Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels open the year with the top ranking in the nation, not to mention lofty expectations. The Tar Heels are ranked No. 1 for the eighth time in school history and received 62 of 65 first-place votes and 1,620 total points.
Kentucky is ranked second in the poll while Ohio State is ranked third in the nation and received one first-place vote. UConn, the defending national champion, is ranked No. 4 in the poll and received two first-place votes. Syracuse, Duke, Vanderbilt, Florida, Louisville and Pittsburgh round out the top ten.
AP Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
- North Carolina Tar Heels (62 first-place votes; 1,620 points)
- Kentucky Wildcats (1,501 points)
- Ohio St. Buckeyes (one first-place vote; 1,482 points)
- Connecticut Huskies (two first-place votes; 1,433 votes)
- Syracuse Orange (1,338 points)
- Duke Blue Devils (1,301 points)
- Vanderbilt Commodores (1,210 points)
- Florida Gators (1,086 points)
- Louisville Cardinals (1,055 points)
- Pittsburgh Panthers (1,027 points)
- Memphis Tigers (997 points)
- Baylor Bears (892 points
- Kansas Jayhawks (755 points)
- Xavier Musketeers (747 points)
- Wisconsin Badgers (720 points)
- Arizona Wildcats (616 points)
- UCLA Bruins (404 points)
- Michigan Wolverines (401 points)
- Alabama Crimson Tide (395 points)
- Texas A&M Aggies (357 points)
- Cincinnati Bearcats (353 points)
- Marquette Golden Eagles (335 points)
- Gonzaga Bulldogs (283 points)
- California Golden Bears (230 votes)
- Missouri Tigers (139 votes)
Others receiving votes: Florida State 131, Michigan State 128, Temple 69, Washington 44, New Mexico 33, Butler 25, Texas 21, Villanova 14, Creighton 12, Purdue 10, Belmont 8, Drexel 8, UNLV 7, Saint Mary's 6, George Mason 5, West Virginia 4, Long Beach State 3, Miami (FL) 3, Harvard 2, Illinois 2, Marshall 1, Minnesota 1, San Diego State 1. Dropped from rankings: San Diego State 6, Texas 8, Purdue 13, West Virginia 22, Washington 23