College basketball rankings: Donnie Freeman's injury knocks St. John's down in early Top 25 And 1
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- Donnie Freeman suffered a torn Achilles during a noncontact workout and has already had surgery, according to St. John's coach Rick Pitino, ending his season before it began.
- St. John's fell six spots to No. 17 in Version 19 of the CBS Sports 2026-27 preseason Top 25 And 1 — the biggest drop in the rankings — after losing Freeman, a Syracuse transfer who averaged 16.5 points and 7.2 rebounds as a sophomore.
- Dusty May left Michigan for the Dallas Mavericks the day before the opening night of the NBA Draft, prompting a five-spot drop for the reigning NCAA champion Wolverines from No. 3 to No. 8.
- Florida remained No. 1 in the Top 25 And 1, with the projection built on returning six of the Gators' top seven scorers — Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon, Boogie Fland, Rueben Chinyelu, Urban Klavzar and Isaiah Brown — from a team that went 27-8 and was a No. 1 seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
- Michigan will now be coached by Boynton, a detail the writer highlights as proof that being fired at Oklahoma State less than three years ago did not end his career arc.
- Illinois was the biggest upward mover, climbing one spot to No. 3 on the strength of returning six of its top nine scorers from a 28-9 Final Four team.
Why it matters: Two preseason favorites absorbed major blows before games even tipped: St. John's lost a projected starter (16.5 ppg Syracuse transfer) to a torn Achilles, and defending champion Michigan lost head coach Dusty May to the NBA's Mavericks — moves that reshaped the top 10 and left Florida as the consensus No. 1 entering 2026-27.
