Overview

• The Associated Press released its preseason Top 25 for 2025–26, with Purdue at No. 1 for the first time after receiving 35 first-place votes to Houston’s 16.
• Six Big Ten teams made the poll—No. 1 Purdue, No. 7 Michigan, No. 12 UCLA, No. 17 Illinois, No. 22 Michigan State and No. 24 Wisconsin—while six others received votes.
• Iowa did not crack the Top 25 but earned six points among teams receiving votes as the Hawkeyes begin a new era under head coach Ben McCollum.
• Florida opened at No. 3 after last season’s title run, with analysis noting returning frontcourt pieces and key backcourt additions through the transfer portal.
• UConn at No. 4 and St. John’s at No. 5 lead the Big East with Creighton at No. 23, while BYU debuted at No. 8 on the strength of a high-profile transfer class and touted freshman A. J. Dybantsa; blue bloods like Duke (6), Kentucky (9), Kansas (19), Michigan State (22) and North Carolina (25) start lower than usual.