TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — In the waning seconds of a blowout win, fans at Arizona's McKale Center started a chant of “Number 1!”
The second-ranked Wildcats can certainly make a case with Saturday night's dismantling of No. 20 Auburn and top-ranked Purdue's first loss of the season.
Then again, Michigan can also stake a claim to No. 1. So can Duke. What about Iowa State?
“Obviously, it's not something you shy away from,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said after the 97-68 win over Auburn. “You're at Arizona, you're going to be on the big stage and it's part and parcel being in a program like this.”
The 2025-26 college basketball season is off to an epic start with ready-made-star freshmen across the country and top programs' willingness to schedule tough early games.
The season kicked off with a flourish in Las Vegas, where Arizona took down reigning national champion Florida and has been dotted with marquee matchups almost every day, sometimes multiple games in one day.
There's already been three dozen games between ranked teams — 10 just last week — and the Thanksgiving Day game between Duke and Arkansas was the most-watched regular-season game in the last 30 years.
And this is only the first week in December.
Purdue had been the standard, opening as the preseason No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the first time and holding steady for four of the first five weeks.
That will change in Monday's poll after No. 10 Iowa State rolled into Mackey Arena and stomped the Boilermakers 81-58.
That triggers a question: Who's next at No. 1?
Arizona certainly has a shot.
The Wildcats (8-0) have been ranked No. 2 the past two weeks and have four wins over ranked teams: No. 15 Florida, then-No. 15 UCLA in Southern California, at No. 5 UConn and the home blowout of Auburn. The Tiger takedown was Arizona's largest win over a ranked opponent since beating No. 19 Western Kentucky by 39 points in 2002.
Michigan could leapfrog the Wildcats by the sheer magnitude of its wins.
The Wolverines (8-0) had some tight games early on, but have left a path of destruction over the past three weeks. Michigan has won each of its last five by at least 25 points, including two over ranked teams.
The big, bad Wolverines turned a three-game run through the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas into a jackpot, beating San Diego State 94-54, Auburn 102-72 and No. 11 Gonzaga 101-61 in the title game.
Michigan was No. 3 in last week's poll, but had more first-place votes (15-6) than Arizona.
“I think there’s a pretty wide margin between Michigan and Arizona and the rest of college basketball, just from what I’ve seen on film and, obviously, what we’ve experienced in person,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said.
Don't forget about Duke.
The Blue Devils (10-0) and uber-talented freshman Cameron Boozer had early wins against Texas and No. 21 Kansas at Madison Square Garden. Duke most recently has traversed a gauntlet of games unscathed, beating No. 25 Arkansas in Chicago, Florida at home, then winning at No. 7 Michigan State in a game that had a late-March feel.
“That was a big-time basketball game and I'm still catching my breath,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said after the win in East Lansing.
No. 10 Iowa State also could be in the conversation.
The Cyclones (9-0) have one of the nation's most talented trios in Milan Momcilovic, Joshua Jefferson and Tamin Lipsey, and are fourth nationally in scoring at 96.4 points per game.
It's a big jump from No. 10 to 1, but Iowa State did run the nation's top-ranked team right out of its own gym. The 23-point victory over Purdue matched the largest road win against a No. 1 team in NCAA history, a mark fist set by No. 15 Villanova with its 96-73 win over No. 1 UConn in 1995.
“It was an avalanche,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said.
One that will trigger a change at the top of the college basketball world.
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Duke forward Cameron Boozer (12), right, drives against Michigan State forward Cam Ward during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Coco Gauff wants those people posing questions to her about the teenagers breaking through at the Australian Open to remember one thing: She’s 21.
The 18-year-old Iva Jovic will be playing No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park. That's after Sabalenka, a two-time champion in Australia, beat 19-year-old Vicky Mboko on Sunday in the fourth round.
“The way people ask the questions make it seem like I’m way older than,” the teenagers, Gauff said. “I have been around longer, obviously, but yeah, they’re always, like, ‘Do you have any advice to give them?’
“I’m, like, you guys, these are, like, my peers. We are the same. We are hanging out,” she added for effect, smiling. “We’re in the same age group.”
Gauff has been on tour for more than five years — she made a stunning Grand Slam debut as a qualifier at Wimbledon against five-time champion Venus Williams when she was 15 — but she's still among the younger pros. She won her first major title at 19.
Seeded No. 3 and a two-time major winner, Gauff reached the quarterfinals in Australia for the third straight year with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win Sunday over No. 19 Karolina Muchova.
She's gone on to win the title each of the previous four times she's beaten Muchova, including the 2023 U.S. Open, her maiden Grand Slam title. When she was still a teenager.
Three teenagers played in fourth-round matches Sunday, but only Jovic advanced — 6-0, 6-1 over Yulia Putintseva.
Mboko troubled Sabalenka in the second set but lost 6-1, 7-6 (1). In the last match of Day 8, the 18-year-old, eighth-seeded Mirra Andreeva lost 6-2, 6-4 to 31-year-old Elina Svitolina, who reached the Grand Slam quarterfinals for the 14th time. That will be against Gauff, who is into the last 8 for the 10th time.
Gauff said she found it difficult when she was adjusting from juniors to the professional ranks, because some players don't talk or even say hi.
So, she makes a point of greeting the newbies, making them feel welcome.
“Just saying hi or saying good luck," Gauff said. "And then you start to talk and then you become friends, and it’s cool.”
In the case of Jovic, who is playing just her sixth Grand Slam tournament and making her first run past the second round, Gauff has a sister-like affinity.
“Yeah, she’s the age of my little brother,” Gauff said. "I do feel older than them. That’s for sure. I don’t feel the exact same, but I don’t feel as old as people make it seem.
“I have talked to Iva a couple of times. I have never talked to her about advice or anything — I feel like she has such a good head on her shoulders. I don’t think she needs that.”
Gauff had few peers when she was starting out, saying it was “very lonely for me, honestly.”
And while she's friends with the likes of Madison Keys, Jessica Pegula and Amanda Anisimova, sometimes she doesn't “connect” on everything, so she still likes to hang out with a younger crowd sometimes.
“We’re interested in the same things and stuff like that, but it’s always funny when people ask me the question," about the up-and-coming teens, she said. "I usually don’t have anything to say, because I’m still figuring out, just like they are.
“So it’s great to have, like, more people of my age range doing better. I feel like maybe last two years on tour have been some of my happiest, even though maybe the tennis has been up and down, just because you see more friendly faces in the locker room.”
Jovic is likely to be around for a while. She said last year she wanted to take on No. 1-ranked Sabalenka because she wanted to test her level. After her best run at a major to date, she gets the chance.
“Obviously, the Slams are where you want to do well," she said. “Being here in a Slam just gives me belief that I can be at the, you know, highest level of tennis. And, hopefully, be consistently having these results.”
Iva Jovic of the U.S. plays a forehand return to Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Iva Jovic of the U.S. celebrates after defeating Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Coco Gauff of the U.S. celebrates after defeating Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Coco Gauff of the U.S. signs autographs after defeating Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Coco Gauff of the U.S. plays a backhand return to Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic during their fourth round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
