Houston forward Joseph Tugler, center, hangs from the rim after a dunk against Mississippi State during the second half of an exhibition game Oct. 26, 2025, in Rosenberg, Texas.
1. Houston, 16-2: The Cougars were 19-1 last year, but road trips to BYU, Kansas, Iowa State and Texas Tech are formidable.
2. BYU, 15-3: Packed houses of almost 20,000 fans at the Marriott Center gives BYU the league's most feared home court.
3. Arizona, 14-4: Road games at BYU, Kansas and Houston are worrisome.
4. Kansas, 13-5: It seems out of place to pick a Bill Self team fourth in any league.
5. Texas Tech, 12-6: The Red Raiders will use transfer portal purchases to contend.
Iowa State guard Killyan Toure (27) celebrates during the second half of an exhibition game against Northwestern, Oct. 26, 2025, in Ames, Iowa.
6. Iowa State, 11-7: A team as good as ISU could've gone 16-2 in the old Pac-12.
7. TCU, 9-9: There's a big drop after the first six.
8. Cincinnati, 8-10: Expect Cincy to be tough year after year with Wes Miller as its coach.
The rest: The bottom three could be old Pac-12 buddies Colorado, Utah and ASU. The Buffaloes and Utes are in total rebuilds. And ASU has 13 new players. That's more than a rebuild. That's a start-over process.
