College basketball’s 7 most disappointing men’s teams in 2026

Sustaining success in college basketball is harder than ever right now. The transfer portal has essentially made every player a free agent at the end of each season, and fundraising for an NIL war chest suddenly feels more important than genuine human connection on the recruiting trail. Pay-for-play is the new standard around the country, and it wrecks any form of continuity for all but the top programs.

Teams can disappoint in college basketball for a variety of reasons. Sometimes the roster mix thrown together in the transfer portal just doesn’t work. Sometimes a key player taking up most of the NIL budget gets injured and leaves their team without an insurance plan. Sometimes your rivals are just better, and there’s nothing you can really do about it.

With March here and the 2026 NCAA tournament around the corner, here’s a look at the most disappointing teams in men’s college basketball for the 2025-26 season.

Oregon Ducks

Oregon’s chances took a huge hit before the season even began when star junior point guard Jackson Shelstad broke his hand in training camp. Shelstad missed the season opener, returned to play the next 12 games, then suffered another hand injury that ended his season. He was expected to be one of the best point guards in college basketball this year coming off a Third-Team All-Big Ten season as a sophomore, and without him, the Ducks immediately looked cooked. Senior big man Nate Bittle has picked up playmaking duties in Shelstad’s absence, but it’s taken him away from where he’s best patrolling the paint on both ends of the floor. As Bittle’s scoring efficiency has suffered without Shelstad, the offense has struggled mightily to score all year. Oregon ranks No. 126 in offensive efficiency so far thanks to a ton of turnovers (18.2 percent turnover rate, No. 277 in America), poor finishing, and terrible outside shooting. The Ducks make just 50.5 percent of their two-pointers (No. 234 in DI) and 32.6 percent of their three-pointers (No. 249). The ball moves, but the shots don’t go in. With Shelstad seeking a medical redshirt, it’s possible the Ducks can rebuild next year, though they will have to do it without Bittle. Head coach Dana Altman has won 20+ games in all 15 of his seasons at Oregon, but that streak will be snapped this year as the team fights to just stay out of the cellar in the Big Ten. This has been one of the most consistent programs in the country, but this season shows that just about everyone in college hoops is susceptible to a down year.

Auburn Tigers

Auburn had a special campaign a year ago by winning the SEC, spending most of the regular season ranked No. 1 in the polls, and then reaching the Final Four. Things were always going to be different this year without All-American big man Johni Broome around, but the Tigers never could have anticipated how much things would change. Despite losing their entire starting lineup from last year, Auburn suffered its biggest loss when head coach Bruce Pearl decided to quit just before the season and hand the job to his son. Steven Pearl wasn’t just the youngest coach in the SEC at 38, he also had never coached anywhere without his father and was only a decade removed from a medical sales career. The younger Pearl has actually produced an excellent offense (No. 12 overall) so far, but the defense ranks only No. 122, and things have gotten ugly in SEC play as of late. Auburn has enough good wins to put itself on the bubble with victories over St. John’s, NC State, Arkansas, at Florida, and Kentucky, but it’s now 6-10 in SEC play and sinking fast. Tahaad Pettiford stunned the country by deciding to bypass the NBA Draft for his sophomore year, but he’s regressed this season against increased defensive attention and may be regretting his decision. Prized D2 transfer Elyjah Freeman has been solid but hasn’t quite lived up to the hype from his biggest believers, while Keyshawn Hall has put up big numbers on offense but also contributes to the team’s defensive shortcomings. Pearl will very likely get another season after signing a five-year deal this summer, and Auburn’s typically deep NIL pockets will help him rebuild this offseason. Even if the Tigers do make the NCAA tournament, this season has clearly been a bust from the start.

