College Basketball Analyst Tabs Purdue as Nation's No. 1 Team for 2025-26 Season

Another college basketball analyst is hopping aboard Purdue's hype train for the 2025-26 season. NCAA.com's Andy Katz has pegged the Boilermakers as the No. 1 team in the country entering next year.

This week, Katz released his Power 37 with Purdue listed in the top spot. This comes after the Boilers retained Big Ten Player of the Year Braden Smith, first-team All-Big Ten forward Trey Kaufman-Renn and All-Big Ten honorable mention Fletcher Loyer.

Additionally, the Boilers added center Oscar Cluff from South Dakota State and wing Liam Murphy out of North Florida from the transfer portal. Purdue also returns freshmen Gicarri Harris, CJ Cox, Daniel Jacobsen and Raleigh Burgess. Matt Painter and his staff are also bringing in four-star guards Omer Mayer and Antione West Jr. as members of the 2025 recruiting class.

Katz's top-10 looks like this:

1. Purdue Boilermakers
2. Houston Cougars
3. St. John's Red Storm
4. UConn Huskies
5. Duke Blue Devils
6. Kentucky Wildcats
7. Texas Tech Red Raiders
8. Michigan Wolverines
9. Florida Gators
10. Louisville Cardinals