College basketball rankings: UCLA surges in Top 25 And 1 after opening-night upset over Arizona
An opening-night upset over Arizona vaulted UCLA up the rankings, while Florida backed up its top billing with a win against Miami
• 2 min read
HOUSTON -- Last month at Big Ten Media Day, Matt Norlander and I were conducting interviews with various coaches and players, among them UCLA's Mick Cronin, who was in a noticeably good mood. He was smiling. He was laughing -- so much so that, at some point later in the day, Norlander noted to me that Cronin, largely attached to an alternative reputation he knows he has, seemed happy and almost giddy talking about his team.
I don't remember the exact wording.
I wasn't taking notes.
But what I remember is us laughing about the idea of how funny it would be if Cronin was in such a good mood because he was the first to know his 2026-27 Bruins were going to be better than anybody expected. I didn't think much about that interaction after that afternoon. But then I settled back into my hotel room late Monday -- here on campus at the University of Houston, where Kelvin Sampson's Cougars started the season 1-0 with a 94-55 victory over La Salle -- and watched Cronin's postgame interview following an upset of Arizona with TNT's Allie LaForce, and there he was smiling big again, to the point that Brian Anderson, the network's elite play-by-play guy, mentioned it afterward.
Final score: UCLA 84, Arizona 75.
Is this Cronin's favorite UCLA team ever? He didn't say that, exactly. But after what was the biggest victory anybody notched on what amounted to opening night of the 2026-27 college basketball season, the 55-year-old eighth-year coach of the Bruins sounded like a big fan of what he and his staff have assembled in Westwood.
"I've not had a bad day coaching this team," Cronin said.
At some point, odds are, he will. But it definitely wasn't Monday, when Trent Perry made all 11 free throws he attempted and finished with 21 points, five assists and three rebounds in an 84-75 victory over an Arizona team that is projected to win the Big 12, according to the league's official preseason poll.
"It's a great win for us," Cronin said before later adding, "we're more athletic than we've been. {Freshmen] Nikola [Kusturica] and Joe Philon give us a dimension that I haven't had. They're above-the-rim perimeter players."
They might be a part of something special.
UCLA is up to No. 14 in Tuesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 college basketball rankings, where Florida remains No. 1 following Monday's 77-67 win over Miami. Next up for the Bruins is Friday's matchup with North Florida inside Pauley Pavilion. UCLA will open the Big Ten portion of its schedule on the first day of December at home against Oregon.
Florida remains and begins the 2026-27 season at No. 1 in the Top 25 And 1 after returning six of the top seven scorers from a team that won the SEC by multiple games and secured a No. 1 seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. The Gators open their season Monday against Miami in the only game on the schedule between two teams both ranked in the top 20 of the Top 25 And 1. The Hurricanes are 19th in the Top 25 And 1.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
7 UCLA
8 Arizona
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Thomas Haugh finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Monday's 77-67 win over Miami. The Gators' next game is Thursday against Jacksonville. | -- | 1-0 |
| 2 |  | Dame Sarr finished with 16 points and four rebounds in Monday's 84-50 win over Army. The Blue Devils' next game is Thursday at Coastal Carolina. | -- | 1-0 |
| 3 |  | Andrej Stojakovic finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Monday's 120-45 win over Fairleigh Dickinson. The Illini's next game is Thursday against Penn. | -- | 1-0 |
| 4 |  | Braylon Mullins finished with 20 points and two steals in Monday's 86-46 win over Gardner-Webb. The Huskies' next game is Friday against Michigan. | -- | 1-0 |
| 5 |  | Tre White finished with 22 points and five rebounds in Monday's 95-65 win over Fordham. The Jayhawks' next game is Friday against Middle Tennessee. | -- | 1-0 |
