College basketball rankings: Koa Peat dominates in debut as Arizona moves to No. 6 in Top 25 And 1
The star Wildcats freshman turned in an unforgettable performance as the Wildcats knocked off Florida on Monday
By
Gary Parrish
•
1 min read
Just about every conversation this offseason about college basketball's incredible freshman class centered around the trio of Darryn Peterson (Kansas), AJ Dybantsa (BYU) and Cameron Boozer (Duke), in part because those are the three players most believe are the real candidates to possibly go first overall in the 2026 NBA Draft.
I agree with the sentiment.
But Arizona's Koa Peat might belong in the conversation -- not necessarily as a candidate to be the No. 1 overall pick in June but as a similarly impactful first-year college player who could compete for National Freshman of the Year honors. The 6-foot-8 forward certainly looked the part in Monday's season-opener. He took 18 shots, made 11 of them and finished with 30 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in Arizona's 93-87 victory over Florida, and he generally looked like the best player on the court even though Todd Golden's Gators, the reigning national champions, arguably have the best frontcourt in the sport, one featuring AP Preseason First Team All-American Alex Condon,a 6-11 junior who was physically dominated by the 18 year-old pretty much from start to finish in a game played inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
"Koa, it was a coming out party for him, so to speak," said Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd. "Everyone's known about him, but no one's really studied him and watched him. He's a special player. The way he came out in that atmosphere, and he went against a first team All-American, and that kid's a heck of a player, and Koa obviously more than held his own."
Peat definitely more than held his own.
He dominated.
And now Arizona is up to No. 6 in Tuesday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where St. John's remains No. 1 following its 108-74 season-opening win over Quinnipiac. Florida dropped to No. 7. Those two developments caused Texas Tech, Michigan, Duke and UCLA to be pushed down one spot each in these rankings, no fault of their own.
Arizona's next game is Friday against Utah Tech. The Wildcats' next game against another currently ranked opponent is Nov. 14 vs. UCLA.
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Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
5
Arizona
1
Florida
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Dillon Mitchell finished with 18 points and four steals in Monday's 108-74 win over Quinnipiac. The Red Storm's next game is Saturday against Alabama. | -- | 1-0 |
| 2 |  | Matt Painter's Boilermakers should be led by CBS Sports Preseason Player of the Year Braden Smith, fellow returners Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer, and newcomers Oscar Cluff and Omer Mayer, the former of whom is a transfer from South Dakota State, the latter of whom is a dynamic guard from Israel. Purdue opens the season Tuesday against Evansville. | -- | 0-0 |
| 3 |  | Emanuel Sharp finished with 24 points and seven rebounds in Monday's 75-57 win over Lehigh. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Towson. | -- | 1-0 |
| 4 |  | AJ Dybantsa finished with 21 points and six rebounds in Monday's 71-66 win over Villanova. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Holy Cross. | -- | 1-0 |
| 5 |  | Alex Karaban finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Monday's 79-55 win over New Haven. The Huskies' next game is Friday against UMass Lowell. | -- | 1-0 |
| 6 | | Koa Peat finished with 30 points and seven rebounds in Monday's 93-87 win over Florida. The Wildcats' next game is Friday against Utah Tech. | 5 | 1-0 |
| 7 |  | Xaivian Lee missed 12 of the 17 shots he attempted in Monday's 93-87 loss to Arizona. The Gators' next game is Thursday against North Florida. | 1 | 0-1 |
| 8 |  | Grant McCasland's Red Raiders should be led by Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin, fellow returning rotation player Christian Anderson, and a transfer-portal class highlighted by Donovan Atwell (UNC Greensboro), LeJuan Watts (Washington State) and Luke Bamgboye (VCU). Texas Tech opens the season Tuesday against Lindenwood. | 1 | 0-0 |
| 9 |  | Morez Johnson finished with 24 points and three assists in Monday's 121-78 win over Oakland. The Wolverines' next game is Nov. 11 against Wake Forest. | 1 | 1-0 |
| 10 |  | Jon Scheyer's Blue Devils should be led by a freshman class highlighted by one-and-done candidates Cameron Boozer and Dame Sarr, and returning rotation pieces Caleb Foster, Isaiah Evans and Patrick Ngongba. Duke opens the season Tuesday against Texas. | 1 | 0-0 |
| 11 |  | Donovan Dent finished with 21 points and nine assists in Monday's 80-74 win over Eastern Washington. The Bruins' next game is Friday against Pepperdine. | 1 | 1-0 |
| 12 |  | Mark Pope's Wildcats should be led by SEC Preseason Player of the Year Otega Oweh and a transfer-portal class highlighted by Jayden Quaintance (Arzizona State), Jaland Lowe (Pitt), Denzel Aberdeen (Florida) and Mouhamed Dioubate (Alabama). Kentucky opens the season Tuesday against Nichols. | -- | 0-0 |
| 13 |  | Milan Momcilovic finished with 29 points and three rebounds in Monday's 88-50 win over Fairleigh Dickinson. The Cyclones' next game is Thursday against Grambling State. | -- | 1-0 |
| 14 |  | Khani Rooths finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Monday's 104-45 win over South Carolina State. The Cardinals' next game is Thursday against Jackson State. | -- | 1-0 |
| 15 |  | Darryn Peterson finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Monday's 94-51 win over Green Bay. The Jayhawks' next game is Friday at North Carolina. | -- | 1-0 |
| 16 |  | Tomislav Ivisic finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Monday's 113-55 win over Jackson State. The Illini's next game is Friday against Florida Gulf Coast. | -- | 1-0 |
| 17 |  | Labaron Philon finished with 22 points and eight assists in Monday's 91-62 win over North Dakota. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday at St. John's. | -- | 1-0 |
| 18 |  | Jaxon Kohler finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds in Monday's 80-69 win over Colgate. The Spartans' next game is Saturday against Arkansas. | -- | 1-0 |
| 19 |  | Dana Altman's Ducks should be led by returning starters Nate Bittle and Jackson Shelstad, fellow returning rotation piece Kwame Evans Jr., and a transfer-portal class highlighted by TK Simpkins (Elon) and Devon Pryor (Texas). Oregon opens the season Tuesday against Hawaii. | -- | 0-0 |
| 20 |  | Trevon Brazile finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds in Monday's 109-77 win over Southern. The Razorbacks' next game is Saturday at Michigan State. | -- | 1-0 |
| 21 |  | Tyon Grant-Foster finished with 15 points and five rebounds in Monday's 98-43 win over Texas Southern. The Zags' next game is Saturday against Oklahoma. | -- | 1-0 |
| 22 |  | Nate Ament finished with 18 points and nine rebounds in Monday's 76-61 win over Mercer. The Vols' next game is Saturday against Northern Kentucky. | -- | 1-0 |
| 23 |  | Keyshawn Hall finished with 28 points and five rebounds in Monday's 95-90 win over Bethune-Cookman in overtime. The Tigers' next game is Thursday against Merrimack. | -- | 1-0 |
| 24 |  | Sean Miller's Longhorns should be led by returning starters Jordan Pope and Tramon Mark, and a transfer-portal class highlighted by Simeon Wilcher (St. John's), Dailyn Swain (Xavier) and Matas Vokietaitis (FAU). Texas opens the season Tuesday against Duke. | -- | 0-0 |
| 25 |  | Caleb Wilson finished with 22 points and three assists in Monday's 94-54 win over Central Arkansas. The Tar Heels' next game is Friday against Kansas. | -- | 1-0 |
| 26 |  | John Blackwell finished with 31 points and four rebounds in Monday's 96-64 win over Campbell. The Badgers' next game is Friday against Northern Illinois. | -- | 1-0 |
