After starting off the 2026-2027 season off of the initial USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll, the UCLA Bruins climbed up to the No. 15 spot after the team’s impressive first week of the season.
The win over Arizona did the heavy-lifting for UCLA’s rise up the poll but the Bruins backed up their win over the Wildcats by dominating North Florida in a game where freshman Nikola Kusturica took center stage. Arizona dropped down to No. 11 after losing to the Bruins in Las Vegas but both former Pac-12 teams look poised for successful seasons, with both sides featuring deep rosters.
UCLA is 2-0 with a ranked win, with their next game not coming until Wednesday when the Bruins host the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions inside of Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA is the biggest riser in this week’s poll, climbing 12 spots with Kansas and Virginia behind the Bruins, getting bumped up four spots.
The Florida Gators own the No. 1 spot in the poll, staying put after their 2-0 start to the season. The highest-rated Big Ten Conference team is No. 3 Illinois, with No. 5 Michigan State also cracking the Top-10. Then it’s UCLA at No. 15, with No. 21 Michigan, No. 22 USC and No. 24 Nebraska appearing in the poll as well.
Purdue dropped out of the Top-25, as the Boilermakers, Indiana and Wisconsin all received votes in this week’s poll. It didn’t take UCLA long to reach the poll, now Mick Cronin’s team will try to stay there as they won’t face Power Four competition for the rest of the month.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA basketball moves up to No. 15 in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll
