Kansas was ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason men’s basketball poll on Monday, getting the nod on half of the 60 ballots from a national media panel to open the season ahead of Alabama and two-time defending national champion UConn.
Kansas received 30 first-place votes from the AP panel. The Crimson Tide, led by All-America guards Mark Sears and Zarin Stevenson, earned 14 first-place votes and UConn, which is trying to become the first school since John Wooden’s teams at UCLA, won three straight titles, received 11 first-place votes and a third either.
Houston earned four first-place votes and finished fourth, just ahead of Iowa State, which returns its top four scorers from a team in the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga received one first-place vote and finished sixth.
Duke, led by consensus No. 1 recruit Cooper Flagg, is ranked No. 7 in the top 10, ahead of Baylor, North Carolina and Arizona.
The Jayhawks were preseason No. 1 a year ago, but the season rarely went according to plan. In Big 12 play they dragged and struggled with injuries, and a team led by All-American center Hunter Dickinson was eventually defeated by Cincinnati in the conference tournament and Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Kansas coach Bill Self retooled in the offseason, landing one of the nation’s top transfer classes in AJ Storr (Wisconsin), guards JK Mayo (South Dakota State) and Rylan Griffen (Alabama) along with Dickinson and fellow seniors DaJuan Harris Jr. and KJ Adams. Jr. — both part of the Jayhawks’ 2022 national title squad — to form a deeper and more talented team.
“We’re welcome to be No. 1, especially with our returning players like Hunter, Dajuan and KJ, and then you add the players we brought in,” Self said. “The goal is to be number 1 at the end of the season, and although we welcome that, it is not the end goal.”
The new-look Big 12, which lost Oklahoma and Texas but welcomes back Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado, has three of the top five and five of the top 10 in the preseason AP poll. The SEC leads overall with nine ranked teams.
“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 being the toughest conference in the country, and with the four additions it just got even stronger.”
No. 11 Auburn, Tennessee and Texas A&M round out the second 10, followed by Purdue and Creighton. Indiana, Marquette, Texas and Cincinnati have John Calipari’s Arkansas at No. 16 — its first poll appearance since 2019 — also in the top 20.
The Boilermakers are seeking a third straight Big Ten title following the departure of AP Player of the Year Jack Eddy.
“We have three starters back from that Final Four team. We have five freshmen. We have a lot of experienced guys outside of those three starters,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “We’re excited about it. We’re excited about this team.”
Florida, UCLA, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Rutgers round out the preseason top 25.
“I’m excited about the prospect,” 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 a league with 18 teams, you know, people are saying, ‘What a good coach you are.’ I don’t know where we sit, if you came to our practice yesterday, you’d say, ‘Oh, boy.’ And if you come a few days early, you might think, ‘Hey, they’re going to be pretty good.’
Looking out
Illinois tops the vote-getters after reaching the Elite Eight. St. John’s is on Rick Pitino’s doorstep, along with Xavier, Texas Tech and Wake Forest. The first regular-season poll is due out Nov. 11.
Trying to make history
Four schools that have never appeared in the top 25 received preseason votes, led by the McNeese Cowboys, who returned to the NCAA Tournament last season. Little Rock, Grand Canyon and High Point also received votes.
Statistics and streaks
Kansas is ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll for the fifth time since the preseason rankings began in 1962, trailing North Carolina (10), Duke (9) and UCLA (8). … Houston’s longest active Top 25 streak at 86 weeks. The Jayhawks finished second at 65. … Iowa State has the best preseason ranking in school history. Texas A&M matches its best. … Kentucky is in the preseason polls for a record 57th time. The Tar Heels appear for the 55th time.
