Jay Bilas unveils Top 68 college basketball rankings as 2025-26 season starts

After an offseason full of coaching changes and intense Transfer Portal activity, the 2025–26 college basketball season officially tipped off Monday night. Excitement is high as teams begin their campaigns for glory.

Major Season Storylines

Can Florida become only the second program to repeat as National Champions?
Will Kelvin Sampson finally guide Houston to its first-ever National Championship?
Can Duke recover from its previous Final Four collapse to capture the first title of the Jon Scheyer era?

Jay Bilas’ Top 68 Rankings

Just one game into the season, ESPN analyst Jay Bilas released his Top 68 rankings for the nation’s best college basketball teams. At the top of his list stands Purdue, labeled as the premier team entering 2025–26.

Purdue Leads the Pack

Head coach Matt Painter begins his 21st season at the helm, returning with a core group of talented players including point guard Braden Smith, sharpshooter Fletcher Loyer, forward Trey Kaufman-Renn, and South Dakota State transfer Oscar Cluff. The Boilermakers look determined to return to the National Championship Game for the second time in three years.

Purdue opened the regular season with a dominant 82–51 victory over Evansville on Tuesday. Fletcher Loyer led the team with 30 points, hitting seven of ten shots from beyond the arc.

The team has one more non-conference matchup against Oakland before heading to Tuscaloosa for a rematch of last season’s meeting, which Purdue won 87–78.

Author’s Summary

Purdue sits atop Jay Bilas’ 2025–26 preseason rankings, led by veterans and fresh talent, aiming to complete an unfinished championship mission.

On3 — 2025-11-07