By JACOB POLACHECK
For the second consecutive year, the Duke Blue Devils will open the season as the No. 1 ranked team in the AP Preseason Top-25 poll, with Michigan State, Arizona, Kansas, and Kentucky rounding out the rest of the top-five. Duke had 33 of 65 first-place votes.
“It is an honor to be picked No. 1 in your sport,” Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski told the Associated Press Wednesday. “At this time of the year, it truly is a prediction, so you haven’t earned No. 1 yet. More than likely, past teams that have played at Duke have put this team in a position where people might say, ‘How is that team going to do?’ or ‘They have a lot of talent’ and all of the sudden, you’re No. 1. Certainly, it’s an honor and we’ll look forward to trying to achieve and earn that ranking at some time during the season, hopefully at the end.”
Michigan State, Arizona, and Kansas all received first-place votes. Arizona had 18 first-place votes, Michigan State had 13, while Kansas only had one.
After seeing three freshmen, Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles, and Frank Jackson leave school early last year, Duke and head coach Mike Krzyzewski was still able to pull in another great recruiting class. The crown jewel of the Blue Devils’ class is No. 1 ranked player Marvin Bagley III, but they were also able to land Trevon Duval, Wendell Carter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., Jordan Tucker, Jordan Goldwire, and Alex O’Connell. They will also bring back senior guard Grayson Allen.
The ACC had the most ranked teams with five, while the Big-12 and Big Ten had four each. The Big East and Pac-12 each had three.
Kansas extended the nation’s longest consecutive poll streak with its 162nd straight Top 25, a run that started on Feb. 3, 2009. Arizona is next with 98.
The first regular-season poll will be Nov. 13. The season will have an early 1-2 matchup the next day when Duke plays Michigan State in Chicago in the Champions Classic. No. 4 Kansas plays No. 5 Kentucky in the second half of the doubleheader.
The full AP Preseason Top-25 is shown below:
1. Duke (33)
2. Michigan State (13)
3. Arizona (18)
4. Kansas (1)
5. Kentucky
6. Villanova
7. Wichita State
8. Florida
9. North Carolina
10. USC
11. West Virginia
12. Cincinnati
13. Miami (Fla.)
14. Notre Dame
15. Minnesota
16. Louisville
17. Xavier
18. Gonzaga
19. Northwestern
20. Purdue
21. UCLA
22. Saint Mary’s
23. Seton Hall
24. Baylor
25. Texas A&M
Others receiving votes:
Alabama 86, Virginia 57, Rhode Island 49, TCU 46, Providence 34, Missouri 19, Virginia Tech 16, Wisconsin 14, Butler 13, Texas 10, Maryland 7, Oklahoma 7, Nevada 7, Michigan 6, Dayton 5, Middle Tennessee 4, Ball St. 4, SMU 3, Oakland 2, Oregon 2, South Carolina 1, Harvard 1, UCF 1.
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