College basketball rankings: Purdue earns No. 1 spot in preseason AP Top 25 poll ahead of Houston, Florida

Purdue is ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 men's basketball poll released Monday after earning 35 of a possible 61 first-place votes. It marks the first time in program history Purdue is No. 1 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll.

It's the fifth time in as many calendar years the Boilermakers, who return All-American guard Braden Smith and All-Big Ten forward Trey Kaufman-Renn from a team that won 24 games last season, have ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. They last held the top spot in January 2024 for a two-week stint before going on to finish as the national runner-up.

Each of the now 14 times Purdue has ranked No. 1 in school history have come under coach Matt Painter, who first led them to a No. 1 ranking in December 2021. That unprecedented success has come during what has been one of the most successful stints in program history, with Purdue's 134 wins over the last five seasons tied for the fourth-most among all college basketball teams.

Preseason No. 1 teams have struggled in recent years to meet lofty expectations, though: The last two preseason No. 1 teams (Kansas) failed to make the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, and the 2022-23 preseason No. 1 team (North Carolina) became the first-ever to miss the NCAA Tournament entirely.

In total, four teams -- Purdue, Houston, Florida and UConn, which are ranked Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively -- earned at least one first-place vote. Houston earned the second-most with 16 while Florida, the reigning national champion, earned the third-most with eight. UConn received two first-place votes.

Below is the preseason AP Top 25 along with takeaways from the poll.

Preseason AP Top 25

1. Purdue (35)2. Houston (16)3. Florida (8)4. UConn (2)5. St. John's 6. Duke 7. Michigan 8. BYU 9. Kentucky 10. Texas Tech 11. Louisville 12. UCLA 13. Arizona 14. Arkansas 15. Alabama 16. Iowa State 17. Illinois 18. Tennessee 19. Kansas 20. Auburn 21. Gonzaga 22. Michigan State 23. Creighton 24. Wisconsin 25. North Carolina Others receiving votes: NC State 101, Oregon 98, San Diego St. 74, Texas 35, Ohio St. 23, Kansas St 13, Mississippi 11, Southern Cal 10, Missouri 8, Washington 7, Vanderbilt 7, Iowa 6, Boise St. 4, Mississippi St. 3, VCU 2, Virginia 2, Saint Mary's 2, Indiana 1, Oklahoma 1, Baylor 1.

Purdue the top dog

Coming off a Sweet 16 appearance last season that ended in a loss to eventual national runner-up Houston, Purdue owns its highest preseason ranking and bests its previous record set in the 1987-88 preseason when it was No. 1 under coach Gene Keady.

"We are obviously excited to get the season going and being ranked No. 1 in the preseason is a great indicator of what we feel this team can accomplish," Painter told the AP. "But the goal is to be No. 1 at the end of the year. We're thrilled that people think this highly of our team, but there is a long ways to go and a lot of work to do to reach that goal in April."

Preseason No. 1 struggles

Over the last 10 full seasons, there have been more first-weekend NCAA Tournament losses by a preseason No. 1 team (four) than Final Four appearances (three). During that stretch there have also been two national runner-ups – Gonzaga in 2020-21 and North Carolina in 2015-16 – and zero national champions.

The last preseason No. 1 team to win the national title was North Carolina in 2008-09.

Still, preseason No. 1 teams have largely succeeded, even if it hasn't directly correlated to championships. Since that UNC team in 2008-09, preseason No. 1s have averaged 28.4 wins and 7.4 losses. Three of those teams have finished as national runner-up, and six have won 30 or more games.

Season	Team	Final record	NCAA Tournament finish
2025-26	Purdue	TBD	TBD
2024-25	Kansas	21-13	First round loss
2023-24	Kansas	23-11	Second round loss
2022-23	North Carolina	20-13	Missed NCAA Tournament
2021-22	Gonzaga	28-4	Sweet 16 loss
2020-21	Gonzaga	31-1	National runner-up
2019-20	Michigan State	22-9	Covid - no NCAA Tournament
2018-19	Kansas	26-10	Second round loss
2017-18	Duke	29-8	Elite Eight loss
2016-17	Duke	28-9	Second round loss
2015-16	North Carolina	33-7	National runner-up
2014-15	Kentucky	38-1	Final Four loss
2013-14	Kentucky	29-11	National runner-up
2012-13	Indiana	29-7	Sweet 16 loss
2011-12	North Carolina	32-6	Elite Eight loss
2010-11	Duke	32-5	Sweet 16 loss
2009-10	Kansas	33-3	Second round loss
2008-09	North Carolina	34-4	National champions

Houston hot on Purdue's tail

With 16 first-place votes and a No. 2 ranking, Houston matches a program record for its highest preseason standing in the AP Top 25, tying its preseason No. 2 ranking set in 1967-68 on a team led by Elvin Hayes. (In that era, the AP poll consisted of just 10 teams before later expanding to 25 in the 1980s.)

Houston set a program record with 35 wins last season and finished as the national runner-up to Florida.

Reigning champion Florida leads SEC

The SEC's record-setting 2024-25 season that saw its member base earn 14 NCAA Tournament bids and culminated with Florida's national championship is off to a hot start for its encore. The SEC has six teams in the AP poll, which is tied for the most with the Big 12 and Big Ten.

Florida leads that group with a No. 3 ranking, and Kentucky is also in the top 10 at No. 9.

Arkansas (No. 14), Alabama (No. 15), Tennessee (No. 18) and Auburn (No. 20) round out the SEC's representation.