Four Cherry Hill High School East students have strong opinions about the 2026-27 men's college basketball season. They aren't afraid to go against the grain.
In a survey published Oct. 22 by Eastside, the school's student newspaper, classmates shared their picks for contenders and pretenders as the season tips off. The consensus: Duke and Villanova are undervalued, and some big-name programs won't live up to the hype.
Drew Ritigstein, a Cherry Hill East student in the Class of 2030, likes Duke's chances after the Blue Devils went 35-3 last season and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Duke returns four key players and added Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell, according to CBS Sports. The Blue Devils open the preseason ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25 behind Florida.
"Duke looks like they could be one of the top teams this season. I'm not really buying into Tennessee, though," Ritigstein told Eastside.
Daniel Shahar, also Class of 2030, thinks the Big East's Villanova Wildcats deserve more attention. Head coach Kevin Willard returns Tyler Perkins, a preseason all-conference first-team selection who averaged 13.7 points per game last season, according to a Reuters report. Villanova was voted third in the Big East preseason coaches' poll behind UConn and St. John's.
Shahar told Eastside he believes Villanova is being overlooked while UConn gets too much attention.
In the Big Ten, classmate Zach Wallach sees Nebraska as a sleeper. The Cornhuskers finished 28-7 in 2025-26, a school record for wins, and reached the program's first Sweet 16, according to Nebraska athletics. Nebraska received votes in the preseason AP poll but fell outside the Top 25.
Wallach told Eastside he doesn't think No. 23 Kentucky will live up to expectations.
A fourth student, Adam Sauter, backed No. 1 Florida but expressed doubt about No. 12 Arkansas and its young roster. Florida earned 47 of 59 first-place votes in the preseason AP poll, its first No. 1 preseason ranking since 2006, according to CBS Sports.
The student predictions, written by Eastside reporter Ari Miller, capture a slice of hoops culture at one of South Jersey's largest high schools. Villanova opens Nov. 1 against Notre Dame in Rome.
