Houston was No. 1 in the poll released Monday, swapping spots with Purdue by earning three more points overall. The Cougars received 18 first-place votes from a 61-person media panel, and Purdue had 36, with four other teams also getting at least one.
UConn, Duke and Arizona round out the top five in a chaotic poll that saw only four teams hold their positions from the preseason poll, yet no one moved in or out of the poll.
Houston, which lost to Florida in last spring’s national championship game, is No. 1 for the first time since a three-week stint in 2024.
Associated Press Preseason Men’s Top 25
First-place votes in parentheses.
Team Record Pts.
1. Houston (18) 2-0 1462
2. Purdue (36) 2-0 1459
3. UConn (3) 2-0 1361
4. Duke (2) 2-0 1223
5. Arizona 2-0 1204
6. Michigan (1) 1-0 1121
7. BYU 2-0 1111
8. Alabama (1) 2-0 1087
9. Kentucky 2-0 1072
10. Florida 1-1 990
11. Texas Tech 2-0 969
12. Louisville 2-0 856
13. St. John’s 1-1 812
14. Illinois 2-0 610
15. UCLA 2-0 609
16. Iowa State 2-0 605
17. Michigan State 2-0 557
18. North Carolina 2-0 494
19. Gonzaga 2-0 466
20. Tennessee 2-0 456
21. Arkansas 1-1 324
22. Auburn 2-0 207
23. Creighton 1-0 153
24. Wisconsin 2-0 140
25. Kansas 1-1 130