Traditional powerhouses, including Kansas at No. 5, dominated the top of the preseason Associated Press college basketball poll released Friday.
Loaded Kentucky, snagging 52 of 65 first-place votes, is ranked first followed by Arizona, Wisconsin, Duke, KU and North Carolina.
The poll, with first-place votes in parentheses and total points:
1 – Kentucky (52)
2 – Arizona (5)
3 – Wisconsin (8)
4 – Duke
5 – Kansas
6 – North Carolina
7 – Florida
8 – Louisville
9 – Virginia
10 – Texas
11 – Wichita State
12 – Villanova
13 – Gonzaga
14 – Iowa State
15 – Virginia Commonwealth
16 – San Diego State
17 – Connecticut
18 – Michigan State
19 – Oklahoma
20 – Ohio State
21 – Nebraska
22 – SMU
23 – Syracuse
24 – Harvard
25 – Utah
Others receiving votes: Stanford 71, Iowa 58, Colorado 57, UCLA 35, Minnesota 34, Kansas State 27, Arkansas 21, Pittsburgh 20, Memphis 15, NC State 14, Louisiana Tech 9, Cincinnati 8, LSU 8, George Washington 7, Notre Dame 6, Oklahoma State 6, Dayton 6, Georgetown 5, Florida State 5, Maryland 3, Illinois 3, UNLV 2, Brigham Young 2, West Virginia 1, Baylor 1, Stephen F. Austin 1, UTEP 1.
The top 25 ballot I sent to AP:
**1 – Kentucky:** Nine McDonald’s All-Americans, plus Willie Cauley-Stein, an embarrassment of riches.
Remember the 78-76 thriller of a victory against Wichita State in as good a game as was played in the NCAA Tournament? Well, Kentucky has 52 of its 78 points back from that one, in addition to four new McDonald’s All-Americans, including 7-footer Karl Towns, projected top five NBA selection.
Outspoken coach John Calipari has said he will play two platoons of five, subbing all five for the other five to start the season. We’ll see if he sticks with that plan.
**2 – Duke:** Point guard Tyus Jones and center Jahlil Okafor, two of the nation’s top freshmen, mixed in with steady seniors Quinn Cook in the backcourt and Amile Jefferson in the frontcourt, plus junior guard Rasheed Sulaimon all adds up to a team ready to start the season on a roll that will be tough to slow down.
**3 – Kansas:** Long on depth and short on height, Kansas will only improve significantly from last season if its point guard play does. If Conner Frankamp, ill-equipped to defend Big 12 point guards, were the answer he would not have transferred.
**4 – Arizona:** The Pac-12 will have a down year, keeping Arizona from playing a schedule that will make it less tested than most heavyweights in March. Still, there is plenty to like about this team, starting with 7-footer Kaleb Tarczewski, former recruiting target of KU. He’s a nice complement to talented forwards Brandon Ashley and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
**5 – Texas:** Much of the preseason talk will center on 6-11 freshman sharpshooter Myles Turner, sophomore point guard Isaiah Taylor and senior forward Johnathan Holmes, but it’s junior center Cameron Ridley who can turn this team into a monster. A 6-9, 285-pound force, Ridley’s tough to keep off the boards. If he can continue to improve his touch from the free-throw line (.333 as a freshman, .626 as a sophomore) he can become a handful for every Big 12 team.
**6 – North Carolina:** Marcus Paige, the slender, lefty point guard can score and still has the gift of making everyone on the court with him better. Roy Williams never sends a boring team onto the court and this year’s squad certainly is no exception.
**7 – Louisville:** Rick Pitino opens the season vs. Minnesota, coached by son Richard on Nov. 14, a made-for-TV matchup with some sizzle. Louisville’s Pitino has a shot at having as smooth an ACC debut as his former boss, Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. Forward Montrezl Harrell, an explosive, strong, relentless force underneath, would be one of the best players in any league.
**8 – Wichita State:** It still hacks me off that the NCAA Tournament committee put two of the nation’s best teams on a crash-course toward each other so early in the tournament. Few coaches know how to turn slights into advantages the way Gregg Marshall can, so look for that to benefit the Shockers, led by cerebral point guard Fred Van Vleet and born scorer Ron Baker. Look for Frankamp to join the lineup second semester next season.
**9 – Florida:** Just one starter returns, but fear not Billy Donovon will teach long, quick athletes how to play really tough defense and the Gators will exceed preseason expectations.
**10 – Michigan State:** The Spartans lost a ton from last season, but if underrated forward Branden Dawson can stay healthy, he could be tough to stop.
**11 – Wisconsin:** You don’t feel great for Badgers coach Bo Ryan making the Final Four for the first time a year ago, you don’t have a heart. The Badgers return 82 percent of their scoring and 85 percent of their rebounding. Frank Kaminsky, a 7-foot three-point threat, leads the way and forward Sam Dekker isn’t far behind. Teams will look to make their seasons by upsetting Wisconsin, a new feeling for the Badgers, who will get everybody’s best shot.
