Editors:
To help you prepare for the upcoming college basketball season ahead of Nov. 2 tipoff, here are some of AP’s plans. An up-to-the minute listing of all stories, including games and events, is available in Coverage Plan on AP Newsroom. You can also find a link to Coverage Plan via the Newsroom home page. Please contact Dave Zelio (dzelio@ap.org) with questions. All times Eastern.
This update adds stories for the past week and updates stories sent throughout. This is the final update for this advisory.
BKC—T25-Mens Poll — Florida starts the men’s college basketball season ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25. Duke and Illinois are next while UConn and Arizona round out the top five. By Dave Skretta. Text, photos, agate sent Oct. 19.
BKW—T25-Womens Poll — South Carolina is ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press preseason Top 25 women’s basketball poll. UConn, Southern California, Duke and Michigan round out the top five. By Doug Feinberg. Text, photos, agate sent Oct. 20.
BKC—All-America Team — Florida’s Thomas Haugh and Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr. highlight the preseason AP All-America team. Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner, Illinois' David Mirkovic and Arizona big man Motiejus Krivasround out the team. By John Marshall. Text, photos, agate sent Oct. 21.
BKW—All-America Team — UConn’s Sarah Strong and USC’s JuJu Watkins headline the preseason AP All-America women’s college basketball team. Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes, Texas' Madison Booker and Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo round out the team. By Doug Feinberg. Text, photos, agate sent Oct. 22.
BKC—Season Preview — Michigan is the defending champion but Duke, Florida, UConn, Michigan State and more will be in the mix of national title contenders and eligibility fights could play a role in shaping some of the rosters ahead of a newly expanded NCAA Tournament going from 68 to 76 teams. By Eddie Pells. Text, photos sent Oct. 25.
Also:
— Each Power Five men's team (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC) received a preview capsule of approximately 400 words, with photos. ACC and Big Ten teams were sent Oct. 27, along with conference overviews; SEC and Big 12 teams were sent Oct. 28, along with conference overviews; and Big East teams were sent on Oct. 29, along with a Big East overview.
BKW —Season Preview — South Carolina, UConn, Southern California and more will be chasing the national championship this season. We wrap up the top storylines ahead of a year that will end with a 76-team NCAA Tournament. By Doug Feinberg. Text, photos sent Oct. 25.
Also:
— Each Power Four women's conference (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC) received an overview story focusing on the top teams and story lines. These were sent on Oct. 26.
BKO--NCAA Tournament Expansion -- The madness has grown, with both NCAA tournaments going from 68 teams to 76 at the end of this season. Is it better for Power Five teams or is it a chance for mid-majors to get in the mix? By Aaron Beard. Text photos sent Oct. 22.
BKC--Eligibility Crisis -- The LSU vs. SEC September showdown wasn’t all about football. Most of the more than two dozen lawsuits challenging NCAA eligibility rules include basketball players and it’s ladled even more stress on top of coaches who already scramble to fill their rosters every season in the transfer portal era. By Aaron Beard, Text, photos sent Oct. 30.
BKC--Cinderella Is Dead -- Gonzaga hasn’t been a true “mid-major” in years. The teams it left behind in the West Coast Conference aren’t going to field any powerhouses this season, either. Look around college basketball and you will see more than 30 programs that opted out of revenue sharing, which sure looks a lot like waving the white flag when it comes to crashing March Madness. By Eddie Pells. Text, photos sent Nov. 1.
BKW—T25-USC-JuJu’s-Back — JuJu Watkins is returning to college basketball after missing last season due to an ACL tear. The star guard, who averaged 25.6 points in her first two seasons for Southern California, joins a talented team aiming for their first national championship since 1984. By Beth Harris. Text, photos sent Oct. 30.
BKC--Villanova-The Italian Wemby — Villanova freshman Luigi Suigo, nicknamed the “Italian Wemby,” wants to clarify he never compared himself to Victor Wembanyama. Suigo, a 7-foot-3 Italian center, says it’s an honor to be called that, but he’s not like Wembanyama yet. By Dan Gelston. Text, photos sent Oct. 30.
BKC--T25-Arizona-Final Four Finally — Arizona fans were spoiled during the Lute Olson era, a time when the Wildcats became one of the nation’s elite programs with four trips to the Final Four and a national championship. No. 5 Arizona heads into the season looking to make consecutive Final Fours for the first time in program history. By John Marshall. Text, photos sent Oct. 29.
