Purdue, Houston lead preseason men’s college basketball Power 37 rankings

With the 2025-26 college basketball season approaching, Andy Katz has revealed his preseason Power 37 rankings, highlighting the teams best positioned for success this year. 

🚨 NEW PRESEASON #Power37 from @TheAndyKatz 👀

1. Purdue2. Houston3. St. John’s4. Michigan5. Florida6. UConn7. Duke8. Kentucky9. Texas Tech10. Kansas pic.twitter.com/uRguFabwdR

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) October 13, 2025

1. Purdue: The return of the Big Ten Player of the Year Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn, plus a rim protector in Daniel Jacobsen, makes the Boilermakers a favorite to win the title. 2. Houston: The Cougars are on a mission to get back to the title game with the return of Milos Uzan, Joseph Tugler and Emanuel Sharp. 3. St. John’s: Zuby Ejiofor could be the Big East Player of the Year, and a healthy Bryce Hopkins gives the Red Storm a title team.4. Michigan: Dusty May loaded up in the portal and has a monster front line in Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara.5. Florida: The Gators bring back Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, and add Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee to produce a potential repeat champ. 6. UConn: Alex Karaban, Solo Ball and Tarris Reed Jr. give the Huskies enough returning to make a run. 

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7. Duke: Cam and Cayden Boozer are the freshman stars, but the return of Isaiah Evans, Caleb Foster and Maliq Brown gives the Blue Devils the needed experience. 8. Kentucky: Otega Oweh could be SEC Player of the Year, but the rest of the crew provides enough pop to keep the Wildcats in the mix. 9. Texas Tech: JT Toppin will be the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, and Christian Anderson gives the Red Raiders a 1-2 pop to compete for the Big 12 title.10. Kansas: Darryn Peterson and Melvin Council Jr., will be one of the best backcourts in the country and enough to get KU back in the title mix. 11. Louisville: Mikel Brown Jr., is a stud and will be one of the best players in the country. Ryan Conwell is a big-time add for the Cardinals.12. Tennessee: The addition of Ja’Kobi Gillespie from Maryland and freshman Nate Ament’s arrival mean the Vols have a possible SEC title team. 13. UCLA: Love the addition of Donovan Dent, the Mountain West conference player of the year. The Bruins brought back enough scoring to make them a more consistent threat. 14. BYU: The Cougars have immense talent with AJ Dybantsa and Rob Wright. The returnees understand Kevin Young’s system, making this team ready to make a run.15. Oregon: Oregon has veteran leadership, and if it can close out games late, then this team will be in the mix later in the season. 16. Arizona: Jaden Bradley, a healthy Motiejus Krivas and the addition of Koa Peat will make Arizona tough out. 17. Arkansas: D.J. Wagner and a top newcomer class will put the Razorbacks in the mix for a single-digit seed again. 

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18. Iowa State: Senior leadership led by Tamin Lipsey and Joshua Jefferson will keep the Cyclones in the chase for the top in the Big 12. 19. Illinois: With its Eastern block arrivals and a core of returnees make Illinois a major factor to be a consistent top-25 team. 20. Alabama: The Tide return enough experience and a healthy Houston Mallette, which make them a serious threat to stay near the top of the SEC. 21. Michigan State: Jeremy Fears and Coen Carr are enough to make the Spartans a regular in the top 25. But the rest of the pieces are classic Tom Izzo contributors. 22. NC State: Darrion Williams, Tre Holloman and Terrance Arceneaux give them enough to be in the mix in the ACC. 23. North Carolina: Caleb Wilson is a star, enough to keep North Carolina in the chase in the ACC. 24. Wisconsin: The Badgers have John Blackwell and Nolan Winter back to give them an NCAA tournament squad. 25. Gonzaga: Graham Ike and Braden Huff will keep the Zags in the chase for a deep run. 26. Ole Miss: AJ Storr could be finally ready to bust out consistently, this time under Chris Beard.  27. Auburn: Steven Pearl got his players to stay after he got the job. Tahaad Pettiford will be an SEC Player of the Year candidate. 28. Texas: Sean Miller will have a gritty bunch in his first year and will be ready to make a mark in the SEC. 29. USC: Rodney Rice and Chad Baker-Mazara give the Trojans a deep run NCAA tournament experience. 

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30. Ohio State: The Buckeyes will have one of the most experienced backcourts in the country, led by Bruce Thornton and John Mobley Jr. 31. Indiana: The Hoosiers will have a healthy Tucker DeVries to make sure they are relevant in March. 32. Missouri: Love the pickups of Mark Mitchell (Duke) and Sebastian Mack (UCLA) to ensure Mizzou is an NCAA tournament team. 33. Kansas State: PJ Haggerty was an All-American at Memphis. He should be again at Kansas State. 34. San Diego State: Magoon Gwath will be one of the top defenders on a team that prides itself on putting an opposing team’s offense out of sync. 35. Creighton: Josh Dix and Owen Freeman give the Bluejays two of Iowa’s best scorers. 36. Mississippi State: Josh Hubbard is one of the best playmakers in the country and will get the Bulldogs back in the NCAA tournament. 37. Texas A&M: Mackenzie Mgbako didn’t reach his potential at Indiana. He should in College Station. 

Under consideration: Clemson, Maryland, Baylor, Miami, Marquette, Iowa, Washington, Georgia Tech, Georgetown, Saint Mary’s, Boise State, UNLV, VCU, Illinois State, Utah State.