Kansas has been picked first in the AP Top 25 preseason men’s basketball poll announced Monday, amassing 30 first-place votes from a national media panel. This distinction places them ahead of Alabama, which garnered 14 first-place votes, and two-time defending national champion UConn, which secured 11 votes to land in third place.
Houston, receiving four first-place votes, claimed the fourth spot, followed by Iowa State, which returns its top four scorers from a team that was seeded second in the NCAA Tournament last year. Gonzaga, with one first-place vote, rounds out the top six.
Duke, featuring consensus No. 1 recruit Cooper Flagg, is positioned seventh, followed by Baylor, North Carolina, and Arizona to complete the top ten.
Kansas, preseason No. 1 last year as well, encountered numerous obstacles last season, including injuries that hampered their Big 12 performance. The team, led by All-American center Hunter Dickinson, faced early exits in both the conference and NCAA tournaments. However, Kansas coach Bill Self has retooled the roster significantly. High-profile transfers, including A.J. Storr from Wisconsin, South Dakota State guard Zeke Mayo, and Rylan Griffen from Alabama, join returning players like Dajuan Harris Jr. and KJ Adams Jr., both integral to their 2022 national title team, to build a team deeper and more talented.
“We welcome being No. 1, especially with our returning players like Hunter, Dajuan, and KJ, and then you add the players we brought in,” Self commented. “The goal is to be No. 1 at the end of the season, and though we welcome this, it is not the end goal.”
The revamped Big 12, which has lost Oklahoma and Texas but added Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, and Colorado, boasts three of the top five and five of the top ten teams in the preseason AP poll. The SEC leads with nine teams in the Top 25.
“To have three Big 12 teams in the top five and five in the top ten just shows how competitive this league will be,” Self added. “Every year we talk about the Big 12 being the toughest conference in the nation and with the four additions it became even stronger.”
Auburn, Tennessee, and Texas A&M kick off the second ten, followed by Purdue and Creighton. John Calipari’s Arkansas team is ranked 16th, with Indiana, Marquette, Texas, and Cincinnati—returning to the poll for the first time since 2019—rounding out the top 20.
Purdue is aspiring to capture its third consecutive Big Ten title despite the departure of AP player of the year Zach Edey. “We have three starters back from a Final Four team. We have five freshmen. We have a lot of guys with experience outside of those three starters,” Purdue coach Matt Painter explained. “We’re excited about it. We’re excited about this group.”
Florida, UCLA, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Rutgers complete the preseason Top 25. “I’m excited about the expectations,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said, noting that his team is ranked in the preseason poll for the first time since 1978. He acknowledged the fierce competition within a league boasting 18 teams.
Illinois leads the group of teams receiving votes just outside the Top 25 after their Elite Eight finish. Rick Pitino’s St. John’s squad is on the cusp, along with Xavier, Texas Tech, and Wake Forest. The first regular-season poll is scheduled for November 11.
McNeese State, after returning to the NCAA Tournament last season, heads the list of four schools that have never appeared in the Top 25 but received preseason votes, along with Little Rock, Grand Canyon, and High Point.
Kansas is ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll for the fifth time, only trailing North Carolina, Duke, and UCLA for the most times since the rankings began in 1962. Houston boasts the longest active Top 25 streak at 86 weeks, with Kansas following at 65. Iowa State and Texas A&M each achieve their best preseason rankings in school history, while Kentucky appears in the preseason poll for a record 57th time, and North Carolina for the 55th.