College Basketball Top 25: Duke on top of Coaches Poll once again
The first preseason Coaches Poll indicates an exciting season as many conferences appear to be in the mix even as Duke remains number one.
Last year, the first Coaches Poll of the season looked to the Duke Blue Devils as the leader of the pack. This was mostly due to the influx of young talent onto a Duke nucleus only two years removed from the National Title. The team was supposed to ride Grayson Allen, Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles, and Luke Kennard to the title game. It did not exactly work that way.
The first coaches poll is out, and the Blue Devils are seen as the leader of the pack. This is mostly due to a massive influx of freshman talent onto a Duke team that has shed almost all of its National Title pieces. This team is supposed to ride senior Grayson Allen and the boatload of new toys to the title game.
We haven’t gotten very far, have we? Preseason top 25 lists may not give you much real insight into the season, but it gives you a basis to start poking around for potential answers. The champion North Carolina Tar Heels were sixth in the first poll last year. Sitting in that spot this year is Villanova, a totally different team from the one that the Tar Heels played with last year.
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This year’s first poll also still has the FBI investigation’s fingerprints on it. Arizona, USC, Louisville, and Miami are all represented despite no one knowing how their teams will be affected by the scandals in their programs.
Mid-major powers also make an appearance. Wichita State is listed at number eight despite moving to the American Athletic Conference. A remade Gonzaga roster sits at nineteen. You can find the St. Mary’s Gaels down at twenty-two. Other powers not currently in a BCS conference would include Cincinnati (13), Xavier (17), and Seton Hall (23).
The ACC has five teams in the poll. Joining Duke, Miami, and Louisville are Notre Dame (14) and North Carolina (9). The defending champion Tar Heels would seem to have a decent shot to repeat if this poll and the monkey off their back were the only things you had to go on.
The Big Ten has four teams. Two things are noteworthy there. One, Northwestern (20) is in the poll at the start of the year coming off their first NCAA appearance. Two, Richard Pitino’s Minnesota (15) team is ranked higher than his father’s former team. Michigan State (2) currently holds the title of most worthy challenger to Duke.
2017-18 Preseason Coaches Poll
- Duke
- Michigan State
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Arizona
- Villanova
- Florida
- Wichita State
- North Carolina
- West Virginia
- USC
- Miami
- Cincinnati
- Notre Dame
- Minnesota
- Louisville
- Xavier
- UCLA
- Gonzaga
- Northwestern
- Purdue
- Saint Mary’s
- Seton Hall
- Baylor
- Alabama
Others Receiving Votes:
Texas A&M, Virginia, Butler, Missouri, TCU, Rhode Island, Providence, Wisconsin, Maryland, Oakland, Oklahoma, Michigan, Texas, Virginia Tech, Oregon, SMU, Creighton, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Arkansas, Florida State, South Carolina, Nevada
Next: Big East Preseason Awards
The poll has a tremendous amount of balance to it to start the season and no conference appears to be an overwhelming favorite in the way the ACC appeared to be last year.