It should come as no surprise that defending national champion Duke is at the top of the heap in the USA Today/ESPN coaches’ preseason top 25 poll, released on Thursday. Fellow 2010 Final Four member Michigan State checks in at No. 2, with Kansas State rounding out the top three.
College Basketball Rankings: Duke, Michigan State Top Preseason Coaches’ Poll
No conference is running away with the hearts of the coaches, with the Big Ten and Big 12 getting five teams each, the Big East getting four ranked teams, and the normally well represented ACC with only three. It is still a big school league though, with only four teams outside of the BCS conferences making the poll, the highest rated being Gonzaga at No. 12
| Rank | School | 2009-10 Record | Points | Last year's final rank |
1. | Duke | 35-5 | 772 | 1 |
2. | Michigan State | 28-9 | 737 | 4 |
3. | Kansas State | 29-8 | 656 | 7 |
4. | Pittsburgh | 25-9 | 621 | 20 |
5. | Ohio State | 29-8 | 615 | 11 |
6. | Villanova | 25-8 | 552 | 15 |
7. | Kansas | 33-3 | 538 | 6 |
8. | Purdue | 29-6 | 521 | 12 |
9. | North Carolina | 20-17 | 467 | NR |
10. | Kentucky | 35-3 | 449 | 5 |
11. | Florida | 21-13 | 424 | NR |
12. | Gonzaga | 27-7 | 423 | 23 |
13. | Syracuse | 30-5 | 422 | 8 |
14. | Baylor | 28-8 | 362 | 10 |
15. | Missouri | 23-11 | 354 | NR |
16t. | Illinois | 21-15 | 329 | NR |
16t. | Washington | 26-10 | 307 | 21 |
18. | Butler | 33-5 | 245 | 2 |
19. | Memphis | 24-10 | 212 | NR |
20. | Tennessee | 28-9 | 158 | 9 |
21. | Georgetown | 23-11 | 129 | NR |
22. | Temple | 29-6 | 120 | NR |
23. | Virginia Tech | 25-9 | 97 | NR |
24. | Wisconsin | 24-9 | 91 | 24 |
25. | Texas | 24-10 | 89 | NR |
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