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The college basketball season is just around the corner, and we now have an official look at how programs across the country stack up against each other. On Monday, the Associated Press announced its first rankings of the 2023-24 season with the preseason AP Top 25 poll.
Entering the new season, it is the Kansas Jayhawks who sit atop the rankings after escaping a postseason ban and major penalties when a panel downgraded violations against the basketball program.
The Jayhawks picked up 46 first-place votes.
The Duke Blue Devils sit at No. 2 with 11 first-place votes, followed by the Purdue Boilermakers, Michigan State Spartans, and Marquette Golden Eagles to round out the top five.
Sitting just outside of the top five at No. 6 is the defending national champion UConn Huskies, who picked up two first-place votes. The national runner-up San Diego Aztecs check in at No. 17.
Where does your favorite team stand as we prepare for another season?
The full preseason AP Top 25 Poll can be seen below.
AP Top 25 College Basketball Poll — Preseason Rankings
POLL ALERT: Kansas is No. 1 in the AP Top 25 preseason men's basketball poll, followed by Duke and Purdue. See who else got first-place votes with the season coming up fast on Nov. 6.
Full poll: https://t.co/ZJG5mgWrsa pic.twitter.com/ivoQV4MLp2
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) October 16, 2023
- Kansas (46)
- Duke (11)
- Purdue (3)
- Michigan State (1)
- Marquette
- UConn (2)
- Houston
- Creighton
- Tennessee
- Florida Atlantic
- Gonzaga
- Arizona
- Miami
- Arkansas
- Texas A&M
- Kentucky
- San Diego State
- Texas
- North Carolina
- Baylor
- USC
- Villanova
- Saint Mary’s
- Alabama
- Illinois
Others Receiving Votes: Wisconsin 53, Colorado 49, UCLA 47, St. John’s 47, Maryland 34, Virginia 27, Auburn 27, TCU 24, Mississippi St. 20, Kansas St 13, Xavier 8, Memphis 7, Missouri 6, Boise St. 4, Indiana 3, Florida 2, Coll of Charleston 2, New Mexico 1, Drake 1.
About the Associated Press Top 25 Poll
The Associated Press college basketball poll started on Jan. 20, 1949. The original poll had 20 teams, with Saint Louis the first school to hold the No. 1 ranking. From the 1961-62 season through 1967-68 only 10 teams were ranked. It expanded again to 20 teams from 1968-69 through 1988-89. The Top 25 began the next season, and it has stayed at that number ever since. The AP’s final poll is released after the field for the NCAA Tournament is selected.
