Preseason AP Poll Unveiled with Few Surprises, Differences

The coaches and writers concur: Indiana is the team to beat in college hoops.

The Hoosiers topped the preseason AP poll released on Friday for the third time since the poll’s inception and the first since the 1979-80 season. Indiana returns all five starters, including Naismith College Player of the Year frontrunner Cody Zeller, and brings in a deep recruiting class headlined by blue-chip point guard Yogi Ferrell.

Indiana is followed in the poll by Louisville (No. 2) and Kentucky (No. 3), Ohio State (No. 4) and Michigan (No. 5). The Buckeyes and Hoosiers mark the second and third Big Ten teams in the Top Five. The last time a conference had three schools in the preseason Top Five was 2008-09, when Connecticut (No. 2), Louisville (No. 3) and Pittsburgh (No. 5) represented the Big East.

The top ten schools in the preseason AP poll mirrors the top ten of the preseason coaches’ poll released last week. The biggest disparity between the two polls is a mere two-spot difference concerning the placement of Missour, which ranked 17^th in the coaches’ poll and 15^th in the AP. Cincinnati, which was unranked by the coaches, jumped to No. 24 in the first AP poll.

The complete preseason AP Poll, to wit: