2026-27 SEC preview: Florida is the pick, and GameSim has the Gators over Texas

The SEC media poll starts where the national conversation starts. Florida is first. Texas is second. Arkansas, Tennessee, and Alabama fill out the top five, then Vanderbilt and Kentucky. A year ago the Gators were 27-8 and 16-2 in league play, a No. 1 seed again. Texas was 21-15, reached the Sweet 16 in Sean Miller's first season, and was picked ninth before last year. The jump to second is the poll's real take.

GameSim ran only that game. Neutral site, 20 simulations with each team on the home side, 2027, injuries off. Florida won 28 of the 40. The averages were Florida 72.5, Texas 68.2. One sample was Florida 17-3, 74.0-64.4. The other, with Texas on the home side of the setup, was Florida 11-9, 71-72. The Gators won both. The margin depends on which 20 you look at. The result does not.

Texas announced the poll with the award that explains the top line: Thomas Haugh is the preseason player of the year. Florida brought back Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu, Boogie Fland, and Alex Condon from that No. 1 seed, and Denzel Aberdeen is back in Gainesville after the year at Kentucky. On the Texas side, Matas Vokietaitis made the preseason second team and David Punch, in from TCU, made the third team. The Longhorns also signed five-star forward Marcus Spears Jr. Kentucky, seventh, is the loudest name outside the top six. Milan Momcilovic made the second team and Malachi Moreno the third. The voters still have them looking up at Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, and Vanderbilt.

League play opens Saturday, Jan. 2. The tournament is March 10-14 in Nashville. The media poll's first job was to name a favorite, and both the vote and the 40 simulations land on Florida. Texas is the team they put in the other slot, a year after a .500 SEC season.

The SEC release published the order without point totals. Source: SEC media poll, Oct. 12, as listed by CBS Sports.