As the 2025-26 college basketball season tips off this Monday, November 3, the Purdue Boilermakers sit atop both the AP Preseason Top 25 and the early national championship futures market.
Fresh off a dominant preseason poll performance with 35 first-place votes, Purdue enters the campaign as +900 favorites to cut down the nets in April. Houston (+1000) and Duke (+1100) round out the top tier, while defending champ UConn lurks at +1400 despite a No. 4 ranking.
With conference realignment shaking up the landscape and a loaded transfer portal reshaping rosters, this year’s March Madness race is wide open from the jump.
AP Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Preseason Rankings
2025-26 Season • All teams 0-0
| RK | Team | PTS | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ★ Purdue (35) | 1,485 | — |
| 2 | ✩ Houston (16) | 1,459 | — |
| 3 | ◆ Florida (8) | 1,382 | — |
| 4 | UConn (2) | 1,299 | — |
| 5 | St. John’s | 1,203 | — |
| 6 | Duke | 1,123 | — |
| 7 | Michigan | 1,084 | — |
| 8 | BYU | 1,078 | — |
| 9 | Kentucky | 1,056 | — |
| 10 | Texas Tech | 1,015 | — |
| 11 | Louisville | 966 | — |
| 12 | UCLA | 741 | — |
| 13 | Arizona | 715 | — |
| 14 | Arkansas | 695 | — |
| 15 | Alabama | 620 | — |
| 16 | Iowa State | 616 | — |
| 17 | Illinois | 567 | — |
| 18 | Tennessee | 462 | — |
| 19 | Kansas | 453 | — |
| 20 | Auburn | 424 | — |
| 21 | Gonzaga | 387 | — |
| 22 | Michigan State | 188 | — |
| 23 | Creighton | 158 | — |
| 24 | Wisconsin | 136 | — |
| 25 | North Carolina | 104 | — |
Others receiving votes:
NC State 101, Oregon 98, San Diego State 74, Texas 35, Ohio State 23, Kansas State 13, Ole Miss 11, USC 10, Missouri 8, Washington 7, Vanderbilt 7, Iowa 6, Boise State 4, Mississippi State 3, VCU 2, Saint Mary’s 2, Virginia 2, Baylor 1, Oklahoma 1, Indiana 1
Preseason poll • First-place votes in parentheses • All records 0-0
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