NCAA Basketball: Preseason top 25 power rankings for 2025-26 season

From Florida’s title defense to Duke’s new stars and Houston’s hunger, here’s how the preseason Top 25 shakes out before the 2025-26 college basketball season tips off..
Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson greets Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden
Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson greets Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
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25. Oregon Ducks

Dana Altman’s Ducks return after a 25-win campaign, tied for seventh in the Big Ten. Big man Nite Bittle anchors the paint while Jackson Shelstad is expected to bounce back from a broken hand before Thanksgiving. Oregon opens Big Ten play against USC and UCLA in December and looks ready to compete again.

Bittle led the Ducks in scoring a season ago with 14.2 points per game. He was also the top rebounder for Coach Altman's team with 7.6 per game. Shelstad also played all 35 games for the Ducks a season ago, leading the team with 32.9 minutes per game on the floor. He scored 13.7 points per game, as the Ducks saw four guys average double digits. Shelstad dished out 2.7 assists per game, which was second to TJ Bamba.

The Ducks have not been to the NCAA Final Four since the 2017 season. Oregon reached the Elite 8 in back-to-back seasons in 2016 and 2017, but fell short each time. Oregon has reached the NCAA Tournament in 10 out of the 15 seasons Altman has been in Eugene. The Ducks have won 20+ games every year Altman has been at the helm as well. This comes after four seasons at Kansas State and 16 at Creighton. The head coach starts the 2025-26 season with 780 career wins under his belt, which ranks 41st in all of college basketball

  • Head Coach: Dana Altman (16th season)
  • Home Arena: Matthew Knights Arena, Eugene Oregon
  • 2024-25 Record: 25-10
  • 2024-25 Conference Record: 12-8
  • 2024-25 Advancement: NCAA Tournament Round of 32 loss to Arizona 87-83
  • Leading scorer: Nate Bittle, 14.2 points per game
  • Leading rebounder: Nate Bittle 7.6 per game
  • First Game: Tuesday, November 4 vs. Hawaii

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