Kansas was chosen No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason men’s basketball poll on Monday, receiving half of the 60 votes from the National Media Committee for the No. 1 ranking, joining Alabama for the two-time national championship. They started the season by defeating their school, University College.
Kansas received 30 first-place votes from the Associated Press Committee. The Crimson Tide, led by All-American guards Mark Sears and Jalin Stephenson, received 14 votes, while the University, which is seeking its first three-peat since UCLA coach John Wooden’s team, received 11 votes. Voted 3rd place.
Houston received four first-place votes and is in fourth place ahead of Iowa State, which returns its top four scorers from a team that was the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga University received one first-place vote and finished in sixth place.
Duke, led by consensus No. 1 recruit Cooper Flagg, ranks seventh in the top 10, ahead of Baylor, North Carolina and Arizona.
Despite losing Oklahoma and Texas, the new Big 12 welcomes Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado and holds three of the top five and five of the top 10 in the preseason AP poll. The SEC has nine companies in the top 25.
No. 11 Auburn, Tennessee and Texas A&M will start in the second 10, followed by Purdue and Creighton. John Calipari ranked Arkansas at No. 16 and included Indiana, Marquette, Texas and Cincinnati in the top 20, appearing in the poll for the first time since 2019.
An outsider’s perspective: Illinois leads the state in terms of votes after reaching the Elite Eight. Rick Pitino has St. John’s in front of him, along with Xavier, Texas Tech, and Wake Forest. The first regular season voting is scheduled to be announced on November 11th.
Preseason AP Top 25
1. Kansas (30 first-place votes), 1,449 points
2. Alabama (14), 1,428
3. UConn (11), 1,345
4. Houston (4), 1,343
5. Iowa State, 1,177
6. Gonzaga (1), 1,157
7. Duke, 1,154
8. Baylor, 1,109
9. North Carolina, 1,037
10. Arizona, 905
11. Auburn, 901
12. Tennessee, 775
13. Texas A&M. 737
14. Purdue, 678
15. Clayton, 631
16. Arkansas, 625
17. Indiana, 492
18. Marquette, 484
19. Texas, 332
20. Cincinnati, 271
21.Florida. 249
22. University of California, Los Angeles, 210
23. Kentucky, 191
24. Ole Miss, 132
25. Rutgers, 102
Other voting destinations: Illinois 92, St. John’s 91, Xavier 73, Texas Tech 58, Wake Forest 37, Kansas St. 30, Michigan St. 29, Ohio St. 29, Michigan 19, BYU 14, Oregon 12, McNeese St. 11, Miami. 11, Boise St. 9, St. Louis 9, Clemson 9, Providence 9, Mississippi St. 6, VCU 6, Wisconsin 5, St. Mary’s 5, Louisville 4, UAB 4, Ark. Little Rock 3, Grand Canyon 3, Arizona St. 2, San Diego 2 Street, Princeton 2, High Point 1, Maryland 1.
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