Tarheels Top Preseason AP Poll
The Preseason AP poll has been released and the North Carolina Tarheels were ranked #1.
The Complete Poll is as follows:
1. N. Carolina (62), 1,620
2. Kentucky, 1,501
3. Ohio St. (1), 1,482
4. UConn (2), 1,433
5. Syracuse, 1,338
6. Duke, 1,301
7. Vanderbilt, 1,120
8. Florida, 1,086
9. Louisville, 1,055
10. Pittsburgh, 1,027
11. Memphis, 997
12. Baylor, 892
13. Kansas, 755
14. Xavier, 747
15. Wisconsin, 720
16. Arizona, 616
17. UCLA, 404
18. Michigan, 401
19. Alabama, 395
20. Texas A&M, 357
21. Cincinnati, 353
22. Marquette, 335
23. Gonzaga, 283
24. California, 230
25. Missouri, 139
Others receiving votes: Florida St. 131, Michigan St. 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 (Cal) 6, George Mason 5, West Virginia 4, Long Beach St. 3, Miami 3, Harvard 2, Illinois 2, Marshall 1, Minnesota 1, San Diego St. 1.
The future version of the ACC has 4 of the top 10 teams, but nobody else in the top 25. And of the four teams ranked in the top 10, Syracuse and Pitt are so ranked as current members of the Big East. That makes the conference both top-heavy and weak heading into the season. A few teams are going to need to have surprising seasons for the conference to generate respect. Interestingly, perennial football powers Florida St. and Miami were among the others receiving votes.
It is notable that, even removing Big East defectors Syracuse, Pitt, and (now) West Virginia, the Big East still has the #4 team (UConn), the #9 team (Louisville), the #21 team (Cincinnati), the #22 team (Marquette), and Villanova also receiving votes. The addition of Pitt and Syracuse to the ACC will undoubtedly even the gap in future seasons.
The Confidential 