As expected, North Carolina is the overwhelming choice for No. 1 in the just-released USA Today/ESPN preseason top 25 poll. The Tar Heels, who garnered 30 of 31 first-place votes, return every key member from last year's 29-8 ACC championship squad, including player of the year candidate Harrison Barnes.
NCAA Basketball Rankings: Preseason USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Has North Carolina No. 1
North Carolina is the overwhelming preseason choice to cut down the nets in New Orleans according to the first USA Today/ESPN poll.
The team that eliminated UNC in the Elite Eight last season, Kentucky, checks in at No. 2. The Wildcats return sophomore stars Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb, and add the nation's top freshman class, featuring McDonald's All-Americans Anthony Davis, Michael Gilchrist, Marquis Teague and Kyle Wiltjer.
Ohio State and Jared Sullinger come in at No. 3, while the Big East tandem of defending national champion Connecticut and Syracuse round out the top five.
The poll includes teams from nine different conferences. The Big East leads the way with the - somewhat pedestrian for its standards - inclusion of six teams.
It’s also noteworthy that 12 of the 25 teams featured in the poll finished last season unranked.
Here’s the top 25 in its entirety:
| Team (first-place votes) | 2010 Record | Points | 2010-11 Final Ranking | |
1. | North Carolina (30) | 29-8 | 774 | 8 |
2. | Kentucky (1) | 29-9 | 721 | 3 |
3. | Ohio State | 34-3 | 702 | 5 |
4. | Connecticut | 32-9 | 655 | 1 |
5. | Syracuse | 27-8 | 649 | 18 |
6. | Duke | 32-5 | 635 | 7 |
7. | Vanderbilt | 23-11 | 567 | NR |
8. | Louisville | 25-10 | 514 | 22 |
9. | Memphis | 25-10 | 482 | NR |
10. | Florida | 29-8 | 474 | 10 |
11. | Pittsburgh | 28-6 | 471 | 12 |
12. | Baylor | 18-13 | 358 | NR |
13. | Kansas | 35-3 | 331 | 4 |
14. | Wisconsin | 25-9 | 313 | 15 |
15. | Xavier | 24-8 | 277 | NR |
16. | Arizona | 30-8 | 269 | 9 |
17. | Alabama | 24-11 | 194 | NR |
18. | Michigan | 21-14 | 187 | NR |
19. | Texas A&M | 24-9 | 161 | NR |
20. | UCLA | 23-11 | 147 | NR |
21. | Marquette | 22-15 | 145 | 20 |
22. | Cincinnati | 26-9 | 141 | NR |
23. | Gonzaga | 25-10 | 125 | NR |
24. | California | 18-15 | 111 | NR |
25. | Missouri | 23-11 | 110 | NR |
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