College basketball's opening day: Live updates, schedule, scores, top 25 rankings, highlights

Follow along with the day's top 25 slate right here as a bunch of the preseason ranked teams take the court on basketball's return:

Men's top 25:

• No. 2 Houston vs. Lehigh, 8 p.m. | CBSSN
• No. 3 Florida vs. No. 18 Arizona (in Las Vegas), 7 p.m. | TNT/truTV
• No. 4 UConn vs. New Haven, 7 p.m. | ESPN+
• No. 5 St. John's vs. Quinnipiac, 6:30 p.m. | FS1
• No. 7 Michigan vs. Oakland, 8:30 p.m. | FS1
• No. 8 BYU vs. Villanova (in Las Vegas), 9:30 p.m. | TNT/truTV
• No. 11 Louisville vs. South Carolina State, 9 p.m. | ACC Network
• No. 12 UCLA vs. Eastern Washington, 10:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network
• No. 14 Arkansas vs. Southern, 7 p.m. | SEC Network
• No. 15 Alabama vs. North Dakota, 8 p.m. | SECN+
• No. 16 Iowa State vs. FDU, 8 p.m. | ESPN+
• No. 17 Illinois vs. Jackson State, 8:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network
• No. 18 Tennessee vs. Mercer, 7 p.m. | SECN+
• No. 19 Kansas vs. Green Bay, 8 p.m. | ESPN+
• No. 20 Auburn vs. Bethune-Cookman, 8 p.m. | SECN+
• No. 21 Gonzaga vs. Texas Southern, 9 p.m. | ESPN+
• No. 22 Michigan State vs. Colgate, 7 p.m. | Big Ten+
• No. 24 Wisconsin vs. Campbell, 8 p.m. | Big Ten+
• No. 25 North Carolina vs. Central Arkansas, 7 p.m. | ACC Network

Women's Top 25:

• No. 2 South Carolina vs. Grand Canyon, 7 p.m. | SECN+
• No. 3 UCLA vs. San Diego State, 10 p.m. | Big Ten+
• No. 4 Texas vs. UIW, 8 p.m. | SECN+
• No. 6 Oklahoma vs. Belmont, 5:30 p.m. | SECN+
• No. 7 Duke vs. No. 16 Baylor (in Paris), 12 p.m. | ESPN
• No. 10 Maryland vs. Loyola Maryland, 7 p.m. | Big Ten+
• No. 11 North Carolina vs. NC Central, 11 a.m. | ACC Extra
• No. 12 Ole Miss vs. Norfolk State, 12 p.m. | SEC Network
• No. 14 Iowa State vs. St. Thomas, 12 p.m. | ESPN+
• No. 19 Vanderbilt vs. Cal (in Paris), 2:30 p.m. | ESPNU
• No. 21 Iowa vs. Southern, 7:30 p.m. | Big Ten+
• No. 22 Oklahoma State vs. New Orleans, 7:30 | ESPN+
• No. 24 Kentucky vs. Morehead State, 6:30 p.m. | SECN+

• No. 7 Duke vs. No. 16 Baylor (in Paris), 12 p.m. | ESPN
• Norfolk State at No. 12 Ole Miss, 12 p.m. | SEC Network
• Cal vs. No. 19 Vanderbilt in Paris), 2:30 p.m | ESPNU

Autumn Johnson lists her top 6 storylines for the 2025-26 women's college basketball season.

1. The Huskies are turning the Paige...

With Paige Bueckers gone, a new core steps up: Azzi Fudd, Serah Williams, Sarah Strong and KK Arnold. UConn is in a great position to run it back.

2. JuJu Watkins will sit out this season...

So who challenges UCLA in the Big Ten? With Lauren Betts dominating inside, plus Charlisse Leger-Walker and Gianna Kneepkens adding a scoring punch, the Bruins remain elite.

👉Check out the rest of the list here 

🚨 NEW PRESEASON from 👀

1. Purdue
2. Houston
3. St. John's
4. Michigan
5. Florida
6. UConn
7. Duke
8. Kentucky
9. Texas Tech
10. Kansas

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB)

1. Purdue: The return of the Big Ten Player of the Year Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn, plus a rim protector in Daniel Jacobsen, makes the Boilermakers a favorite to win the title. 
2. Houston: The Cougars are on a mission to get back to the title game with the return of Milos Uzan, Joseph Tugler and Emanuel Sharp. 
3. St. John's: Zuby Ejiofor could be the Big East Player of the Year, and a healthy Bryce Hopkins gives the Red Storm a title team.
4. Michigan: Dusty May loaded up in the portal and has a monster front line in Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara.
5. Florida: The Gators bring back Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, and add Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee to produce a potential repeat champ. 
6. UConn: Alex Karaban, Solo Ball and Tarris Reed Jr. give the Huskies enough returning to make a run. 
7. Duke: Cam and Cayden Boozer are the freshman stars, but the return of Isaiah Evans, Caleb Foster and Maliq Brown gives the Blue Devils the needed experience. 
8. Kentucky: Otega Oweh could be SEC Player of the Year, but the rest of the crew provides enough pop to keep the Wildcats in the mix. 
9. Texas Tech: JT Toppin will be the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, and Christian Anderson gives the Red Raiders a 1-2 pop to compete for the Big 12 title.
10. Kansas: Darryn Peterson and Melvin Council Jr., will be one of the best backcourts in the country and enough to get KU back in the title mix. 

👉 Click here for the full Power 37

The 2024–25 UConn women’s basketball team reclaimed its place atop the sport, capturing the program’s 12th national championship under Hall of Fame head coach Geno Auriemma. In his 40th season, Auriemma guided the Huskies to a 37–3 record, a Big East title and their first national crown since 2016.

Ranked No. 2 entering the season, UConn returned two-time All-American Paige Bueckers and welcomed top-ranked recruit Sarah Strong and Princeton transfer Kaitlyn Chen. Despite early losses to Notre Dame, USC and Tennessee, the Huskies quickly found their rhythm. Auriemma made history in November when he notched his 1,017th career victory, becoming the winningest coach in NCAA history.

UConn rolled through Big East play, finishing undefeated for the second straight year and winning another conference tournament title. The highlight of the regular season came in February when the Huskies stunned defending national champion South Carolina, 87–58, in Columbia.

The Huskies entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 2 seed in their region and dominated each round, winning by an average margin of 34 points. Their postseason run culminated in a championship rematch with South Carolina. UConn controlled the game from start to finish, cruising to an 82–59 victory to secure the national title.

The win capped a milestone season for Auriemma and a triumphant return to glory for the UConn program.

The 2024–25 Florida Gators men’s basketball team restored the program to national prominence with its best season in over a decade. Under third-year head coach Todd Golden, the Gators finished 27–4 in the regular season and captured their first SEC championship since 2014.

Florida stormed through nonconference play with a 13–0 record. Led by senior guards Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin, the Gators overcame midseason setbacks against Kentucky and Missouri before catching fire late. They won nine of their final 10 regular season games, highlighted by road victories over No. 1 Auburn and No. 7 Alabama — their first-ever road win against a top-ranked opponent.

As the No. 2 seed in the SEC tournament, Florida cruised past Missouri and Alabama before defeating Tennessee 86–77 in the final to claim the conference crown. The Gators carried that momentum into the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the West region. They knocked off Norfolk State, defending national champion UConn, Maryland and Texas Tech to reach their first Final Four since 2014.

In the national semifinals, Florida beat Auburn 79–73 to advance to its first title game in 18 years. The Gators capped their remarkable run by rallying from 12 points down to defeat Houston 65–63, securing the program’s third national championship and first since 2007.