AP Top 25: Kansas gets No. 1 nod ahead of Alabama, UConn in preseason poll

Kansas was named first in Monday’s AP Top 25 men’s basketball preseason poll, receiving the No. 1 spot in a field of 60 votes from a national media panel to start the season before Alabama and two-time defending national champion Conn.

Kansas collected 30 first-place votes on the AP panel. The Crimson Tide, led by All-American guard Mark Sears and star forward Jarin Stevenson, received 14 first-place votes while UConn, trying to become the first school since John Wooden’s UCLA teams to win three straight titles, received -11 first. -put the votes and it is the third.

Houston He got four first place votes and is fourth ahead of them Iowa Statereturning the top four scorers from a team that was the No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Gonzaga he received one first vote and is sixth.

Dukeled by consensus no. 1 hire Cooper Flagg, is the seventh before Baylor, North Carolina again In Arizona out of 10.

The Jayhawks were the preseason No. 1 last year, too, but the season didn’t go as planned. They were dragged down by injuries and struggled in Big 12 play, and the team led by American center Hunter Dickinson was eventually dismissed by. Cincinnati in the conference tournament and Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Kansas coach Bill Self also worked in the offseason, landing one of the top transfer classes in the nation. Wisconsin’s AJ Storr, South Dakota State guard Zeke Mayo and Alabama’s Rylan Griffen are part of a dynamic group that joins Dickinson and fellow seniors Dajuan Harris and KJ Adams — both on their 2022 national team — to build a deep and talented team. .

“We welcome being No. 1, especially with our returning players like Hunter, Dajuan and KJ, and then add the players we brought in,” Self said. “The aim is to be number 1 at the end of the season, and although we accept this, it is not the final goal.”

The new-look Big 12, which lost Oklahoma and Texas but welcomes Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado, has three of the top five and five of the top 10 in the AP preseason poll. The SEC leads the way with nine in the Top 25.

“Having three Big 12 teams in the top five and five in the top 10 shows how competitive this league is going to be,” Self said. “Every year we talk about the Big 12 as the toughest conference in the nation and with the addition of four it has become even stronger.”

No. 11 Auburn, Tennessee again Texas A&M started 10 second, followed Purdue again Creighton. John Calipari has it Arkansas by No. 16 with In Indiana, MarquetteTexas and Cincinnati – makes its first poll appearance since 2019 – in the top 20.

The Boilermakers are trying to win a third straight Big Ten title after the departure of AP player of the year Zach Edey.

“We have three returning starters from a Final Four team,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “We have five freshmen. We have a lot of experienced guys besides the three starters. We’re excited about it. We’re excited about this team.”

Florida, UCLA, in Kentucky, Ole Miss and Rutgers round out the preseason Top 25.

“I’m happy with my expectations,” said Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell, whose team was ranked in the preseason poll for the first time since 1978. “We’ve always had high expectations, and now in an 18-team league you know people say, ‘How good are you there? [are] 18 teams. They are great coaches.’ I don’t know where we are sitting. If you had come to our practice yesterday, you would have said boy. And if you’ve come a few days before, you might think, ‘Hey, they’re going to be great.’

[Read more: College basketball rankings: Kansas, UConn, Alabama sit atop John Fanta’s preseason top 25]

Illinois tops the other vote-getters after reaching the Elite Eight. Rick Pitino has St. John’s at the door along with Xavier, Texas Tech and Wake Forest. The first poll of the regular season will be released on Nov. 11.

Four schools that have never appeared in the Top 25 received preseason votes, led by McNeese State, which returned to the NCAA Tournament last season. Little Rock, Grand Canyon and High Point also received votes.

Here are the full top 25:

1. Kansas
2. Alabama
3. Conn
4. Houston
5. Iowa State
6. Gonzaga
7. Duke
8. Baylor
9. North Carolina
10. In Arizona
11. Auburn
12. Tennessee
13. Texas A&M
14. Purdue
15. Creighton
16. Arkansas
17. In Indiana
18. Marquette
19. Texas
20. Cincinnati
21. In Florida
22. UCLA
23. in Kentucky
24. Ole Miss
25. Rutgers

It is reported by the Associated Press.

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