Blue Ribbon’s preseason basketball poll is out. Kentucky fans won’t be disappointed.
One of college basketball’s leading preseason publications will have Kentucky as its No. 1 team in the country when it hits newsstands next month.
The Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, in its 38th year, puts UK at the top of the list, which also includes Kansas at 2, Gonzaga at 3, Duke at 4 and Tennessee at 5.
“This season, Blue Ribbon’s team of editors and writers thought the acquisition of Stanford graduate transfer Reid Travis, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward who averaged 19.5 points and 8.7 rebounds last season, coupled with another top-rated recruiting class and the return of sophomores Quade Green, P.J. Washington and Nick Richards, gives Calipari one of his more talented teams during his time in Lexington,” said editor and publisher Chris Dortch in a press release announcing the full top 25.
Kentucky is one of six Southeastern Conference teams ranked by Blue Ribbon. The others are No. 5 Tennessee, No. 8 Auburn, No. 11 Mississippi State, No. 18 LSU and No. 20 Florida.
It is the third time in five years UK has been Blue Ribbon’s preseason No. 1. Writers for CBSSports.com and ESPN.com had already dubbed UK No. 1 in their self-proclaimed “way-too-early” top 25s.
The yearbook will be available in late September on tablet devices at BlueRibbonYearbook.com. Print editions will go on sale in mid-October.
Kentucky’s season tip-off event, Big Blue Madness, is scheduled for Oct. 12. UK begins regular-season play against Duke in Indianapolis on Nov. 6.
Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook Preseason Top 25
1. Kentucky
2. Kansas
3. Gonzaga
4. Duke
5. Tennessee
6. Nevada
7. Virginia
8. Auburn
9. Oregon
10. Michigan State
11. Mississippi State
12. North Carolina
13. Kansas State
14. UCLA
15. Florida State
16. West Virginia
17. Clemson
18. LSU
19. Purdue
20. Florida
21. Villanova
22. Syracuse
23. Michigan
24. Virginia Tech
25. TCU
This story was originally published September 18, 2018 at 10:58 AM.