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Murray's preseason AP Top 25 college basketball poll includes two … – Nevada Sports Net
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by Chris Murray
The AP Top 25 preseason college basketball poll will be released Monday. I'll be voting in the poll for the 12th straight season. Here is my preseason Top 25, which includes writeups for the top-10 teams as well as the two schools from the Mountain West and my preseason All-American team below that. This feature is presented in partnership with Champion Chevrolet.
1. Kansas: The Jayhawks landed Michigan big man Hunter Dickinson via transfer and kept Kevin McCullar Jr. from turning pro. He's one of three starters back from last year's No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Bill Self has another top-level team.
2. Duke: Kyle Filipowski returned and will be a player of the year contender after averaging 15.1 points and 9.0 rebounds as a freshman. The pressure will be on second-year coach Jon Scheyer, whose team failed to reach the Sweet 16 last season.
3. Purdue: The Boilermakers became the second No. 1 seed to lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season but returns National Player of the Year Zach Edey. He's one of four returning starters on a loaded team.
4. UConn: The defending NCAA champions lost some key players but shouldn't take drop that far in terms of overall talent. The last time a defending champ reached the Sweet 16 was 2015-16 Duke, so it must overcome that potential malaise.
5. Michigan State: Tom Izzo says he hates transfers and has a nice corps of high school recruits who are looking to blossom together along with import Tyson Walker. The Spartans have a great backcourt and should be elite defensively.
6. Creighton: The Bluejays return three starters, including potential All-Americans Trey Alexander and Ryan Kalkbrenner, Utah State transfer Steven Ashworth should fit in well and help replace departed point guard Ryan Nembhard.
7. Houston: It will be a new-look backcourt for the Cougars, who have leaned heavily on its guards in recent years. Kelvin Sampson's program jumps to the more difficult Big 12, but Houston has the roster to remain among the national elite.
8. Marquette: Shaka Smart is finding more success at Marquette than he did Texas, and this should be his best Golden Eagles team yet. Only one starter is gone and All-American candidate Tyler Kolek is back for the defending Big East champs.
9. Tennessee: The Vols return the core of their Sweet 16 team and will be experienced and deep. Double-digit scorers Santiago Vescovi, Josiah-Jordan James and Zakai Zeigler return, the latter coming back from a torn ACL.
10. Miami: The Hurricanes were a surprise Final Four participant, which sets a high standard for Jim Larranaga's bunch, which returns three starters, including lead guard Nijel Pack, wing Wooga Poplar and big man Norchad Omier.
11. USC
12. Gonzaga
13. FAU
14. Arkansas
15. Texas
16. Villanova
17. San Diego State: The national runner-ups lost starters Matt Bradley, Keshad Johnson and Nathan Mensah as well as experienced reserves Adam Seiko and Aguek Arop but should remain a force in the Mountain West.
18. Arizona
19. Saint Mary’s
20. Texas A&M
21. TCU
22. North Carolina
23. Colorado
24. Kentucky
25. Boise State: Leon Rice's program is looking for its first NCAA Tournament win, and he might have the right mix of returning players and transfers to accomplish that goal. I'd not be surprised if the Broncos upended SDSU to win the MW.
All-American team
Zach Edey, Purdue
Armando Bacot, North Carolina
Johni Broome, Auburn
Boo Buie, Northwestern
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Columnist Chris Murray provides insight on Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at crmurray@sbgtv.com or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.
