26 numbers and storylines to know for the 2025-26 males’s basketball season

And so faculty basketball begins, the lengthy street to a nationwide championship podium in Indianapolis on April 6. Before the primary tip-offs, listed below are just a few pertinent numbers.

1917. The final season Loyola Chicago performed a basketball season with out Sister Jean amongst us.

3. Total votes within the Associated Press preseason ballot for Villanova, Virginia and Baylor. The groups liable for 4 of the previous 9 nationwide championships all start unranked.

5. Big 12 groups ranked forward of Kansas within the AP preseason ballot. The Jayhawks are No. 19, their lowest place to start out in 17 years. Kansas has received two NCAA match video games within the three seasons since its 2022 nationwide title.

1967. The final time Houston started the season ranked as extremely as No. 2. Kelvin Sampson was 12 years outdated.

16. Purdue’s Braden Smith, at 6-0, is 16 inches shorter than former teammate Zach Edey, however he’s the preseason favourite to be nationwide participant of the yr — identical as Edey. This tall-and-short twosome have already mixed to win three consecutive Big Ten participant of the yr awards, a streak by no means seen earlier than within the historical past of the league.

Purdue has had a consensus first-or second-team All-American in seven of the previous 9 seasons regardless of by no means enrolling a top-30 recruiting class or a top-30 prospect at any level throughout that span.

55.6. While we’re with regards to Purdue, that was the 2-point share the Boilermakers’ protection allowed final season, 332nd within the nation, only one spot forward of Chicago State, which went 4-28. A real Edey-is-not-protecting-the-rim-anymore stat. Improving that quantity may need rather a lot to do with Purdue’s eventual destiny.

12-52. Louisville’s report over two seasons solely 20 months in the past. The Cardinals improved 19 wins final yr below Pat Kelsey and start this season ranked No. 11, although just one starter returns. It’s the primary time in six years they’ve been within the preseason high 25.

41. Steven Pearl had solely 41 full days earlier than Auburn’s season opener to get the Tigers acclimated to life with out his all of a sudden retired father, who moved from the bench to the TV microphone. Not to say shedding all 5 starters from the Final Four staff. Auburn might want to adapt on the fly. The nonconference schedule contains No. 1 Purdue, No. 2 Houston, No. 7 Michigan, No. 13 Arizona, NC State and Oregon.

33, 30, 26. Arguably the three most touted freshmen this season are Duke’s Cameron Boozer, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and Kansas’ Darryn Peterson. No surprise. Boozer scored 33 factors in his first exhibition sport towards UCF, Dybantsa 30 in his first towards Nebraska and Peterson 26 in his first at Louisville, together with 24 within the first half. In Boozer’s second exhibition, he had a 24-23 double-double towards Tennessee.

0. Marquette didn’t take one single Division I switch this season. Nor final season. Nor the season earlier than nor the season earlier than that. The Golden Eagles used one beginning lineup each sport final season and one beginning lineup each sport the yr earlier than. Only eight completely different gamers have began a Marquette sport the previous three seasons, however in these three years solely UConn has received extra Big East video games — by one. Shaka Smart’s program, picked fifth within the Big East this season, stays probably the most fascinating old-school research within the sport.

26. Twenty-six of the highest 30 scorers final season within the SEC are gone, be it NBA draft, switch portal, or no extra eligibility. The league that produced nationwide champion Florida and 7 of the Sweet 16 groups should flip to a brand new wave.

2. Possible nationwide gamers of the yr named Toppin this decade. Dayton’s Obi Toppin was POY in 2020, Texas Tech’s JT Toppin is only a notch under Purdue’s Smith on the chances board going into this season, and the primary Red Raider in historical past to be preseason AP All-American. No, they’re not associated.

4. Players from the Balkans on the Illinois roster, as many as there are from the state of Illinois.

1991. The final time St. John’s was picked to win the Big East within the preseason ballot till this yr. The Red Storm went 18-2 in league play final season. The earlier 9 years they had been 61-107. The Pitino Effect.

1998. Navy’s final look within the NCAA match, 27 Selection Sundays in the past. But look who’s the preseason favourite within the Patriot League.

8 a.m. Tipoff time for Winthrop at Queens on Nov. 3 in Rock Hill, S.C, the primary official sport of the season, simply 73 minutes after daybreak. It’s a part of the YouTube streaming marathon that day for the Field of 68 community. Free breakfast biscuits to the primary 500 followers. Queens is the preseason favourite to win the ASUN.

