The AP released their preseason top 25 on Monday, and it should come as no surprise that Duke was the No. 1 team in the country.
What is mildly surprising is that the Blue Devils didn’t receive all 65 first place votes. Two went to Kentucky, four went to Villanova and Oregon got one.
The rationale there? It has to be injuries, as both Harry Giles III and Jayson Tatum are banged up. Because given the amount of talent on the roster, that doesn’t make a ton of sense.
Anyway, you can read through the NBCSports.com Preseason Top 25 for our take right here. You can also see extensive breakdowns of the top teams in the links below:
CONTENDER SERIES: Duke | Oregon | Kentucky | Kansas | Villanova
No. 1 Duke (58 first-place votes)
No. 2 Kentucky (2)
No. 3 Kansas
No. 4 Villanova (4)
No. 5 Oregon (1)
No. 6 North Carolina
No. 7 Xavier
No. 8 Virginia
No. 9 Wisconsin
No. 10 Arizona
No. 11 Indiana
No. 12 Michigan State
No. 13 Louisville
No. 14 Gonzaga
No. 15 Purdue
No. 16 UCLA
No. 17 Saint Mary’s
No. 18 UConn
No. 19 Syracuse
No. 20 West Virginia
No. 21 Texas
No. 22 Creighton
No. 23 Rhode Island
No. 24 Iowa State
No. 25 Maryland