Photo by Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images(NEW YORK) — The Duke Blue Devils will top the Associated Press’ preseason men’s basketball poll for the second straight year, with many familiar faces featuring near the top.
Duke earned just more than half of the 65 first-place votes after signing top recruit Marvin Bagley III. Along with the highly touted freshman, the Blue Devils feature senior guard Grayson Allen, a controversial figure after a number of on-court incidents last season.
Duke, along with preseason number two Michigan State, number four Kansas and number five Kentucky will square off in the Champions Classic in Chicago, beginning on November 14.
The Atlantic Coast Conference had the most ranked teams of any conference with five. The Big 12 and Big Ten had four each.
Kansas continued the longest ranked streak in the nation at 162 weeks in a row.
See the full rankings below:
1. Duke (33 first place votes)
2. Michigan State (13 first place votes)
3. Arizona (18 first place votes)
4. Kansas (1 first place vote)
5. Kentucky
6. Villanova
7. Wichita State
8. Florida
9. North Carolina
10. Southern California
11. West Virginia
12. Cincinnati
13. Miami
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
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