The 2025-26 NCAA college basketball season is off to a flying start. While several of the top programs-Duke, Arizona, Michigan State, Houston, Michigan, and UConn sit atop the rankings, several teams have surprised in the first month of the season. Eight teams remain undefeated, while three teams are winless.
10 Biggest Surprising Teams and What It Means Going Forward
Vanderbilt Commodores
Vanderbilt, which ended a seven-year NCAA tournament drought last March, is 9-0 for the third time this century. The Commodores have won eight of their games by double-digits — defeating VCU, SMU, and St. Mary’s by 15 or more points. The Commodores have started 9-0 in 2003-04 and 2007-08. They subsequently won their next game in both of those seasons.
Vanderbilt is succeeding because of its offensive explosiveness. The Commodores are the third-highest-scoring team in the nation at 97.6 points per game and second in offensive efficiency. The Commodores have scored at least 90 points six times and topped the century mark on four occassions. They are outscoring opponents by 24 points a contest.
Vanderbilt is an elite shooting team that shares the ball well, averaging 20.1 assists a game (seventh). The Commodores rank eighth in the country in field goal percentage at 52.7% and 11th in two-point percentage at 63.7%. They drain 11.1 threes a contest at a 38.8% clip while committing just 9.3 turnovers — all rank in the top 30 nationally.
Duke Miles, who has scored 20 points or more five times, leads the way for the Commodores with 17.8 points, along with 4.4 assists and 2.3 steals. He makes two threes a contest while compiling shooting splits of 52.1/42.9/83. Miles’ backcourt mate, Tyler Tanner, is also off to a fantastic start and is one of seven other players compiling at least eight points.
Vandy is off until next Saturday when they host Central Arkansas. The Commodores also travel to Memphis and Wake Forest before Christmas.
Indiana Hoosiers
Indiana, under first-year head coach Darian DeVries, got off to a 7-0 start for the first time this decade. While the Hoosiers didn’t face the most challenging schedule through the first seven contests, they did pick up double-digit victories over Marquette and Kansas State.
However, Indiana has dropped its last two games against Minnesota, and the Louisville Hoosiers have dropped their previous two games, falling to Minnesota (73-64) earlier this week and to Louisville (87-78) yesterday. After posting a 59.1% effective field goal percentage through the first seven games, the Hoosiers connected on just 40.2% of their field goal attempts this week, including 18 of 62 (29%) from the 3-point line.
The Hoosiers are a well-balanced, senior-laden squad led by Tucker DeVries and Lamar Wilkinson, so they should be in good shape in the future. The Hoosiers are an excellent shooting team overall and rank in the top-50 in efficiency as they don’t turn the ball over. They defend well, particularly the three-point line, although fouling is an issue. Overall, the Hoosiers are 16th nationally in defensive rating.
Auburn Tigers
Rookie head coach Steven Pearl has Auburn right where his father, Bruce Pearl, had them before, abruptly vacating the post before the season, which puts them in a position to make significant noise in the SEC and potentially nationally. The Tigers have been SEC regular-season or conference champions the past three years and reached two Final Fours under the elder Pearl.
Auburn is 7-3 on the year after getting pounded by No. 2-ranked Arizona last night, 97-68, marking their second straight big loss to a top-ranked squad. However, the Tigers are 2-3 in Quad I and II games already this year and nearly missed out on defeating Houston on a neutral court (73-72).
Keyshawn Hall leads one of the most physical teams in the country with 21.8 points and 9.1 rebounds. Hall has four double-doubles on the year, with two coming against Houston and NC State. Talented sophomore guard Tahaad Pettiford has stepped up his production, scoring 24 or more points in three of his last five appearances — totaling a career-high 30 in the loss to Arizona. They are an excellent offensive rebounding team, and although they can be exposed defensively, the Tigers’ guards can be disruptive on that end.
Arkansas Razorbacks
John Calipari guided Arkansas to 22 wins and a Sweet 16 appearance as a No. 10 seed. But the Razorbacks are 6-2 on the season despite relying on a pair of talented first-year students in their backcourt — Meleek Thomas and Darius Acruff Jr. The two freshmen combine for 35 points, 8.6 assists, and 2.2 steals along with 4.8 threes. While Thomas averages nearly 29 minutes a game, he has come off the bench in six of the eight. Forwards Nick Pringle and Trevon Brazile are the only seniors on the Razorbacks roster.
Arkansas earned its biggest win of the season in the SEC/ACC challenge with its victory over Louisville. The Hogs’ two losses have been to Duke and Michigan State. They will face Texas Tech and Houston on neutral courts before Christmas.
BYU Cougars
BYU made huge news when the Cougars secured the commitment of much-ballyhooed AJ Dybantsa. Dybantsa, the consensus No. 1 recruit in 2025, has lived up to the billing and leads the squad with 19.4 points on 54.4% shooting from the field 35% from deep. He is also contributing 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
However, the Cougars (7-1) are much more than the Dybantsa show as Richie Saunders continues to demonstrate that he is one of the best shooters in the country. At the same time, Baylor transfer Robert Wright III has taken steps in his development in year two of his collegiate career.
While BYU entered the season with high expectations, the Cougars have exceeded them in the early going, with their lone loss a two-point setback to UConn. The Cougars have neutral-court victories over Wisconsin, Miami (Fla.), and Dayton, and rank in the top 100 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. They have another chance in the nonconference slate to show they are legitimate with a clash with Clemson in the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday at MSG.
USC Trojans
USC (8-1) is on pace to surpass its win total in each of the last two seasons. It is the Trojans, who fell to Washington on Saturday, that have the best start to a campaign since winning their first nine games in 2021-22.
Chad Baker-Mazara and Rodney Rice give the Trojans one of the highest-scoring duos in college, as both are averaging 20 points per game. Utah transfer Ezra Ausar gives them a legitimate post presence and efficient third scorer. Rice has missed the Trojans’ last three games with a shoulder injury.
Iowa Hawkeyes
First-year coach Ben McCollum has Iowa (8-1) flying around after the Hawkeyes were mediocre in Fran McCaffrey‘s final three seasons in Ames. The Hawkeyes bounced back from their only loss thus far, Michigan State (71-52), with an 83-64 victory over Maryland on Saturday, evening their Big Ten record at 1-1. Bennett Stirtz, who followed McCollum from Drake, has picked up where he left off and leads the Hawkeyes with 18.8 points on 50.5% from the field and 2.6 threes at a 45.1% from deep.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Nebraska (9-0) owns the nation’s longest winning streak at 13 games, dating back to last season. The Cornhuskers, who rank 17th in the country with 11.3 threes a game and 12th in three-point attempts (32.5), have one of the best frontcourts in the nation. Rienk Mast, who has scored 20-plus points in four of his last six games, leads the way in scoring at 18.1 points on 54.6% from the field and 45.1% from deep. The Huskers are making 62.6% of their two-point attempts.
Others
- Yale (10-1) is off to its best start this decade, with its only hiccup coming against Rhode Island. The Bulldogs rank seventh in the country in offensive rating as they shoot 52.5% from the field (ninth) and 44% (second) from the 3-point line. They travel to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on December 29.
- George Mason (9-1) has one of the stingiest defenses in the country, allowing just 65.3 points per game (30th). The Patriots are limiting their opponents to 40.4% shooting from the field and 30.4% from the 3-point line. Offensively, Presbyterian College transfer Kory Mincy leads the way and tops the A-10 in scoring (18.9), three-point percentage (52.6%), and free throw percentage (97.6%).
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