The 2025–26 season of college basketball tipped off with last year’s Final Four sitting at the top of the preseason poll, and the three non-UConn teams entered as the most realistic contenders to knock off the defending champs. Week 5 brought some major shakeups in the rankings, and here’s our prediction for the AP Top-10 heading into Week 6.

Texas Longhorns (10-0)

The Longhorns jumped from No. 4 to No. 2 last week, and this might finally be the moment they climb into the No. 1 spot after impressive wins over No. 11 North Carolina, Penn State and Prairie View. The Longhorns also have the most Quad 1 wins among any top-10 team, and that should be more than enough to push them into the No. 1 spot.

While last week was all about Rori Harmon, the fifth-year senior who is now the program’s all-time assists leader, this week you’re going to hear a lot about Breya Cunningham. Cunningham delivered a career-best 30 points and 14 rebounds as Texas rolled to its fourth 100-point game of the season against Prairie View.

UConn Huskies (9-0)

The Huskies, just like Texas, are still unbeaten, and they just celebrated Sue Bird’s jersey retirement with a massive 102–35 win over DePaul. Sarah Strong continues to shine alongside captain Azzi Fudd, and UConn looks stacked with talent. They’re so deep that last year’s starting center, Jana El Alfy, can barely get off the bench right now.

They’ve held the No. 1 spot for the first five weeks and if they do slip to No. 2, it will not be their fault. UConn is still the No. 1 team in the NET rankings on the official NCAA site, but with one fewer Quad 1 win than Texas.

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South Carolina Gamecocks (9-1)

The Gamecocks lost their No. 2 spot last week after Texas jumped them by winning the Players Era championship game. And right now, Dawn Staley is dealing with a real depth problem. This isn’t last year’s roster, where you could bring in a Tessa Johnson for Te-Hina Paopao or have Joyce Edwards come off the bench and change the game.

They’re both starters now, and the bench production has been shaky. In the win over Louisville, the bench managed just 4 points, though things looked much better against NC Central with 30 bench points. This is the same program that ranked first or second in the country in bench scoring in each of the last three seasons, and that firepower was a huge reason South Carolina felt like a lock for the championship conversation every year.

This season, they don’t have that same cushion, and it’s starting to show in matchups against ranked teams, where they’re 2–1 so far. Of course, it’s still way too early to make any big declarations, plenty can change as the season rolls on.

UCLA Bruins (9-1)

The Bruins, just like South Carolina, dropped a spot after losing to Texas in the Players Era championship, but they’ve bounced back in style. Since that loss, UCLA has put together an impressive run with wins over Duke, No. 14 Tennessee and Oregon. The biggest concern had been Lauren Betts’ inconsistent play, but even she delivered a strong game against Oregon, a great sign for the Bruins moving forward.

So yes, things are looking up in L.A., and in our prediction, UCLA holds firm at No. 4.

LSU Tigers (10-0)

The Tigers, much like the Bruins, will hold onto their No. 5 spot, but they’re easily one of the hardest teams to figure out right now. Kim Mulkey’s squad has the best offense in the nation at 109.9 points per game, the best scoring margin at 54.9, and the second-best NET rating in the country. On paper, there’s nothing but optimism.

So why are they still sitting at No. 5?

A simple reason is that they’ve mostly played Quad 4 teams. According to the official NCAA site, the Lady Tigers are 7–0 against Quad 4 opponents and still haven’t faced a single ranked team in their non-conference schedule. That makes it almost impossible to judge how good they really are at this point.

Michigan Wolverines (8-1)

The Wolverines had a strong week, picking up big wins over Purdue and Central Michigan. They’ll hold onto the No. 6 spot thanks to the two 80+ point outings and the fact that they currently sit third in the NET rankings. There’s a lot to like about this Michigan team, and that narrow loss to UConn only reinforces that they could be a real threat later in the season.

Maryland Terrapins (11-0)

At No. 7, we’re going with the Terrapins, who posted back-to-back 90-point performances this week and continue to flex some of the best depth in the country. Maryland has 13 players averaging double-digit minutes, the most in Division I, and none of them play more than 30 minutes a night. That depth fuels their defense too, with a relentless full-court press that helps them rack up 12.0 steals per game.

TCU Horned Frogs (10-0)

The Horned Frogs extended their dominant home streak to 31 straight wins with a 95–40 blowout over UTEP. Olivia Miles continues to be the star of the show, recording the seventh triple-double of her career in the win. The TCU offense is currently averaging 86.3 points and 20.7 assists per game.

With a ranked win over NC State already on the resume and a ninth-place NET ranking as of Dec. 6, TCU looks locked into the No. 8 spot in our projected college basketball rankings.

Oklahoma Sooners (9-1)

The Sooners are coming off a strong week after winning their division of the Coconut Hoops Classic in Fort Myers, Florida, with dominant wins over Coppin State (100–46) and Florida State (109–91). But their biggest statement came in the ACC/SEC Challenge, where they beat previously ranked NC State 103–98 behind a spectacular 33-point performance from Aaliyah Chavez.

That kind of star power is exactly why landing the No. 1 recruit matters, and it’s more than enough for Oklahoma to keep its spot in our projected college basketball rankings.

Iowa State Cyclones (10-0)

Audi Crooks is the nation’s leading scorer, and her Iowa State squad has one of the most explosive offenses in college basketball. The Cyclones are putting up 95.8 points per game, holding a +38.6 scoring margin (fifth best in the nation), and dishing out 23.8 assists per game, which ranks second.

But they still haven’t faced a ranked opponent, and their upcoming showdown with Iowa should finally reveal what this team is really made of. For now, they hold onto the No. 10 spot in our projected rankings.