26. Gonzaga joins the rebooted Pac-12 subsequent yr, however on their method out the West Coast Conference door, the Zags know the right parting reward. They’ve received the season or match title — and plenty of instances each — in 26 of the previous 28 years. Might as properly exit with yet another.

62. Head teaching modifications in Division I for this since final season, or roughly a 17 % turnover. They embrace two sons changing their fathers — Steven Pearl taking up for Bruce at Auburn, Doug Davenport for Scott at Bellarmine — and one Florida State Heisman winner, Charlie Ward at Florida A&M. Also, a former Duke Blue Devil who scored 13 factors within the 2010 nationwide championship sport, Nolan Smith at Tennessee State. And a former Arizona Wildcat who scored 19 factors within the 1997 title sport, Mike Bibby at Sacramento State. And within the final irony, Ryan Odom at Virginia.

It has been simply over seven years since Virginia made notorious historical past by changing into the primary No. 1 seed to lose within the NCAA match to a No. 16. Doing the honors was UMBC, coached by Ryan Odom. The nice circle of school basketball teaching.

5. In distinction to the above revolving door, 5 faculties in Division I’ve had solely two head coaches since 1980, and three are ranked within the preseason. Purdue (Matt Painter, Gene Keady), Duke (Jon Scheyer, Mike Krzyzewski) and Michigan State (Tom Izzo, Jud Heathcote). The others are Syracuse (Adrian Autry, Jim Boeheim) and Oakland (Greg Kampe, Lee Frederick).

50. This is the fiftieth season for Kentucky’s Rupp Arena, which has been dwelling to 4 nationwide champions by 4 completely different coaches and an 88.5 successful share by the house staff. Mark Pope is 40-4 there as an lively participant or present head coach. Among the house dates for the fiftieth season is Indiana on Dec. 13, the 2 basketball blueblood neighbors lastly burying the hatchet and resuming their common season sequence after avoiding each other for 14 years.

7. The WAC is right down to seven groups and solely three — Abilene Christian, Southern Utah and UT Arlington — have ever performed within the NCAA match, so there’s a critical alternative for a first-timer. California Baptist is the preseason favourite.

5. Only 5 years in the past, St. Thomas-Minnesota was taking part in as a Division III faculty. Then the Tommies jumped on to Division I — the primary college in fashionable instances to strive such a leap — and after a four-year transition interval will open the season at Saint Mary’s on Nov. 3 as the favourite within the Summit League. They might go from Division III to the NCAA match of their first yr of eligibility.

2004. The final time DePaul performed within the NCAA match. That’s the longest dry spell for any staff within the energy conferences. Among different notable droughts going into this season: UNLV, with 4 Final Four journeys to its title, hasn’t performed within the NCAA match in 12 years. Syracuse hasn’t been since 2021, its longest bidless stretch in 53 years.

Cincinnati, invited 9 seasons in a row below Mick Cronin, hasn’t made an look this decade. Tulsa, whose previous coaches embrace three future nationwide champions — Nolan Richardson, Bill Self and Tubby Smith — hasn’t made it in 9 years.

2026. Years that finish in 6 embrace vital faculty basketball anniversaries. Ten years in the past, Villanova’s Kris Jenkins buried the primary 3-point buzzer-beater to ever win a nationwide title . . . 20 years in the past, George Mason confirmed up within the Final Four as an 11 seed, one of many greatest Cinderella tales ever . . . 30 years in the past, Rick Pitino received his first title at Kentucky with the championship settled within the Meadowlands’ Continental Airlines Arena, the final Final Four in a standard basketball constructing . . . 40 years in the past, Louisville received the championship, however who was that new face to the Final Four on the opposite bench that night time? Oh yeah, Mike Krzyzewski, his first of 13 . . .50 years in the past, Indiana was an unbeaten champion, and stays the final to do it . . .60 years in the past, Texas Western (now UTEP) with an all-Black lineup shocked Kentucky and altered the sport . . . 70 years in the past, San Francisco and Bill Russell received the championship with an ideal report, one thing by no means seen earlier than . . . 80 years in the past, Oklahoma A&M — it now as Oklahoma State — grew to become the primary repeat champion.

So this season ought to witness a whole lot of extraordinary issues — together with reunions.