College basketball rankings: UConn faces Florida in battle of last three NCAA Tournament champions
The Huskies, No. 5 in Tuesday's Top 25 And 1, take on the Gators in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden
By
Gary Parrish
•
1 min read
One of my favorite weird facts connected to college basketball is that every eventual national champion since 2004 was ranked in the top 12 of the sixth Associated Press Top 25 poll of the season.
This is Week 6.
If you're curious, 10 of the 12 teams in Tuesday morning's CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings are the same schools in this week's AP Top 25 Poll; the only differences are the Top 25 And 1 has North Carolina and Arkansas in the top 12 while the AP does not, and the AP has Houston and Louisville in the top 12 while the Top 25 And 1 does not.
Arizona jumps to No. 1 in AP Top 25 over Michigan, Duke; Kentucky drops out of college basketball rankings
Cameron Salerno
So let's stretch it to 14.
Do you think the winner of the 2026 NCAA Tournament will be one of these 14 schools?
- Arizona
- Michigan
- Duke
- Iowa State
- UConn
- BYU
- Purdue
- Gonzaga
- Michigan State
- Alabama
- North Carolina
- Arkansas
- Louisville
- Houston
I know that eliminates my preseason No. 1 St. John's (insert jokes here), but, yeah, I think it's reasonable to assume one of the above 14 teams will win the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
But did you notice that list also excludes Florida?
Yes, the reigning national champions are outside of the top 12 of the AP poll and the Top 25 And 1, largely because the Gators are 5-3 with losses to Arizona, Duke and TCU -- and in possession of zero victories over teams ranked in either the AP poll or the Top 25 And 1. It's been a disappointing start to the season, especially for Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee, who is shooting just 24.7% from the field and 21.1% from 3-point range through his first eight starts at the high-major level.
Florida plays UConn on Tuesday night in the Jimmy V Classic at New York's Madison Square Garden, which obviously presents a nice stage for Lee and the Gators to change some narratives and reestablish themselves as real back-to-back-threats. Tip is scheduled for a little after 9 p.m. ET. UConn is listed as a 4.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Koa Peat finished with 18 points and five assists in Saturday's 97-68 win over Auburn. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Alabama. | -- | 8-0 |
| 2 |  | Morez Johnson Jr. finished with 22 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 101-60 win over Rutgers. The Wolverines' next game is Tuesday against Villanova. | -- | 8-0 |
| 3 |  | Cameron Boozer finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds in Saturday's 66-60 win at Michigan State. The Blue Devils' next game is Dec. 16 against Lipscomb. | -- | 10-0 |
| 4 |  | Milan Momcilovic finished with 20 points and two steals in Saturday's 81-58 win at Purdue. The Cyclones' next game is Thursday against Iowa. | -- | 9-0 |
| 5 |  | Solo Ball finished with 14 points and four rebounds in Friday's 83-59 win over East Texas A&M. The Huskies' next game is Tuesday against Florida. | -- | 8-1 |
| 6 |  | AJ Dybantsa finished with 22 points and five assists in Wednesday's 91-60 win over Cal Baptist. The Cougars' next game is Tuesday against Clemson. | -- | 7-1 |
| 7 |  | Trey Kaufman-Renn missed seven of the eight shots he attempted in Saturday's 81-58 loss to Iowa State. The Boilermakers' next game is Wednesday against Minnesota. | -- | 8-1 |
| 8 |  | Braden Huff finished with 24 points and seven rebounds in Sunday's 109-58 win over North Florida. The Zags' next game is Saturday against UCLA. | -- | 9-1 |
| 9 |  | Jeremy Fears missed each of the 10 shots he attempted in Saturday's 66-60 loss to Duke. The Spartans' next game is Saturday at Penn State. | -- | 8-1 |
| 10 |  | Labaron Philon finished with 20 points and six assists in Sunday's 97-55 win over UTSA. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday against Arizona. | -- | 7-2 |
| 11 |  | Caleb Wilson finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds in Sunday's 81-61 win over Georgetown. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday against USC Upstate. | -- | 8-1 |
| 12 |  | Darius Acuff Jr. finished with 18 points and eight assists in Saturday's 82-58 win over Fresno State. The Razorbacks' next game is Saturday against Texas Tech. | -- | 7-2 |
| 13 |  | Ryan Conwell finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 87-78 win over Indiana. The Cardinals' next game is Saturday against Memphis. | -- | 8-1 |
| 14 |  | Tre White finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds in Sunday's 80-60 win over Missouri. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday at NC State. | -- | 7-3 |
| 15 |  | Kingston Flemings finished with 21 points and eight steals in Saturday's 82-67 win over Florida State. The Cougars' next game is Wednesday against Jackson State. | -- | 8-1 |
| 16 |  | Keaton Wagler finished with 16 points and eight rebounds in Saturday's 75-62 win over Tennessee. The Illini's next game is Tuesday at Ohio State. | -- | 7-2 |
| 17 |  | Christian Anderson finished with 27 points and eight assists in Sunday's 82-58 win over LSU. The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday against Arkansas. | -- | 7-2 |
| 18 |  | Rienk Mast finished with 20 points and five rebounds in Sunday's 71-50 win over Creighton. The Cornhuskers' next game is Wednesday against Wisconsin. | -- | 9-0 |
| 19 |  | Nate Ament missed eight of the 10 shots he attempted in Tuesday's 62-60 loss at Syracuse. The Vols' next game is Saturday against Illinois. | -- | 7-3 |
| 20 |  | Ja'Kobi Gillespie missed 14 of the 20 shots he attempted in Saturday's 75-62 loss to Illinois. The Vols' next game is Dec. 16 against Louisville. | -- | 9-0 |
| 21 |  | Kevin Overton missed seven of the eight shots he attempted in Saturday's 97-68 loss at Arizona. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Chattanooga. | -- | 7-3 |
| 22 |  | Zuby Ejiofor finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 63-58 over Ole Miss. The Red Storm''s next game is Saturday against Iona. | -- | 5-3 |
| 23 |  | Bennett Stirtz finished with 25 points and two steals in Saturday's 83-64 win over Maryland. The Hawkeyes' next game is Thursday at Iowa State. | -- | 8-1 |
| 24 |  | Jacari White finished with 25 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 86-73 win over Dayton. The Cavaliers' next game is Tuesday against Maryland Eastern-Shore. | -- | 8-1 |
| 25 |  | John Blackwell finished with 30 points and three assists in Saturday's 96-76 win over Marquette. The Badgers' next game is Wednesday at Nebraska. | -- | 7-2 |
| 26 |  | Joshua Dent finished with 21 points and five assists in Sunday's 70-61 win over Davidson. The Gaels' next game is Sunday against Boise State. | -- | 9-1 |
