Coaches’ poll ranks Kentucky among nation’s top five to start season
The University of Kentucky men’s basketball team will open the 2016-17 season as the No. 4-ranked team in the nation in the USA Today coaches poll released Thursday.
Duke will tip things off at No. 1, having collected 27 of the poll’s 32 first-place votes. Kentucky, with two first-place votes, was the only other team with more than one.
No. 2 Kansas, No. 3 Villanova and No. 5 Oregon received the remaining three first-place votes. Villanova is the defending national champion.
Kentucky will play against five schools ranked in the Top 25 this season: No. 2 Kansas (Jan. 28), No. 6 North Carolina (Dec. 17), No. 9 Michigan State (Nov. 15), No. 14 Louisville (Dec. 21) and No. 20 UCLA (Dec. 3).
UK was the only member of the Southeastern Conference voted into the preseason Top 25 by the coaches. Texas A&M, Florida, Georgia and Arkansas were among schools also receiving votes.
The Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big Ten led the way with five Top 25 selections each.
USA Today Top 25 poll
The top 25 teams in the preseason USA Today men’s college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 2015-16 records, points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and final ranking:
Team | 2015-16 record | Pts | Pvs |
1. Duke (27) | 25-11 | 792 | 18 |
2. Kansas (1) | 33-5 | 721 | 3 |
3. Villanova (1) | 35-5 | 700 | 1 |
4. Kentucky (2) | 27-9 | 695 | 16 |
5. Oregon (1) | 31-7 | 620 | 6 |
6. North Carolina | 33-7 | 614 | 2 |
7. Virginia | 29-8 | 596 | 5 |
8. Xavier | 28-6 | 552 | 11 |
9. Michigan State | 29-6 | 544 | 7 |
10. Wisconsin | 22-13 | 487 | 23 |
11. Arizona | 25-9 | 468 | 22 |
12. Indiana | 27-8 | 435 | 9 |
13. Gonzaga | 28-8 | 371 | 21 |
14. Louisville | 23-8 | 367 | NR |
15. Purdue | 26-9 | 324 | 19 |
16. Connecticut | 25-11 | 239 | NR |
17. Syracuse | 23-14 | 224 | 10 |
18. West Virginia | 26-9 | 204 | 14 |
19. Saint Mary’s | 29-6 | 203 | NR |
20. UCLA | 15-17 | 185 | NR |
21. Maryland | 27-9 | 153 | t12 |
22. Texas | 20-13 | 124 | NR |
23. Creighton | 20-15 | 113 | NR |
24. Rhode Island | 17-15 | 85 | NR |
25. Cincinnati | 22-11 | 75 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Florida State 20-14 65; Iowa State 23-12 56; California 23-11 43; Miami Fla. 27-8 35; Dayton 25-8 34; Oklahoma 29-8 33; Seton Hall 25-9 24; Texas A&M 28-9 22; Notre Dame 24-12 18; San Diego State 28-10 17; Virginia Tech 20-15 16; Wichita State 26-9 15; Butler 22-11 14; Southern California 21-13 14; Ohio State 21-14 12; Clemson 17-14 11; Colorado 22-12 11; Florida 21-15 11; Michigan 23-13 10; Pittsburgh 21-12 7; Georgia 20-14 6; Virginia Commonwealth 25-11 6; Yale 23-7 6; Chattanooga 29-6 5; Washington 19-15 4; Kansas State 17-16 3; Nevada 24-14 3; Arkansas 16-16 2; Davidson 20-13 2; Valparaiso 30-7 2; Southern Methodist 25-5 1; Utah 27-9 1.
This story was originally published October 20, 2016 at 3:26 PM with the headline "Coaches’ poll ranks Kentucky among nation’s top five to start season."