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Dell'Orso's No1 Arizona chasing Madness glory

Written By

Peter Brown

Senior Editor

Dell'Orso's No1 Arizona chasing Madness glory
Dell'Orso's No1 Arizona chasing Madness glory

Australian Anthony Dell'Orso #3 of the Arizona Wildcats shoots the ball against Don McHenry #3 of the Utah Utes during the second half of the game between Arizona Wildcats and Utah Utes at Jon M. Huntsman Center on January 4, 2026 (AEDT) in Salt Lake City, Utah. Photo: Bryan Byerly/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images

Three Australians play for AP Top 5 teams as Arizona rises to No.1 ahead of March Madness 2026.

Melbourne senior guard Anthony Dell’Orso's Arizona Wildcats are the No1 ranked NCAA Men's Basketball Team in the United States with 2026 March Madness about eight weeks away.

Arizona is 14-0 and steamrolling its way through the Big 12. Freshman guard Jacob Furphy's UConn is ranked 4th and Queensland Oscar Cluff's Purdue Boilermakers are ranked 5th.

Furphy has played limited games and limited minutes for the Huskies are starting the season on the sideline through injury while Cluff is a monster for 13-1 Purdue.

Cluff is their engine room, delivering the nation's top offensive rating and second in offensive rebounding percentage. His Offensive Rating of 164 is first among all players with more than 200 minutes in the 2025-26 season.

🇦🇺 Australians in the AP Top 25

1. Arizona — Anthony Dell’Orso — Senior

‍4. UConn — Jacob Furphy — Freshman

‍5. Purdue — Oscar Cluff — Senior

All three college's are a lock for the 2026 March Madness tournament while Australians playing for seven other colleges are fighting for invites into the tournament.

Australian national champion Alex Condon's Florida Gators are unranked in 2025-26 but are a certainty to earn an invite to defend their championship.

Bookmark this page. basketball.com.au will track March Madness here in 2026.

2026 March Madness Projections

  • Arizona – Anthony Dell’Orso
  • Colgate – Ben Tweedy
  • Florida – Alex Condon
  • LSU – Max Mackinnon
  • Saint Mary’s – Harry Wessels, Joshua Dent and Rory Hawke
  • High Point – Josh Ibukunoluwa
  • ‍Oregon State – Stephen Olowoniyi and Yaak Yaak
  • Purdue – Oscar Cluff
  • UConn – Jacob Furphy
  • Wisconsin – Austin Rapp

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