The “I Haven’t Watched Since Football” Guide to the 2025–26 Men’s College Basketball Season

Everything you need to know as of Tuesday, February 10, 2026 (so you’re ready for March Madness).

The NFL season is over, the Super Bowl confetti’s been swept up, and now the sports calendar does what it always does: it hands you college basketball and says, “Good luck catching up.”

So here’s the full reset — what’s happening right now, who’s actually good, what matters for the NCAA tournament, and what to watch from now until Selection Sunday.

Where the season stands right now (Feb. 10, 2026)

The No. 1 team finally took a loss — and it was a classic

On Monday night (Feb. 9 into Feb. 10), Kansas beat No. 1 Arizona 82–78 at Allen Fieldhouse, handing Arizona its first loss and snapping a perfect 23–0 start.

That game mattered for two reasons:

1. It’s the kind of “March preview” environment that makes the tournament feel inevitable.

2. It reshuffles the national picture because Arizona had been the unanimous No. 1 in the most recent AP poll (released Feb. 9).

There’s still an unbeaten team… and it’s a great story

As of this date, Miami (Ohio) is 24–0 and (as of the most recent poll) ranked No. 23. If you love March Madness chaos: this is the kind of team America adopts for 48 hours and then refuses to shut up about.

The rankings snapshot: who the country thinks is elite (and who the computers love)

AP Top 25 (latest poll released Feb. 9)

The most recent AP poll had:

• No. 1 Arizona

• No. 2 Michigan

• No. 3 Houston

• No. 4 Duke

• No. 5 Iowa State

• UConn right behind them after a slip…and a stacked group of Big Ten / Big 12 contenders in the top 10.

  
  

Important context: that poll came out before Arizona lost to Kansas. So the next poll will reflect Arizona at 23–1, Kansas rising, and the national race tightening.

NET Rankings (what the tournament committee uses heavily)

The NCAA NET is one of the biggest résumé tools used in selection and seeding. Right now, Michigan sits No. 1 and Arizona No. 2 in the official NET listing.

That matters because it helps explain why:

• Michigan is seen as a “computer darling” even while Arizona held No. 1 in the human poll.

  
  

How March Madness selection works (the part casual fans always miss)

If you’re a football-first fan, here’s the simplest translation:

What gets you IN

• Winning games, obviously

• Quality wins (especially vs. tournament-level opponents)

• Avoiding bad losses (the dreaded “Quad 4 loss”)

What defines “quality” and “bad”

Games are split into Quadrants (Q1–Q4) based on opponent strength and where you played (home/neutral/away). The stronger the opponent and tougher the location, the higher the quadrant.

This is why teams with the “same record” can have completely different tournament outlooks: one team has a pile of Q1 opportunities, another doesn’t.

If you want one “truth page” to keep open daily, use the official NET Rankings page, because it’s updated continuously and connects directly to how the committee thinks.

The conference races that matter most right now (power leagues)

Big 12: a heavyweight title fight

The Big 12 is doing what the Big 12 always does: turning league play into a weekly stress test.

Big 12 standings snapshot (official conference standings):

• Arizona 10–1 (23–1 overall)

• Houston 9–1 (21–2 overall)

• Kansas 9–2 (19–5 overall)…and Iowa State right behind the leaders.

Kansas’ win over Arizona wasn’t just a “big TV night.” It put Kansas right back into the conference title conversation.

How to think about the Big 12 for March: If you survive this league with a strong record, your résumé is almost always tournament-proof — because the schedule forces you into quality games constantly.

Big Ten: it’s crowded at the top

The Big Ten is shaping into a “top-tier pileup,” where multiple teams have both:

• the record, and

• the metrics.

Big Ten standings (NCAA standings listing):

• Michigan leads the conference

• Illinois is right there

• Nebraska, Michigan State, Purdue all in the hunt behind them

How to think about the Big Ten for March: This league is going to produce multiple high seeds — and the middle of the conference can still absolutely bite you on a random Tuesday.

ACC: Duke at the top, real depth behind it

ACC standings (official ACC standings page):

• Duke 10–1 in ACC (21–2 overall)

• Clemson 10–1

• Virginia right behind them

Also: Louisville just delivered one of the loudest “what the…?” box scores of the season — 118 points with freshman Mikel Brown Jr. scoring 45, tying a Louisville single-game record and setting an ACC freshman scoring record per Reuters.

SEC: competitive, messy, dangerous

The SEC has teams that can absolutely make runs — but the league is also the definition of “anyone can lose any night.”

For a standings view that updates daily, NET-backed conference pages (like WarrenNolan) are useful, but the safest “accuracy anchor” is pairing them with official schedules/results and the NCAA team sheets/NET.

The national title contenders (the short list that actually feels real)

Based on the combination of:

• AP ranking,

• NET position,

• and the way the season has played out so far…

Here are the teams that are clearly in the “on-paper can win six games in March” tier right now:

Arizona

Even with the Kansas loss, their résumé and dominance to date still scream top seed caliber.

Michigan

The NET’s No. 1 team and consistently elite by the numbers — the kind of squad that ends up a 1-seed if it keeps steady.

Houston

Surging hard and now No. 3 in the AP poll, Houston is trending like a team that wants to peak at the perfect time.

Duke / Iowa State / UConn

These teams live in the “they can beat anybody” zone — and they’ll get seeded based on how they close.

Kansas

Kansas beating No. 1 Arizona is the exact kind of February result that turns into a March storyline (“they figured it out late”).

The teams casual fans should know (because they’ll be everywhere in March)

• Miami (Ohio): undefeated story, poll presence, and the kind of team that will be the nation’s favorite upset pick.

• St. John’s: ranked, winning, and coached by Rick Pitino — which guarantees attention and drama.

• Nebraska / Michigan State / Purdue / Illinois: the Big Ten’s weekly brawl teams that nobody wants to draw.

  
  

What’s next: the calendar from here to the tournament

The dates you should circle now (official NCAA tournament schedule)

• Selection Sunday: Sunday, March 15, 2026

• First Four: March 17–18

• Round of 64: March 19–20

• Final Four: April 4 (Indianapolis)

• Championship: April 6 (Indianapolis)

So between now and March 15, the season breaks into two phases:

1. Resume building (Feb): teams stacking quality wins and avoiding landmines

2. Seeding wars (late Feb + early Mar): teams jockeying for 1–4 seeds, bubble teams fighting for survival

   
   

The “fastest way to become informed” watch plan

If you want to go from “I haven’t watched” to “I can argue seeds” quickly, here’s the routine:

1. Check AP Top 25 once a week to know who the country’s watching.

2. Check NET rankings twice a week to understand the committee logic.

3. On Saturdays, watch one Big 12 game and one Big Ten game — you’ll see the most tournament-level intensity.

4. Track one Cinderella: Miami (Ohio) is the easiest “new fan” storyline in the sport right now.

   
   

The bottom line

As of February 10, 2026, the season has everything you want heading into March:

• A former undefeated No. 1 (Arizona) finally getting tested

• A metrics monster (Michigan) sitting at NET No. 1

• A red-hot contender (Houston) climbing fast

• A blueblood surge moment (Kansas ending Arizona’s perfect run)

• A true “how are they still unbeaten?” Cinderella (Miami (Ohio) 24–0)

And now that football’s done, the timing is perfect: you’ve got about five weeks to lock in before the bracket drops.