College basketball rankings: Arizona makes rare surge to No. 1 as Wildcats tack on another prominent win
Tommy Lloyd's Arizona team is on a historic run to open the 2025-26 college basketball season
By
Gary Parrish
•
2 min read
I've been doing the Top 25 And 1 every morning during the season for lots of years, and I can count on one hand how many times I've moved an undefeated team out of the No. 1 spot.
It's rare. I don't like doing it.
But, sometimes I think it's appropriate to reward aggressive non-league scheduling followed by excellence, especially when the alternative is to cling to preseason thoughts that might prove to be accurate but are mostly just preseason thoughts. And I guess that's my way of telling you that I've moved Arizona to No. 1 in Thursday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings after the Wildcats secured another huge victory Wednesday night, specifically a 71-67 win at UConn.
Arizona is now 5-0 with a neutral-court win over Florida, a win in the greater Los Angeles area over UCLA and a road win over UConn. Put another way, Arizona is undefeated and now owns victories over the programs that produced the sport's past three national champions (UConn, Florida) -- plus another over the program that's won more men's basketball titles than any other (UCLA). Put another way, Arizona is undefeated and now owns victories over the teams that were ranked third (Florida), fourth (UConn) and 12th (UCLA) in the preseason AP poll, which makes the Wildcats just the third team in the past 30 years to open a season with at least three of their first five wins coming against top-15 opponents.
Arizona already has wins over Florida, UCLA and UConn; the Wildcats are undeniably college hoops' No. 1 team
Matt Norlander
Credit goes to Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd for being unafraid to put his team in so many high-profile games so early. Credit goes to Arizona's players for meeting the challenge, among them senior guard Jaden Bradley, who finished with a team-high 21 points against UConn and is now averaging a team-best 16.8 points in 29.4 minutes per contest.
"I don't think JB gets enough credit for his work and how much he's improved," Lloyd told CBS Sports' Matt Norlander late Wednesday. "And that's not to say that he wasn't always really good, but he's really worked on his game and honed his game and fixed some weaknesses and accentuated some strengths. He just has a quiet confidence and belief in himself that rubs off on his teammates.
"[He's] just really special."
Arizona jumping from No. 5 to No. 1 in the Top 25 And 1 caused Purdue and Houston to be pushed down one spot each, no fault of their own. The Boilermakers and Cougars are now No. 2 and No. 3. UConn is down to No. 4. And BYU rounds-out the top five after also being pushed down one spot because of Arizona's ascension.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
4
Arizona
2
Illinois
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Jaden Bradley finished with 21 points and three rebounds in Tuesday's 71-67 win at UConn. The Wildcats' next game is Monday against Denver. | 4 | 7-0 |
| 2 |  | Trey Kaufman-Renn finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds in Sunday's 97-79 win over Akron. The Boilermakers' next game is Thursday against Memphis. | 1 | 8-0 |
| 3 |  | Kingston Flemings finished with 22 points and seven assists in Sunday's 73-72 win over Auburn. The Cougars' next game is Thursday against Rider. | 1 | 7-1 |
| 4 |  | Solo Ball missed nine of the 14 shots he attempted in Wednesday's 71-67 loss to Arizona. The Huskies' next game is Sunday against Bryant. | 1 | 7-1 |
| 5 |  | Mihailo Boskovic was 2-of-8 from the field in Saturday's 86-84 loss to UConn. The Cougars' next game is Friday against Wisconsin. | 1 | 7-1 |
| 6 |  | Alex Condon finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Sunday's 82-68 win over Miami. The Gators' next game is Friday against Merrimack. | -- | 5-3 |
| 7 |  | Yaxel Lendeborg finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds in Wednesday's 86-61 win over Middle Tennessee. The Wolverines' next game is Monday against San Diego State. | -- | 7-0 |
| 8 |  | Cameron Boozer finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 78-66 win over Kansas. The Blue Devils' next game is Friday against Niagara. | -- | 9-0 |
| 9 |  | Ryan Conwell finished with 22 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 106-81 win over Ohio. The Cardinals' next game is Friday against Cincinnati. | -- | 7-1 |
| 10 |  | Labaron Philon finished with 24 points and five assists in Wednesday's 90-86 win over Illinois. The Crimson Tide's next game is Monday against Gonzaga. | -- | 6-2 |
| 11 |  | Bryce Hopkins finished with 15 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 93-60 win over William & Mary. The Red Storm's next game is Thursday against Bucknell. | -- | 4-3 |
| 12 |  | Tamin Lipsey finished with 23 points and six rebounds in Monday's 96-57 win over Stonehill. The Cyclones' next game is Monday against St. John's. | 1 | 8-0 |
| 13 |  | Braden Huff finished with 22 points and six rebounds in Monday's 122-50 win over Southern Utah. The Zags' next game is Monday against Alabama. | 1 | 7-1 |
| 14 |  | David Mirkovic missed nine of the 13 shots he attempted in Wednesday's 90-86 loss to Alabaama. The Illini's next game is Saturday against LIU. | 2 | 6-2 |
| 15 |  | Christian Anderson finished with 18 points and seven assists in Friday's 80-63 win over Milwaukee. The Red Raiders' next game is Thursday against Wake Forest. | -- | 6-2 |
| 16 |  | Eric Daiiley Jr. finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 79-48 win over Sacramento State. The Bruins' next game is Friday against Presbyterian. Skyy Clark was 3 of 11 from the field on Friday's 69-65 loss to Arizona. The Bruins' next game is Tuesday against Sacramento State. | -- | 6-2 |
| 17 |  | Jaxon Kohler finished with 20 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 83-66 win over Kentucky. The Spartans' next game is Friday against Detroit Mercy. | -- | 8-0 |
| 18 |  | Nate Bittle finished with 24 points and seven rebounds in Monday's 87-75 win over Oregon State. The Ducks' next game is Monday against Auburn. | -- | 4-4 |
| 19 |  | Maleek Thomas finished with 26 points and three assists in Tuesday's 84-83 win over Winthrop. The Razorbacks' next game is Friday against Jackson State. | -- | 6-2 |
| 20 |  | Caleb Wilson finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday's 73-61 win over Navy. The Tar Heels' next game is Tuesday against St. Bonaventure. | -- | 7-1 |
| 21 |  | Denzel Aberdeen missed seven of the eight field-goal attempts he took in Tuesday's 83-66 loss to Michigan State. The Wildcats' next game is Friday against Loyola Maryland. | -- | 5-3 |
| 22 |  | Nate Ament finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Monday's 91-66 win over Rice. The Vols' next game is Thursday against Tennessee State. | -- | 7-2 |
| 23 |  | KeShawn Murphy finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 112-66 win over Jackson State. The Tigers' next game is Monday against Oregon. | -- | 7-2 |
| 24 |  | John Blackwell finished with 24 points and six rebounds in Monday's 94-69 win over SIU Edwardsville. The Badgers' next game is Friday against BYU. | -- | 6-2 |
| 25 |  | AJ Storr finished with 14 points and two steals in Friday's 82-60 win over Cal State Bakersfield. The Rebels' next game is Tuesday against Austin Peay. | -- | 5-3 |
| 26 |  | Bryson Tiller missed six of the eight shots he attempted in Tuesday's 78-66 loss to Duke. The Jayhawks' next game is Monday against Notre Dame. | -- | 6-3 |
