How Many of Purdue's Opponents Were Ranked in the Preseason AP Basketball Poll?
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Before the Associated Press poll was released on Monday, everyone knew Purdue was going to face a challenging schedule during the 2025-26 college basketball season. With the preseason rankings now revealed, it validates just how difficult the Boilermakers' schedule will be this year.
The Boilermakers, which were ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll for the first time in program history, will play at least nine opponents that are ranked in the AP preseason poll during the upcoming season. Six of those are Big Ten teams, and the other three are non-conference foes.
Purdue could also play No. 10 Texas Tech in the Baha Mar Championship, but that potential matchup depends on the results of the first-round games. The Boilers play Memphis and Texas Tech plays Wake Forest on the first day of that event, which is scheduled for Nov. 20-21.
If Purdue does play Texas Tech, it would bump the number of preseason ranked opponents up to 10.
Here's a look at the ranked opponents on Purdue's 2025-26 schedule:
- Thursday, Nov. 13 — at No. 15 Alabama
- Friday, Nov. 21 — vs. No. 10 Texas Tech* (Nassau, Bahamas)
- Saturday, Dec. 6 — vs. No. 16 Iowa State
- Saturday, Dec. 20 — vs. No. 20 Auburn (Indianapolis)
- Saturday, Jan. 3 — at No. 24 Wisconsin
- Tuesday, Jan. 20 — at No. 12 UCLA
- Saturday, Jan. 24 — vs. No. 17 Illinois
- Tuesday, Feb. 17 — vs. No. 7 Michigan
- Thursday, Feb. 26 — vs. No. 22 Michigan State
- Saturday, March 7 — vs. No. 24 Wisconsin
*Potential Bah Mar Championship matchup
Can Purdue end preseason No. 1 championship drought?
Yes, being ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP poll is quite an honor, but it certainly doesn't guarantee anything. In fact, it has been a long time since a team that opened the year ranked No. 1 in the poll won a national championship.
The last team to accomplish that feat was North Carolina in the 2008-09 season. The Tar Heels opened the year ranked No. 1 in the AP preseason poll and would eventually win the national championship that same season.
North Carolina never dropped below No. 5 in the rankings that season and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels then defeated Villanova in the Final Four and Michigan State in the National Championship Game to claim an NCAA title. They posted a 34-4 record.
Can Purdue become the first preseason No. 1 team in nearly two decades to win a national championship? We only have a few more weeks until the opening tipoff to see how things start to unfold.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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