There have been some very impressive signs throughout the college basketball season for multiple teams, but to me, there’s a strong argument to be made that Duke is the best team in America.
Unfortunately for Duke, if it wants to hold the top spot, it will need Arizona to start losing some games.
While Duke has been excellent and deserves a lot of credit, it’s almost unfair to suggest that, right now, any team has been just as good as Arizona.
The Bull Durham’s Hugh Straine had similar thoughts, stating that while Duke might have an argument to be the best team in the country, it’s impossible to ignore what Arizona has done with some of the wins it has picked up.
“The Duke basketball program has firmly established itself as a true national championship contender after beginning the 2025-26 college basketball season with a 10-0 record that includes four wins over ranked opponents. However, after No. 1 Arizona's recent decisive victory over No. 12 Alabama, the Blue Devils' accomplishments seem to have been cast to the side. After Duke took down No. 9 Michigan State in East Lansing, it felt like the Blue Devils owned the best resume in the sport. However, the Wildcats seem to have taken that honor right back after they demolished the Crimson Tide.
“Arizona has now defeated five ranked teams through its first nine games, becoming the first program in the history of college basketball to do so. It won these five games by an average margin of 12.8 points, proving it is deserving of the No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll,” he wrote.
At this point in the season, wins are what we have to evaluate teams on.
We already knew that Duke and Arizona were going to be very talented, but if one team clearly has better wins than the other, it’s almost unfair to suggest that Duke is the better team.
As things currently stand, there isn’t a team in the country with a better resume than what Arizona has put together.
I get that it’s early, but Arizona now has wins over Alabama, Auburn, UConn, and Florida. It’s tough to ignore right now that Arizona hasn’t been the best team in the nation at 9-0.