Jackson PayneDeseret News (Provo, UT)
E-mail: jpayne@deseret.com
Twitter: @jackson5payne
About: Jackson Payne has been writing about sports for the Deseret News since 2023. He originally hails from Northern Virginia and is a graduate of BYU’s Sports Media program, where he received numerous awards for his work as a student journalist. Jackson enjoys hanging out with his wife, consuming comedy and listening to music from before he was born.


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Feb 16, 2026Week 15 Rankings for Jackson Payne
1Michigan (60)
24-1Actual: 1
Highest: 1 - 60 Voters
Lowest: 2 - Jon Wilner
1524
Points
2Arizona
23-2Actual: 4
Highest: 2 - 8 Voters
Lowest: 6 - Dave Preston
1358
Points
3Houston (1)
23-2Actual: 2
Highest: 1 - Jon Wilner
Lowest: 6 - Kevin Sjuts
1402
Points
4Duke
23-2Actual: 3
Highest: 2 - 17 Voters
Lowest: 5 - 3 Voters
1397
Points
5UConn
24-2Actual: 5
Highest: 2 - 4 Voters
Lowest: 11 - Seth Davis
1318
Points
6Iowa State
22-3Actual: 6
Highest: 5 - 3 Voters
Lowest: 9 - Mark Zeigler
1212
Points
7Nebraska
22-3Actual: 9
Highest: 7 - 9 Voters
Lowest: 15 - David Jablonski
982
Points
8Purdue
21-4Actual: 7
Highest: 6 - 4 Voters
Lowest: 18 - Brice Cherry
1042
Points
9Gonzaga
25-2Actual: 11
Highest: 6 - 2 Voters
Lowest: 17 - 3 Voters
903
Points
10Virginia
22-3Actual: 14
Highest: 8 - Tony Paul
Lowest: 22 - Andy Greder
730
Points
11Florida
19-6Actual: 12
Highest: 5 - Toyloy Brown
Lowest: 20 - Brenden Martin
895
Points
12Michigan State
20-5Actual: 15
Highest: 9 - 2 Voters
Lowest: 20 - Scott Hamilton
681
Points
13Illinois
21-5Actual: 10
Highest: 4 - Seth Davis
Lowest: 18 - Joe Cook
938
Points
14Texas Tech
19-6Actual: 13
Highest: 7 - 2 Voters
Lowest: 17 - 3 Voters
822
Points

EXTREME PICK

This pick is 5+ spots from the actual ranking.
15Kansas
19-6Actual: 8
Highest: 6 - Jeff Rabjohns
Lowest: 15 - Jackson Payne
1011
Points
16St. John's
20-5Actual: 17
Highest: 10 - Seth Davis
Lowest: 21 - Randy Heitz
590
Points
17North Carolina
20-5Actual: 16
Highest: 7 - Scott Hamilton
Lowest: 23 - 3 Voters
594
Points
18Saint Louis
24-1Actual: 18
Highest: 8 - David Jablonski
Lowest: 25 - Mark Zeigler
468
Points
19Vanderbilt
21-4Actual: 19
Highest: 11 - Parth Upadhyaya
Lowest: 24 - Dave Borges
449
Points
20Miami (OH)
25-0Actual: 22
Highest: 10 - Brice Cherry
Lowest: NR - 11 Voters
238
Points
21Arkansas
19-6Actual: 20
Highest: 13 - Mark Zeigler
Lowest: NR - 1 Voters
387
Points
22BYU
19-6Actual: 23
Highest: 18 - 3 Voters
Lowest: NR - 10 Voters
214
Points
23Louisville
19-6Actual: 21
Highest: 15 - Andy Greder
Lowest: NR - 4 Voters
263
Points
24Alabama
18-7Actual: 25
Highest: 19 - 2 Voters
Lowest: NR - 25 Voters
104
Points
25Wisconsin
18-7Actual: 24
Highest: 12 - Scott Richey
Lowest: NR - 25 Voters
109
Points