Kansas ranks No. 1 in AP Top 25 preseason poll

Kansas is No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 preseason college basketball poll released Monday.

Coming off a 28-8 season and a second-round loss in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, the Jayhawks received 46 of 63 first-place votes and a total of 1,548 points.

This is the third time since coach Bill Self took over in 2003 that Kansas will open the season on top. The Jayhawks feature returning starters Kevin McCullar Jr., DaJuan Harris Jr. and KJ Adams along with Michigan transfer Hunter Dickinson and top-50 recruit Elmarko Jackson.

No. 2 Duke received 11 first-place votes and No. 3 Purdue earned three. Michigan State (one first-place vote) and Marquette round out the top five.

Defending champion UConn got two first-place votes and ranks No. 6, followed by Houston, Creighton, Tennessee and Florida Atlantic.

The SEC leads the way with five teams in the preseason poll. The Big 12 and Big East each have four schools and the ACC and Big Ten both have three.

The remainder of the preseason Top 25:

11. Gonzaga

12. Arizona

13. Miami (FL)

14. Arkansas

15. Texas A&M

16. Kentucky

17. San Diego State

18. Texas

19. North Carolina

20. Baylor

21. Southern California

22. Villanova

23. Saint Mary's

24. Alabama

25. Illinois