Purdue Boilermakers Ranked No. 1 in Preseason Poll
For the first time ever, the Purdue Boilermakers start the college basketball season as the top team in the nation.
Under the leadership of Matt Painter, the team, which fell short of reaching the Sweet 16 last season but had a run to the national championship game two years ago, secured 35 out of 61 first-place votes in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll released on Monday.
This marks Purdue’s 14th time being ranked No. 1, all occurring during Painter’s tenure.
“We’re definitely excited to kick off the season, and being ranked No. 1 in the preseason is a good sign of what we believe this team can achieve,” Painter commented in an interview. “But really, the ultimate goal is to be number one at the end of the season. While it’s great that others see our potential, there’s a long journey ahead and plenty of hard work to reach that April milestone.”
However, being ranked No. 1 in preseason hasn’t been easy for teams lately. For instance, Kansas held that ranking last year but couldn’t get past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. The year before, North Carolina made history by becoming the first preseason No. 1 to be knocked out of the tournament altogether.
The last time a preseason No. 1 team in the Associated Press poll had success? That was back in 2008-09, when Tyler Hansbrough guided UNC to victory.
Houston, which defeated Purdue in the Sweet 16 and later lost in the championship game, received 16 first-place votes, landing them in second place. Other teams that garnered first-place votes included the reigning national champions, Florida, with eight votes, and UW, which received two. Notably, Rick Pitino’s St. John’s team made the preseason top five.
Here’s the full list of the 2025-26 Preseason AP Top 25:
- Purdue (35)
- Houston (16)
- Florida (8)
- Yukon (2)
- St. John’s
- Duke
- Michigan
- BYU
- Kentucky
- Texas Tech University
- Louisville
- UCLA
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Alabama
- Iowa
- Illinois
- Tennessee
- Kansas
- Auburn
- Gonzaga
- Michigan State University
- Clayton
- Wisconsin
- North Carolina
Other teams that received votes: North Carolina 101, Oregon 98, San Diego St. 74, Texas 35, Ohio St. 23, Kansas St. 13, Mississippi 11, Southern California 10, Missouri 8, Washington 7, Vanderbilt 7, Iowa 6, Boise St. 4, Mississippi St. 3, VCU 2, Virginia 2, St. Mary’s 2, Indiana 1, Oklahoma 1, Baylor 1.
