Jay Bilas Releases Top 68 College Basketball Rankings for 2025-26 Season
The 2025-26 college basketball season officially began Monday night following a dramatic offseason filled with coaching changes and Transfer Portal activity. Basketball is back, and the narratives this year are compelling.
Season Storylines
- Can Florida become the second program in a row to win consecutive National Championships?
- Will Kelvin Sampson lead Houston to its first-ever National Championship?
- Can Duke redeem last season’s Final Four disappointment and capture the first title of the Jon Scheyer era?
Purdue Tops the Rankings
Just one game into the season, ESPN analyst Jay Bilas ranked his top 68 teams, placing Purdue at number one in college basketball.
Head coach Matt Painter enters his 21st season leading the Boilermakers, joined by key players including:
- Star point guard Braden Smith
- Sharpshooting guard Fletcher Loyer
- Talented big man Trey Kaufman-Renn
- South Dakota State transfer Oscar Cluff
Purdue is aiming to reach the National Championship Game for the second time in three years.
Strong Season Start
The Boilermakers opened the regular season with a commanding 82-51 victory over Evansville on Tuesday. Fletcher Loyer led the charge, scoring 30 points and hitting 7 of 10 attempts from three-point range.
Purdue has one more warm-up game scheduled against Oakland before traveling to Tuscaloosa for a rematch against No. [opponent missing]. This will revisit last year’s non-conference matchup, which Purdue won 87-78.
Jay Bilas ranked Purdue as the top team just one game into the season.
Author's summary: The 2025-26 college basketball season kicks off with Jay Bilas ranking Purdue as the top team, highlighting big storylines around Florida, Houston, and Duke's championship pursuits.