayhawks sit at No. 17 in the AP Poll and tied for 18th in the Coaches Poll, while KenPom ranks Kansas fifth and TeamRankings sixth.

USC drew opposite treatment: both human polls placed the Trojans in the Top 25 (AP 21st, Coaches 22nd), while KenPom had USC 37th and TeamRankings 40th.

Tennessee is another contrast. The Volunteers are eighth in the AP and ninth in the Coaches Poll, but KenPom ranks them 22nd and TeamRankings 18th.

Danny Z’s column lists additional discrepancies: Iowa State (AP 18th, Coaches tied 14th; KenPom 6th, TeamRankings 11th), Alabama (AP 20th, Coaches tied 18th; KenPom 9th, TeamRankings 16th) and Houston (KenPom 3rd, TeamRankings 7th; AP 10th, Coaches 8th).

Other teams highlighted include Arkansas (AP 12th, Coaches 13th; KenPom 19th, TeamRankings 25th), Vanderbilt (KenPom 12th; AP 24th, Coaches 21st), St. John’s (AP 13th, Coaches tied 14th; KenPom 21st, TeamRankings 17th) and Nebraska (KenPom 15th, TeamRankings 22nd; effectively 27th in the AP and 26th in the Coaches Poll).

The column notes that the comparisons use the preseason AP and Coaches polls and both analytics models’ ratings from the morning of Nov. 1, before the season began, and says the author will revisit these starting points as the season develops to see which approach better projects outcomes.

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