Where Purdue Ranks in First NCAA NET Rankings of 2025-26 Basketball Season
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Now that the calendar has turned to December and we're a full month into the 2025-26 college basketball season, the NCAA has released the first NET rankings of the year. In the initial rankings, Purdue comes in at No. 3, trailing No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Duke.
The Boilermakers are off to a 7-0 start this season, notching signature wins over No. 8 Alabama and No. 20 Texas Tech already. They have also defeated Evansville, Oakland, Akron, Memphis, and Eastern Illinois.
Here's a quick look at the top 10 in the NCAA NET rankings, as of Dec. 1:
- Michigan Wolverines (7-0)
- Duke Blue Devils (8-0)
- Purdue Boilermakers (7-0)
- Vanderbilt Commodores (8-0)
- Gonzaga Bulldogs (7-1)
- Arizona Wildcats (7-0)
- Iowa State Cyclones (7-0)
- UConn Huskies (6-1)
- Louisville Cardinals (7-0)
- Michigan State Spartans (7-0)
Purdue will have a chance to make a statement this coming week. On Tuesday, it travels to Piscataway for a matchup with Rutgers in the first Big Ten game of the season. Then, the Boilermakers will host Iowa State at Mackey Arena for a top-15 showdown.
It's still very early in the college basketball season, and Purdue is starting out in a really good spot in the NET rankings.
What about Purdue in KenPom?
Purdue's KenPom ranking is one spot higher than its NET rankings. The Boilermakers are currently listed at No. 2, behind only Michigan.
Michigan's resumé was boosted with three incredible wins in the Player's Era Festival last week. The Wolverines defeated San Diego State (94-54), No. 21 Auburn (102-72), and No. 12 Gonzaga (101-61) to finish the event with a perfect 3-0 record.
It was an impressive run by the Wolverines, who may have an argument as the nation's No. 1 team following that trio of wins. Will they replace Purdue at the top of the Associate Press and Coaches polls?
Purdue throttled Eastern Illinois 109-62 at Mackey Arena a week after defeating Memphis and Texas Tech in the Baha Mar Championship. So, it will be interesting to see who voters place in that top spot after an interesting week of college basketball.
What's next for Purdue?
Two big games are on the horizon for Matt Painter and the Boilers. On Tuesday, Purdue will play its first Big Ten game of the season, traveling to New Jersey for a matchup with Rutgers. Then, on Saturday, it will return home to host No. 15 Iowa State.
Tipoff times and TV information is below:
- Dec. 2 — #1 Purdue vs. Rutgers, 8 p.m. ET (TV: Fox Sports 1)
- Dec. 6 — #1 Purdue vs. #15 Iowa State, noon ET (TV: CBS)
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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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