No. 1 Arizona dives into rugged Big
12 stretch with a loss as part of AP Top 25 national slate
[February 10, 2026]
By AARON BEARD
The Super Bowl is over, the football season complete. Now college
basketball has more room to seize the spotlight.
Here's a look at storylines to watch among AP Top 25 teams with
roughly five weeks until Selection Sunday:
Wildcats and Wolverines
The clear headliners continue to be No. 1 Arizona and No. 2
Michigan, even after the Wildcats stumbled for the first time at No.
9 Kansas on Monday night.
Arizona (23-1) held the top spot in Monday's latest poll for the
ninth straight week, with the past four of those coming by unanimous
votes. The Wolverines (22-1), meanwhile, have been sitting right
behind the Wildcats six times in Arizona's current reign.
Of the two, the Wildcats have a tougher week ahead. The loss at
Allen Fieldhouse came against a Jayhawks team playing without
freshman star Darryn Peterson due to illness. And that started a run
of four straight games against ranked Big 12 opponents, the next
being Saturday's home game against No. 16 Texas Tech.
In the Big Ten, the Wolverines visit Northwestern on Wednesday and
host UCLA on Saturday. Win both of those and they could have a shot
at the program's first No. 1 ranking since January 2013.
Cougars climbing
Speaking of the Big 12, No. 3 Houston looms — both as a soon-to-be
opponent for Arizona (Feb. 21) and as a Final Four contender after
reaching last year's NCAA title game.
The Cougars (21-2) rose five spots in Monday's poll to tie for the
week's biggest jump, which has them back inside the top 5 for the
first time since a November stint that included a week at No. 1.
Kelvin Sampson's team heads to Utah on Tuesday before hosting Kansas
State on Sunday.
Also in the Big 12: the Jayhawks visit No. 5 Iowa State on Saturday
with a chance to follow up the Arizona win.
Resurgent ACC
The Atlantic Coast Conference is still rolling along with a
bounceback year.
Duke was a clear heavyweight last year and reached the Final Four,
but the league overall managed just four bids to March Madness and
only one other non-Duke win in the NCAA Tournament.
The fourth-ranked Blue Devils still look like the league's best team
this year. But the rest of the league is much deeper with the ACC
having four other ranked teams in No. 11 North Carolina, No. 15
Virginia, No. 20 Clemson and No. 24 Louisville.
The Tar Heels edged the Blue Devils on Seth Trimble's last-second
3-pointer in a rivalry thriller on Saturday, sending Duke and
Clemson into this week tied atop the league standings at 10-1. Duke
and UNC don't have long to regroup from their emotionally draining
battle; they both play on the road Tuesday, the Tar Heels at Miami
and the Blue Devils at Pittsburgh.
[to top of second column] |
Duke forward Cameron Boozer (12) drives against North Carolina
forward Jarin Stevenson, left, during the second half in an NCAA
college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, in Chapel Hill, N.C.
(AP Photo/Chris Seward)
As for the Tigers, they host an NCAA hopeful in
Virginia Tech on Wednesday before visiting Duke on Saturday.
Reigning champs
The Southeastern Conference had a record 14 NCAA bids last year and
saw Florida go on to win the title. The 14th-ranked Gators are
currently climbing as the league's highest-ranked team.
Opening the year at No. 3, Florida started 9-5 and slid all the way
out of the AP Top 25 for a week. But the Gators have lost just once
since, with the past three games against South Carolina, Alabama and
Texas A&M all coming by at least 19 points.
Florida visits Georgia on Wednesday then travels Saturday to No. 25
Kentucky, which jumped back into the poll Monday for the first time
since early December.
Winning Billikens
No. 18 St. Louis lost to Stanford on a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds
left in November. The Billikens haven't lost since and sit atop the
Atlantic 10.
St. Louis (23-1) goes for its 18th straight win Friday at Loyola
Chicago.
Perfect RedHawks
Miami (Ohio) stood alongside Arizona as the nation's last unbeaten
teams to start the week. Now the No. 23 RedHawks are alone.
The RedHawks (24-0) host Ohio on Friday in the Mid-American
Conference with the nation's longest active winning streak.
Watch list
Alabama and Iowa are the top vote-getters among unranked teams, and
both have spent multiple weeks in the poll this year.
The Crimson Tide (16-7) visits Mississippi on Wednesday, then hosts
South Carolina on Saturday.
The Hawkeyes (18-5) visit Maryland on Wednesday before hosting No.
13 Purdue on Saturday.
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