As expected, North Carolina earned the nation’s No. 1 ranking in the initial AP poll of the 2011-12 season, followed by No. 2 Kentucky, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Connecticut and No. 5 Syracuse.
The Big East, which placed 11 teams in the NCAA Tournament last year, has six teams in the current poll.
In addition to defending champion UConn and Syracuse, the Big East has No. 9 Louisville, No. 10 Pitt, No. 21 Cincinnati and No. 22 Marquette.
2011-12 ASSOCIATED PRESS PRESEASON TOP-25
| Rk. | School (First Place votes) | Record | Points | Previous |
| 1. | North Carolina (62) | 29-8 | 1,620 | 7 |
| 2. | Kentucky | 29-9 | 1,501 | 11 |
| 3. | Ohio State (1) | 34-3 | 1,482 | 1 |
| 4. | Connecticut (2) | 32-9 | 1,433 | 9 |
| 5. | Syracuse | 27-8 | 1,338 | 12 |
| 6. | Duke | 32-5 | 1,301 | 3 |
| 7. | Vanderbilt | 23-11 | 1,120 | 25 |
| 8. | Florida | 29-8 | 1,086 | 15 |
| 9. | Louisville | 25-10 | 1,055 | 14 |
| 10. | PITT | 28-6 | 1,027 | 4 |
| 11. | Memphis | 25-10 | 997 | NR |
| 12. | Baylor | 18-13 | 892 | NR |
| 13. | Kansas | 35-3 | 755 | 2 |
| 14. | Xavier | 24-8 | 747 | 20 |
| 15. | Wisconsin | 25-9 | 720 | 16 |
| 16. | Arizona | 30-8 | 616 | 17 |
| 17. | UCLA | 23-11 | 404 | NR |
| 18. | Michigan | 21-14 | 401 | NR |
| 19. | Alabama | 25-12 | 395 | NR |
| 20. | Texas A&M | 24-9 | 357 | 24 |
| 21. | Cincinnati | 26-9 | 353 | NR |
| 22. | Marquette | 22-15 | 335 | NR |
| 23. | Gonzaga | 25-10 | 283 | NR |
| 24. | California | 18-15 | 230 | NR |
| 25. | Missouri | 23-11 | 139 | NR |
