AP voters give KU No. 3 spot in preseason poll

By Staff     Oct 31, 2016

Nick Krug
Kansas forward Carlton Bragg Jr. swings off the rim after an off-the-backboard pass for a dunk from teammate Devonte Graham during Late Night in the Phog on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016 at Allen Fieldhouse.

A day before making their exhibition debut, the Kansas Jayhawks, as expected, appeared near the top of the first AP Top 25 of the upcoming college basketball season.

KU will enter 2016-17 as the No. 3 team in the nation, just behind two fellow perennial powerhouses, No. 1 Duke and No. 2 Kentucky.

The Blue Devils received the vast majority of first-place votes, with 58. UK also received a couple of No. 1 nods. Not one AP voter deemed KU worthy of the preseason’s top slot. But defending national champion Villanova, which came in at No. 4, had four first-place votes. A solitary voter tabbed No. 5 Oregon as best in the land.

Kansas begins the regular season on Friday, Nov. 11, in Honolulu, Hawaii, against the AP’s preseason No. 11 team, Indiana. Then the Jayhawks will head to New York for a highly anticipated showdown with No. 1 Duke, on Nov. 15.

The AP voters showed the Big 12 some respect, by including four teams in the rankings. No. 20 West Virginia, No. 21 Texas and No. 24 Iowa State join Kansas in the inaugural top 25 of the season.

The Jayhawks were voted No. 2 entering this season in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

AP PRESEASON COLEGE BASKETBALL TOP 25

No. 1 Duke

No. 2 Kentucky

No. 3 Kansas

No. 4 Villanova

No. 5 Oregon

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 Connecticut

No. 19 Syracuse

No. 20 West Virgina

No. 21 Texas

No. 22 Creighton

No. 23 Rhode Island

No. 24 Iowa State

No. 25 Maryland

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