Copyright CBS Sports
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 frontcourt 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 developments caused Texas Tech, Michigan, Duke and UCLA to be pushed down one spot each, 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 against UCLA. Itching for more college hoops analysis? Listen below and subscribe to the Eye on College Basketball podcast where we take you beyond the hardwood with insider information and instant reactions. Top 25 And 1 rankings
