Arizona men’s basketball pulls a top-5 ranking in both preseason polls
With Caleb Holt, Motiejus Krivas and Ivan Kharchenkov leading the way, the Arizona Wildcats have top-five expectations heading into the 2026-27 season.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd (Jeremy Schnell/Arizona Sports)
(Jeremy Schnell/Arizona Sports)
The Arizona Wildcats will follow their 2026 run to the Final Four with a preseason ranking in the top two preseason polls.
Tommy Lloyd’s team ranks No. 5 in the The Associated Press Top 25 rankings and No. 4 in the USA Today Coaches poll. The Wildcats open the season Nov. 2 against UCLA in Las Vegas and were picked by media members to win the Big 12.
Florida will start the men’s college basketball season where it ended it two seasons ago: No. 1.
Both polls have the Gators followed by Duke and Illinois, while the UConn Huskies are No. 4 in the AP rankings but flip-flop with Arizona in the USA Today poll.
The Grand Canyon Antelopes receive two points for top-25 consideration in the AP rankings.
2026-27 AP preseason men’s basketball rankings
| Rank | School (first-place votes) | Pts | Prv |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida (47) | 1461 | 1 |
| 2 | Duke (10) | 1411 | 2 |
| 3 | Illinois (2) | 1342 | 3 |
| 4 | UConn | 1241 | 4 |
| 5 | Arizona | 1214 | 5 |
| 6 | Michigan State | 1203 | 6 |
| 7 | Texas | 1040 | 7 |
| 8 | Tennessee | 932 | 8 |
| 9 | Virginia | 874 | 9 |
| 10 | Houston | 829 | 10 |
| 11 | Louisville | 822 | 11 |
| 12 | Arkansas | 760 | 12 |
| 13 | St. John’s | 669 | 13 |
| 14 | Miami (FL) | 650 | 14 |
| 15 | Gonzaga | 637 | 15 |
| 16 | Michigan | 605 | 16 |
| 17 | Kansas | 504 | 17 |
| 18 | Iowa State | 475 | 18 |
| 19 | Texas Tech | 466 | 19 |
| 20 | Alabama | 374 | 20 |
| 21 | USC | 306 | 21 |
| 22 | UCLA | 250 | 22 |
| 23 | Kentucky | 243 | 23 |
| 24 | Vanderbilt | 241 | 24 |
| 25 | BYU | 179 | 25 |
| Others receiving votes: Missouri 167, Nebraska 70, Purdue 53, Ohio State 39, North Carolina 20, TCU 17, Saint Louis 13, VCU 12, Iowa 12, Virginia Tech 10, Indiana 8, Texas A&M 6, Villanova 6, Auburn 4, Marquette 3, Nevada 2, Grand Canyon 2, Utah State 2, Santa Clara 1 | |||
2026-27 USA Today Coaches preseason men’s basketball rankings
| Rank | School (record) | Points | Last week’s rank | First-place votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida (27-8) | 732 | 9 | 20 |
| 2 | Duke (35-3) | 725 | 4 | 8 |
| 3 | Illinois (28-9) | 683 | 5 | 2 |
| 4 | Arizona (36-3) | 634 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | Connecticut (34-6) | 612 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | Michigan State (27-8) | 570 | 11 | 0 |
| 7 | Texas (21-15) | 527 | 24 | 0 |
| 8 | Houston (30-7) | 486 | 6 | 0 |
| 9 | Tennessee (25-12) | 436 | 12 | 0 |
| 10 | Virginia (30-6) | 409 | 15 | 0 |
| 11 | Louisville (24-11) | 369 | 23 | 0 |
| 12 | Gonzaga (31-4) | 361 | 18 | 0 |
| 13 | Arkansas (28-9) | 345 | 13 | 0 |
| 14 | St. John’s (30-7) | 316 | 10 | 0 |
| 15 | Iowa State (29-8) | 316 | 8 | 0 |
| 16 | Texas Tech (23-11) | 314 | 21 | 0 |
| 17 | Miami (Fla.) (26-9) | 292 | 22 | 0 |
| 18 | Alabama (25-10) | 286 | 16 | 0 |
| 19 | Kansas (24-11) | 286 | 20 | 0 |
| 20 | Michigan (37-3) | 219 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | Vanderbilt (27-9) | 164 | 17 | 0 |
| 22 | Southern California (18-14) | 103 | NR | 0 |
| 23 | Kentucky (22-14) | 100 | NR | 0 |
| 24 | Purdue (30-9) | 83 | 7 | 0 |
| 25 | Brigham Young (23-12) | 76 | NR | 0 |
| Others receiving votes: Nebraska (28-7) 66; UCLA (24-12) 64; Missouri (20-13) 60; Ohio State (21-13) 31; North Carolina (24-9) 24; Texas A&M (22-12) 19; Villanova (24-9) 14; Indiana (18-14) 9; Wisconsin (24-11) 5; Saint Louis (29-6) 4; Cincinnati (18-15) 4; West Virginia (21-14) 2; Creighton (16-18) 2; Maryland (12-21) 1; Auburn (22-16) 1. | ||||
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