| 6 |  | Matas Vokietaitis finished with 22 points and six rebounds in Monday's 109-59 win over Chicago State. The Longhorns' next game is Thursday against Gardner Webb. | -- | 1-0 |
| 7 |  | Jeremy Fears Jr. finished with 13 points and 11 assists in Monday's 96-59 win over Quinnipiac. The Spartans' next game is Thursday against Toledo. | 1 | 1-0 |
| 8 |  | Flory Bidunga finished with 16 points and nine rebounds in Monday's 84-70 win over Chattanooga. The Cardinals' next game is Saturday against Morehead State. | 1 | 1-0 |
| 9 |  | The Cavaliers finished 30-6 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Year 1 under Ryan Odom. Virginia opens Tuesday against Drexel with Thijs De Ridder and Chance Mallory expected to be among the biggest contributors. | 1 | 0-0 |
| 10 |  | The Razorbacks have made two straight NCAA Tournaments under John Calipari after advancing to the Sweet 16. Arkansas opens Tuesday against Arkansas Pine Bluff with Billy Richmond and Jordan Smith Jr. expected to be among the biggest contributors. | 1 | 0-0 |
| 11 |  | Davis Fogle finished with 22 points and five rebounds in Monday's 78-72 win over Purdue. The Zags' next game is Saturday against New Mexico State. | 2 | 1-0 |
| 12 |  | Keyshawn Hall finished with 26 points and nine rebounds in Monday's 78-63 win over Monmouth. The Red Storm's next game is Sunday against Iona. | 2 | 1-0 |
| 13 |  | Dedan Thomas Jr. finished with 16 points and five assists in Monday's 94-55 win over La Salle. The Cougars' next game is Sunday against Cal. | 2 | 1-0 |
| 14 |  | Trent Perry finished with 21 points and five assists in Monday's 84-75 win over Arizona. The Bruins' next game is Friday against North Florida. | 7 | 1-0 |
| 15 |  | Derek Dixon missed 12 of the 17 shots he attempted in Monday's 84-75 loss to UCLA. The Wildcats' next game is Thursday against Cal Poly. | 8 | 0-1 |
| 16 |  | The Vols have made six straight NCAA Tournaments under Rick Barnes after finishing 25-12 last season and advancing to the Elite Eight. Tennessee opens Tuesday against Wofford with Juke Harris and Terrence Hill Jr. expected to be among the biggest contributors. | -- | 0-0 |
| 17 |  | Cruz Davis finished with 15 points and six rebounds in Monday's 76-42 win over Jackson State. The Red Raiders' next game is Thursday against Bethune Cookman. | -- | 1-0 |
| 18 |  | Trey McKenney finished with 17 points and four rebounds in Monday's 84-68 win over Oakland. The Wolverines' next game is Friday against UConn. | -- | 1-0 |
| 19 |  | Shelton Henderson missed 11 of the 13 shots he attempted in Monday's 77-67 loss to Florida. The Hurricanes' next game is Friday against Wagner. | -- | 0-1 |
| 20 |  | The Wildcats have made two straight NCAA Tournaments under Mark Pope after finishing 22-14 last season and advancing to the second round. Kentucky opens Tuesday against Manhattan with Milan Momcilovic and Malachi Moreno expected to be among the biggest contributors. | -- | 0-0 |
| 21 |  | The Crimson Tide have made six straight NCAA Tournaments under Nate Oats after finishing 25-10 last season and advancing to the Sweet 16. Alabama opens Tuesday against Sam Houston State with Amari Allen and Brandon Garrison expected to be among the biggest contributors. | 1 | 0-0 |
| 22 |  | Adonis Ratliff finished with 25 points and six rebounds in Monday's 95-63 win over Milwaukee. The Trojans' next game is Sunday against Wichita State. | 1 | 1-0 |
| 23 |  | The Tigers have made two straight NCAA Tournaments under Dennis Gates after finishing 20-13 last season and losing to Miami in the first round . Missouri opens Tuesday against Cleveland State with Mark Mitchell and Jason Crowe Jr. expected to be among the biggest contributors. | 1 | 0-0 |
| 24 |  | Robert Wright III finished with 33 points and five assists in Monday's 94-83 win over Ohio State. The Cougar' next game is Friday against Nebraska Omaha. | 1 | 1-0 |
| 25 |  | Tyler Tanner finished with 20 points and six assists in Monday's 93-47 win over Bellarmine. The Commodores' next game is Thursday against Wake Forest. | NR | 1-0 |
| 26 |  | Omer Mayer missed nine of the 11 shots he attempted in Monday's 78-72 loss to Gonzaga. The Boilermakers' next game is Friday against Valparaiso. | -- | 0-1 |
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