College Basketball 2025-26 (Men's)

[Baz]

The 2025 season begins tomorrow.

College basketball opening day: Schedule, Top 25 rankings, TV information and more

Complete Top 25 schedule for opening day

Men's top 25:

No. 2 Houston vs. Lehigh, 8 p.m. | CBSSN
No. 3 Florida vs. No. 18 Arizona (in Las Vegas), 7 p.m. | TNT/truTV
No. 4 UConn vs. New Haven, 7 p.m. | ESPN+
No. 5 St. John's vs. Quinnipiac, 6:30 p.m. | FS1
No. 7 Michigan vs. Oakland, 8:30 p.m. | FS1
No. 8 BYU vs. Villanova (in Las Vegas), 9:30 p.m. | TNT/truTV
No. 11 Louisville vs. South Carolina State, 9 p.m. | ACC Network
No. 12 UCLA vs. Eastern Washington, 10:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network
No. 14 Arkansas vs. Southern, 7 p.m. | SEC Network
No. 15 Alabama vs. North Dakota, 8 p.m. | SECN+
No. 16 Iowa State vs. FDU, 8 p.m. | ESPN+
No. 17 Illinois vs. Jackson State, 8:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network
No. 18 Tennessee vs. Mercer, 7 p.m. | SECN+
No. 19 Kansas vs. Green Bay, 8 p.m. | ESPN+
No. 20 Auburn vs. Bethune-Cookman, 8 p.m. | SECN+
No. 21 Gonzaga vs. Texas Southern, 9 p.m. | ESPN+
No. 22 Michigan State vs. Colgate, 7 p.m. | Big Ten+
No. 24 Wisconsin vs. Campbell, 8 p.m. | Big Ten+
No. 25 North Carolina vs. Central Arkansas, 7 p.m. | ACC Network

[Baz]

With the 2025-26 college basketball season approaching, Andy Katz has revealed his preseason Power 37 rankings, highlighting the teams best positioned for success this year.

1. Purdue: The return of the Big Ten Player of the Year Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn, plus a rim protector in Daniel Jacobsen, makes the Boilermakers a favorite to win the title.
2. Houston: The Cougars are on a mission to get back to the title game with the return of Milos Uzan, Joseph Tugler and Emanuel Sharp.
3. St. John's: Zuby Ejiofor could be the Big East Player of the Year, and a healthy Bryce Hopkins gives the Red Storm a title team.
4. Michigan: Dusty May loaded up in the portal and has a monster front line in Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara.
5. Florida: The Gators bring back Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, and add Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee to produce a potential repeat champ.
6. UConn: Alex Karaban, Solo Ball and Tarris Reed Jr. give the Huskies enough returning to make a run.
7. Duke: Cam and Cayden Boozer are the freshman stars, but the return of Isaiah Evans, Caleb Foster and Maliq Brown gives the Blue Devils the needed experience.
8. Kentucky: Otega Oweh could be SEC Player of the Year, but the rest of the crew provides enough pop to keep the Wildcats in the mix.
9. Texas Tech: JT Toppin will be the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, and Christian Anderson gives the Red Raiders a 1-2 pop to compete for the Big 12 title.
10. Kansas: Darryn Peterson and Melvin Council Jr., will be one of the best backcourts in the country and enough to get KU back in the title mix.
11. Louisville: Mikel Brown Jr., is a stud and will be one of the best players in the country. Ryan Conwell is a big-time add for the Cardinals.
12. Tennessee: The addition of Ja’Kobi Gillespie from Maryland and freshman Nate Ament’s arrival mean the Vols have a possible SEC title team.
13. UCLA: Love the addition of Donovan Dent, the Mountain West conference player of the year. The Bruins brought back enough scoring to make them a more consistent threat.
14. BYU: The Cougars have immense talent with AJ Dybantsa and Rob Wright. The returnees understand Kevin Young’s system, making this team ready to make a run.
15. Oregon: Oregon has veteran leadership, and if it can close out games late, then this team will be in the mix later in the season.
16. Arizona: Jaden Bradley, a healthy Motiejus Krivas and the addition of Koa Peat will make Arizona tough out.
17. Arkansas: D.J. Wagner and a top newcomer class will put the Razorbacks in the mix for a single-digit seed again.
18. Iowa State: Senior leadership led by Tamin Lipsey and Joshua Jefferson will keep the Cyclones in the chase for the top in the Big 12.
19. Illinois: With its Eastern block arrivals and a core of returnees make Illinois a major factor to be a consistent top-25 team.
20. Alabama: The Tide return enough experience and a healthy Houston Mallette, which make them a serious threat to stay near the top of the SEC.
21. Michigan State: Jeremy Fears and Coen Carr are enough to make the Spartans a regular in the top 25. But the rest of the pieces are classic Tom Izzo contributors.
22. NC State: Darrion Williams, Tre Holloman and Terrance Arceneaux give them enough to be in the mix in the ACC.
23. North Carolina: Caleb Wilson is a star, enough to keep North Carolina in the chase in the ACC.
24. Wisconsin: The Badgers have John Blackwell and Nolan Winter back to give them an NCAA tournament squad.
25. Gonzaga: Graham Ike and Braden Huff will keep the Zags in the chase for a deep run.
26. Ole Miss: AJ Storr could be finally ready to bust out consistently, this time under Chris Beard.
27. Auburn: Steven Pearl got his players to stay after he got the job. Tahaad Pettiford will be an SEC Player of the Year candidate.
28. Texas: Sean Miller will have a gritty bunch in his first year and will be ready to make a mark in the SEC.
29. USC: Rodney Rice and Chad Baker-Mazara give the Trojans a deep run NCAA tournament experience.
30. Ohio State: The Buckeyes will have one of the most experienced backcourts in the country, led by Bruce Thornton and John Mobley Jr.
31. Indiana: The Hoosiers will have a healthy Tucker DeVries to make sure they are relevant in March.
32. Missouri: Love the pickups of Mark Mitchell (Duke) and Sebastian Mack (UCLA) to ensure Mizzou is an NCAA tournament team.
33. Kansas State: PJ Haggerty was an All-American at Memphis. He should be again at Kansas State.
34. San Diego State: Magoon Gwath will be one of the top defenders on a team that prides itself on putting an opposing team’s offense out of sync.
35. Creighton: Josh Dix and Owen Freeman give the Bluejays two of Iowa’s best scorers.
36. Mississippi State: Josh Hubbard is one of the best playmakers in the country and will get the Bulldogs back in the NCAA tournament.
37. Texas A&M: Mackenzie Mgbako didn’t reach his potential at Indiana. He should in College Station.

