Texas' strong close to the 2025-26 season and a stellar offseason have the Longhorns seventh in the initial Associated Press men's basketball rankings.

Two other Texas teams that won NCAA tournament games last year are also ranked, with Houston at 10 and Texas Tech at 19.

Florida is No. 1

Florida led the first poll for a 2026-27 season that officially starts on Nov. 1, garnering 47 of 59 first-place votes. Duke got 10 first-place votes and is ranked No. 2, while No. 3 Illinois got two first-place votes. Defending national champion Michigan is No. 16.

The only Mountain West team to receive votes was Nevada, which got two votes, tying it for 41st. The top Big 12 team is Arizona, checking in at fifth. The SEC has seven ranked teams, the Big 12 has six, while the Big 10 and ACC each have four.

Texas is projected to start three transfers and a freshman as it builds on the momentum of last year's run to the Sweet 16. Texas' offseason was rated the best in the country by ESPN.

When does the NCAA college basketball season start?

The first official game of the 2026-27 season is on Nov. 1, when Notre Dame plays Villanova at the Palazzetto dello Sport in Rome, Italy, at 7:30 a.m. MT/8:30 p.m. CT.

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.

Associated Press Top 25 men's basketball poll

Others receiving votes: Missouri 167, Nebraska 70, Purdue 53, Ohio State 39, North Carolina 20, TCU 17, Saint Louis 13, VCU 12, Iowa 12, Virginia Tech 10, Indiana 8, Texas A&M 6, Villanova 6, Auburn 4, Marquette 3, Nevada 2, Grand Canyon 2, Utah State 2, Santa Clara 1