LAWRENCE, Kan., Sporting Alert – North Carolina starts of the No. 1 team in the NCAA men’s college basketball AP Preseason Top 25 poll, which was released on Monday.
The Tar Heels, who returned four starters from last year’s team, received 35 of the 65 first-place votes for the media voting panel and 1,566 points.
North Carolina, which reached the sweet 16 in the 2015 NCAA tournament, starts the season as the top-ranked team in the AP preseason top 25 ranking for a record ninth time.
“I do feel like we’re going to be a good basketball team,” said Roy Williams, who is entering his 13th season as UNC’s head coach.
“I’m excited for our kids, because this is one of the best groups that I’ve ever worked with. We made a nice run last year but were disappointed with the way it ended.
“Hopefully we will use that as fuel to be the best team we can be this year. There are so many good teams, I don’t see how anybody could pick just one to be No. 1 at this point of the season. But it’s certainly nice to be one of those teams under consideration.”
Meanwhile, Kentucky, which received 10 first-place votes is ranked second, with Maryland, which had 14 first-place votes, starting the campaign at No. 3.
Kansas, which had five first-place votes, is at No. 4, while defending national champions Duke completes the top five.
Virginia is sixth, and is followed by Iowa State, Oklahoma, Gonzaga and Wichita State who rounded out the top 10.
Villanova, Arizona, Michigan State, California and Indiana are 11 through 15, with the likes of Wisconsin (17th), the runner-up from last season, Notre Dame (19th), Connecticut (20th) and Baylor (22nd) all in the top 25 as well.
NCAA Men’s Basketball – Via ESPN.com
AP Top 25 Preseason Rankings
RK, TEAM, PTS
1 North Carolina (35) 1,566
2 Kentucky (10) 1,520
3 Maryland (14) 1,487
4 Kansas (5) 1,410
5 Duke 1,350
6 Virginia (1) 1,347
7 Iowa State 1,185
8 Oklahoma 1,088
9 Gonzaga 1,047
10 Wichita St 1,032
11 Villanova 1,013
12 Arizona 917
13 Michigan State 838
14 California 757
15 Indiana 755
16 Utah 499
17 Wisconsin 433
18 Vanderbilt 393
19 Notre Dame 360
20 Connecticut 307
21 LSU 268
22 Baylor 265
23 Purdue 236
24 Butler 223
25 Michigan 126
Others receiving votes: Oregon 116, SMU 112, West Virginia 84, Texas A&M 72, Cincinnati 63, Miami (FL) 48, Louisville 46, Georgetown 23, NC State 19, Texas 18, Florida State 18, Rhode Island 17, Dayton 12, Xavier 12, Providence 10, Iowa 6, BYU 5, Valparaiso 5, Boise State 4, Old Dominion 3, San Diego State 2, UCLA 2, Oklahoma State 2, Yale 1, UC Irvine 1, Iona 1, Central Michigan 1