Under consideration: Clemson, Maryland, Baylor, Miami, Marquette, Iowa, Washington, Georgia Tech, Georgetown, Saint Mary’s, Boise State, UNLV, VCU, Illinois State, Utah State.

[Baz]

#1 Purdue plays tonight!

https://www.foxsports.com/college-basketball/schedule

[Baz]

Two games today.

#1 Houston at #22 Auburn - just underway

Then at 8:30pm Miami at #10 Florida, game played in Jacksonville

Both games on ESPN!

============

RxBenefits Battleground 2k25

On November 16, 2025, Auburn and Houston will face off at Birmingham’s Legacy Arena in a highly anticipated neutral-site rematch. Auburn, fresh off a Final Four appearance in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, where they fell to eventual champion Florida, aims to build on their success. Houston, the 2025 national runner-up, seeks redemption after a narrow 65–63 loss to Florida in the championship game. This matchup not only rekindles a budding rivalry but also features two elite programs poised for another deep postseason run.

[Baz]

For those interested....Auburn's new head coach, Steven Pearl's Wiki bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Pearl

Steven took over when his father Bruce retired last year.

4 point game with 4:14 minutes left!

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Baz

For those interested....Auburn's new head coach, Steven Pearl's Wiki bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Pearl

Steven took over when his father Bruce retired last year.

4 point game with 4:14 minutes left!

Interesting, history hasn’t been kind to sons taking over from their father. But we’ll see!

I’m pretty excited about KSU, their transfers are legit and they have a few good wins to start the year. Haggerty is the real deal and he’s got a solid supporting cast.

[Baz]

#3 UConn and #4 Arizona in a tight one right now on FS1.

Followed by #11 Alabama at #8 Illinois

Lots of other games on!

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Baz

#3 UConn and #4 Arizona in a tight one right now on FS1.

Followed by #11 Alabama at #8 Illinois

Lots of other games on!

Zona and Bama both winners last night.

Tonight #1 Purdue at unranked (1-2) Memphis at the Baha Mar Championship in Nassau. On CBSSN at 6pm ET.

Wake and #15 Texas Tech to follow - both 3-1.

https://bahamarhoops.com/

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Baz

Tonight #1 Purdue at unranked (1-2) Memphis at the Baha Mar Championship in Nassau. On CBSSN at 6pm ET.

Penny Hardaway's Tigers tied with Purdue 59 all w/9m left in the game!

[Baz]

Un-ranked 4-0 Oregon in a dog fight right now with #21 Auburn - TruTV. 51-50 Tigers with 14m left!

Coming up #12 Gonzaga at #8 Bama on TNT!

[Baz]

Big win for Kansas just now over Tennessee in the Players Era Tourney. Kansas ends up in 3rd place and takes home $300K!

[HobieMarty]

I was listening to the end of the Auburn game on the way home from work tonight and man, that was pretty exciting and I am not even a fan. Roll Tide!!!

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[Baz]

On the road and with a hostile crowd, the Gators rallied from down 14 down but ended up losing by 1 point.

Duke stays undefeated.

#4 Duke 67
#15 Florida 66

Go Gators!