**12 – Villanova:** Darrun Hilliard scored 14 points in ‘Nova’s 63-59 victory against Kansas in the Bahamas. JayVaughn Pinkston had 13 and Ryan Acridiacono hit the game-winning three-pointer. They’re all back. It felt like an upset at the time but really wasn’t, considering the Wildcats went on to earn a No. 2 seed.
**13 – Iowa State:** If Fred Hoiberg were raised in, played college ball in and coached in Washington, D.C. instead of Ames, his nickname would be The President and he would look the part. Players develop under him because he gives them the freedom to shoot and puts them in position to take good shots. Georges Niang, who looks as if he’s lost all of his body fat, is one of the more interesting big men to watch in college basketball because he has such refined passing and shooting skills from the perimeter and is clever in the post as well.
**14 – Virginia:** Tony Bennett, son of Wisconsin coaching legend Dick Bennett, did more than hoist three-pointers with remarkable accuracy playing for his father at Wisconsin-Green Bay. He also paid attention to how the coach drew the most out of his talent and is doing the same at Virginia. The Cavs won the ACC regular season and post-season titles by playing at a deliberate pace, screening to open shots and playing scrappy defense. Can the Cavs do it again. Their talent level says no, but then again it said the same thing a year ago.
**15 – Connecticut:** Tied for third in the American Athletic Conference, the Huskies caught fire and won the NCAA Tournament under second-year coach Kevin Ollie. Guard Ryan Boatright is the lone returning starter, so a repeat isn’t likely. But the Huskies will play their hearts out for their coach and exceed expectations.
**16 – Virginia Commonwealth:** Every year, a school with a longer basketball tradition offers coach Shaka Smart a hefty pay raise and every year he turns it down to stay put. Pretty cool.
**17 – Gonzaga:** Guard Kevin Pangos, a three-time All-West Coast Conference selection returns for what seems like his 25th season in Spokane, which I’m told is beautiful this time of year.
**18 – Nebraska:** Andrew White III found a perfect landing spot, but will have to sit out this season before playing for Tim Miles. Just because White wasn’t quite good enough to crack the Kansas rotation, doesn’t mean he won’t become a big-time scorer for Nebraska. Small forward Terran Petteway averaged 3.1 for Texas Tech as a freshman, sat out a year as a transfer, and averaged 18.1 points as a third-year sophomore for the Cornhuskers.
**19 – San Diego State:** Steve Fisher is the anti-Bo Derek. The actress best known for her role in 10 always had such an interesting, almost exotic look. But she was so boring in interviews. Fisher looks as if he should be boring and then he opens his mouth and out spills humor, insight and candor. If center Skylar Spencer can play as he did in a four-point victory in Allen Fieldhouse (nine points, six rebounds, six blocked shots) on a regular basis, Fisher’s Aztecs will be more interesting than most project them to be at this point.
**20 – SMU:** Those close to Larry Brown say the former KU coach was big-time bummed when Emmanuel Mudiay, the nation’s top point-guard recruit, decided to play a year professionally in China instead of preparing for the NBA with one season at SMU, but I feel more sorry for Mudiay than for Brown. The teenager could have learned so much about how to play the game from Brown.
“He took eight different teams to the NBA playoffs,” ESPN’s Jay Bilas said after a recent KU practice. “Who does that? I mean, he’s a tremendous teacher. He played in the Olympics. He’s still the only man who has won an NCAA and NBA title. Played on the Olympic team. I think you could put Larry Brown’s experience in the game up against anybody’s. It’s an incredible, varied experience as a player and a coach.”
In the long run, that could have benefited Mudiay, who already has a game as sweet as tupelo honey, more than all the tea in China.
**21 – Ohio State:** Freshman guard D’Angelo Russell has the potential to solve the scoring problems the Buckeyes had a year ago. I bet your figured out all by yourself that when I said scoring I meant “scoring the basketball” as so many broadcasters and coaches are fond of saying. It’s the most annoying phrase ever to creep into basketball lexicon. It must stop, but it won’t unless you write your Congressman and encourage your friends, neighbors and relatives to do the same.
**22. – Oklahoma:** The Sooners await word on whether the NCAA will grant Houston transfer TaShawn Thomas immediate eligibility. A three-year starter at Houston, the forward is a versatile scorer and productive rebounder. Buddy Hield will try to improve on his team-leading totals of 16.7 points per game and 90 three-pointers.
**23 – Michigan:** The Wolverines have lost so much talent the past two seasons that the logical conclusion is there just isn’t enough talent to make up a Top 25 team. But that disregards the impact of John Bielein, a good guy and great coach. He’ll put enough confident scoring threats around star wing Caris LaVert to give him room to blossom and Michigan will remain a tough out.
**24 – Syracuse:** Coach Jim Boeheim has whiney expressions and sometimes words. He looks like a grump. And he’s the most underrated college basketball coach in the land. Boeheim lost a lot from last year’s team, but he has a gift for fitting pieces together in the right way and is a master at teaching a 2-3 zone nobody likes facing.
**25 – Pittsburgh:** Panthers lack star power, but they always know how to frustrate opponents by drawing them into ugly grind-it-out games.
