Purdue is ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press preseason top 25 college basketball poll for the first time.
The Boilermakers earned 35 of 61 first-place votes to top Monday's poll to begin the 2025-26 season. That put Matt Painter's team ahead of the two teams that played in the NCAA title game last season, with runner-up Houston in second place and defending champion Florida in third.
“We're obviously excited to start the season and being ranked No. 1 in the preseason is a great indicator of what we think this team can accomplish,” Painter said. “But the goal is to be number one at the end of the year. We're delighted that people think so highly of our team, but there's a long way to go and a lot of work to do to reach that goal in April.”
Purdue began a season ranked No. 2 once before, in 1987-88 under Gene Keady.
It's another milestone for Painter, the former Keady player who has built his own successful program that is still seeking its NCAA title entering its 21st season. Purdue had never been ranked No. 1 in any AP poll before the 2021-22 season, which marked the first of three consecutive seasons in which the Boilermakers reached the top. The last was during the 2023-24 season behind two-time AP National Player of the Year Zach Edey in a run to the national title game.
The Boilermakers reached last year's Sweet 16 before falling to Houston on a last-second basket, but return a first-team AP All-American in point guard Braden Smith, leading scorer Trey Kaufman-Renn (20.1 points per game) and senior guard Fletcher Loyer.
The top level
Kelvin Sampson's Cougars earned 16 first-place votes to match the program's best preseason AP ranking after reaching the finals last season. The other No. 2 appearance was by the 1967-68 team coached by Elvin Hayes.
Todd Golden's Gators earned eight first-place votes in their highest preseason ranking since they last entered a season as reigning champions in 2006-07, the start of a run toward a second straight title.
UConn was next at No. 4 and earned the remaining two first-place votes. St. John's was fifth, with Rick Pitino's Red Storm surpassing the program's previous best ranking in a preseason AP poll (No. 7 in 1984-85).
Duke was next at No. 6, followed by Michigan, BYU (which landed the nation's No. 1 recruit in AJ Dybantsa), Kentucky and Texas Tech to round out the top 10.
Quick transitions
It didn't take long for Pat Kelsey to get Louisville back among the national elite, with the Cardinals checking in at 11th after a 27-win season to start his tenure. The Cardinals were 12-52 in the two seasons before his arrival.
Louisville is one of five programs with a second-year coach in the preseason poll, joining Michigan, BYU, Kentucky and No. 14 Arkansas under John Calipari.
Lower Jayhawks
Kansas was ranked 19th, the lowest preseason ranking for Bill Self's Jayhawks since they started 24th in the 2008-09 season as the reigning national champion. Kansas had been outside the top 10 just once since that year (No. 13 in 2011-12) while starting at No. 1 in 2019-20, as well as in each of the last two seasons in that stretch.
Pearl's debut.
Auburn opens at No. 20 entering its first season since coach Bruce Pearl's unexpected retirement following last season's Final Four.
Pearl stepped aside last month after 11 seasons, prompting a transition to his 38-year-old son, Steven, who rose on his father's staff during the elder Pearl's tenure at Auburn but has never been a head coach or coached anywhere else in college.
Conference surveillance
The Southeastern Conference, Big Ten and Big 12 each had six teams qualified to represent 72% of the field. The Atlantic Coast Conference and Big East were next with three each, while the West Coast Conference had one with No. 21 Gonzaga. The Big 12 was the only league in that group to have three teams in the top 10.
Watch list
Will Wade's arrival at NC State and subsequent roster shakeup has the Wolfpack as the first team out of the poll, sitting just three points behind 25th-ranked rival North Carolina in the ACC. Oregon is on the prowl as it enters its 16th year under coach Dana Altman.