BKW--T25-UConn Resets — The UConn women’s basketball team’s quest for back-to-back national titles ended with a humbling and jarring loss to South Carolina in the 2026 Final Four. The Huskieshead into the 2026-27 season as the No. 2 ranked team in the AP Top 25 and a legitimate title contender, even with the loss of WNBA No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd. By Jim Fuller. Text, photos sent Oct. 22. With BKW—T25-UConn-Strong, sent Oct. 38.
REL-BKC-Catholic-College-Basketball — Catholic college basketball has a rich history, filled with talented teams, colorful coaches, and unforgettable characters. That legacy will soon be celebrated with the first-ever Eternal City Tip-Off on November 1 in Rome, when Notre Dame and Villanova’s men’s and women’s teams face off at the Palazzo dello Sport. The arena is near the Vatican, home base to Pope Leo XIV. Not only is he the first American pope, he’s a sports fan and a Villanova alum. By David Crary. Text, photos sent Oct. 16.
BKW--Vanderbilt-Chasing Championships — Shea Ralph finally has Vanderbilt right where the reigning AP women’s Coach of the Year is most comfortable. The Commodores are primed to chase championships. Ralph says everyone came to Vanderbilt to be great and this is what she’s trained for. By Teresa M. Walker. Text, photos sent. Oct. 14.
BKC—Big Ten Power Structure — Holding a first-ever trio of national titles in football, women’s basketball and men’s basketball, the Big Ten’s financial advantage may now be having a real competitive impact. Was Michigan’s men’s basketball title last season an outlier — like the 26-year drought that preceded it — or another sign of the Big Ten’s growing dominance over college sports? By Luke DeCock. Text, photos sent Oct. 8.
BKW--Big Ten Tilt — Big Ten women’s basketball has shown a decidedly West Coast tilt of late. Since joining the Big Ten, USC and UCLA have each won the regular-season title once and UCLA has won the tournament twice. The Bruins are coming off a national title and USC figures to be elite again with Juju Watkins back. By Luke DeCock. Text, photos sent Oct. 7.
BKC--ACC-Syracuse-McNamara — Gerry McNamara, the former Syracuse basketball star, is now the coach tasked with reviving the fledgling program. Syracuse has missed the last five NCAA Tournaments, a stark contrast to its glory days under Jim Boeheim. By Steve Reed. Text, photos sent Oct. 7.
BKC--ACC-Louisville-Portal Dive — Louisville coach Pat Kelsey took a deep dive into the transfer portal to boost the Cardinals’ competitiveness in the Atlantic Coast Conference and against physical teams. This offseason, he secured eight transfers, including Kansas big man Flory Bidunga, the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Louisville has the No. 2-ranked transfer portal class, behind St. John’s. By Steve Reed. Text, photos sent Oct. 6.
BKW--ACC-Notre-Dame-Hidalgo — Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo is entering a senior season in a career with big stats and a long awards list. The 5-foot-7 point guard could set a Division I career steals record and rank among the sport’s all-time top scorers. Hidalgo is driven by the goal of taking another step after leading the Fighting Irish within a game of last year’s Final Four. By Aaron Beard. Text, photos sent Oct. 5.
BKO—Tipoff-Coaching Carousel — A rundown of top coaching moves during the offseason in men's and women's basketball, including a list of those on the hot seat. By Steve Megargee. Text, photos sent Oct. 26.
BKC—Tipoff-Must-Watch Games — We provide a handful of showdowns coming up from this season's men's basketball season that you shouldn't miss. By Steve Megargee. Text, photos sent Oct. 27.
BKW—Tipoff-Must-Watch Games — Some of the showdowns coming up from this season’s women’s basketball season that you shouldn’t miss. By Doug Feinberg. Text, photos sent Oct. 28.
BKO—Tipoff-Bigger Tournaments — A what to know about why the NCAA tournaments were expanded by eight teams each this season and how that will change the calculus of what it means to be a bubble team. By Steve Megargee. Text, photos sent Oct. 29.
BKC—Tipoff-Impact Transfers — Scores of players switched schools during the offseason. We run down some of those who might make the biggest impact this season. By Steve Megargee. Text, photos sent Oct. 30.
BKW—Tipoff-Impact Transfers — Which standout players changed schools across the top echelon of women’s basketball? By Doug Feinberg. Text, photos sent Oct 30.