UCLA Bruins

There was real optimism for UCLA entering the season. The Bruins started the year at No. 12 in the AP Poll after an offseason that saw them land a star point guard in the transfer portal in Donovan Dent while also retaining their top player in junior forward Eric Dailey. A November loss to Cal showed some early warning signs, and the team just hasn’t found its groove all season against a tough Big Ten schedule. The offense struggles to generate threes or rim attempts, and often settles for tough mid-range looks late in the shot clock. The defense has been picked apart by ball movement all season, and gives up a ton of looks from three. Dent has struggled to adjust to Big Ten life as he’s watched his true shooting percentage dip from 58 percent to 48 percent, while Dailey has dropped nearly 10 percentage points as a three-point shooter. UCLA’s home wins over Illinois and Purdue should get them in the tournament, but this season feels destined to mostly be remembered for Mick Cronin’s odd blow ups. After three consecutive trips to the second weekend of the tournament (including a Final Four) to start his tenure, Cronin has to ask if his heart is still in it, and if so, how he’s going to get this program out of the mud next year.

Baylor Bears

Baylor suffered its biggest loss of this season at the end of last year’s transfer portal window when starting point guard Robert Wright III bolted to BYU for a fat NIL offer. With the loss of Wright, Baylor’s entire rotation was gone from last season, returning 0 percent of minutes from last year. Head coach Scott Drew did his best to rebuild on the fly, and that included landing two likely first-round NBA draft picks in McDonald’s All-American wing Tounde Yessoufou and Tennessee transfer Cam Carr. Baylor’s biggest problems have come on the inside without anyone taller than 6’9, which has killed their defensive rebounding and rim protection. Drew got so desperate that he convinced former NBA draft pick James Nnaji to make a controversial return to school, but he hasn’t really had an impact since joining the team midseason. An 0-3 start in Big 12 play turned into 1-7 and then 4-11. Drew hasn’t been able to recapture the heights of Baylor’s 2021 national championship in the seasons that have followed, but he has at least won a game in the NCAA tournament every season since. The Bears won’t come close to making the dance this year, and Drew will likely again be tasked with rebuilding the majority of the roster, if not quite all of it.

Creighton Bluejays

It’s impossible to replace a program legend like Ryan Kalkbrenner, a three-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year and immediate NBA contributor for the Charlotte Hornets, but it felt like Creighton still gave themselves a chance to succeed this year with a nice transfer portal haul. The Bluejays entered the season at No. 23 in both the preseason AP Poll and Coaches Poll, but they quickly had two major injuries to deal with early in the season. Kalkbrenner’s replacement, Iowa transfer Owen Freeman, tore his meniscus in summer workouts and has barely made an impact this season. Highly-touted sophomore forward Jackson McAndrew also was lost for the year early with a foot injury. The defense has really struggled without anything resembling Kalkbrenner’s rim protection from the last few years, and the offense just doesn’t have the firepower to make up for it. Creighton will enter the Big East tournament below .500 on the year with more losses than wins in conference play. After five straight NCAA tournament appearances, the Bluejays finally had a down year.

Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky reportedly spent $22 million on its roster this season, and expected to be in the national championship picture coming off a Sweet 16 appearance in Mark Pope’s first year as head coach. The Wildcats were hoping Arizona State transfer Jayden Quaintance could still be their best player coming off a torn ACL, but it was clear he didn’t look like the same dominant defensive presence in his short-lived return before being shutdown again. Losing point guard Jaland Lowe for the year to shoulder surgery hurt the team’s halfcourt creation and left them without a real table-setter. It looked like this thing could fall off the rails at certain points of this season, but credit Pope for salvaging enough wins to still make the tournament. It’s just that this offense doesn’t really do anything particularly well, and the defense isn’t dominant enough to keep them in games when the shots aren’t going in. Given the amount they spent on the roster, just making the tournament isn’t anywhere close to good enough for Kentucky.

Marquette Golden Eagles

Shaka Smart doesn’t take transfers, which sounds great when he’s making the NCAA tournament every year, but makes him look like a dinosaur when his season falls apart like it did this season. The Golden Eagles have been dreadful all year, with their best win coming against a Providence team that might fire its coach. Marquette’s offense has been just awful (ranked No. 133) with terrible shooting from all over the floor, highlighted by a 50.3 effective field goal percentage that ranks No. 226 in DI. This team is soft on the interior and has been getting pounded on the glass all season. Freshman point guard Nigel James should be a keeper long-term, and fellow freshman Adrien Stevens looks good too, but Smart really needs to beef up the front court in the transfer portal this year after watching his team get dominated inside all season.