North Carolina had an improbable run to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament final against Kansas. The momentum built by Tar Heels and the return of four starters led them to the No. 1 ranking to start the college basketball season.
The Associated Press released the preseason top 25 on Monday. Leaky Black, Armando Bacott, RJ Davis, and Caleb Love returning Tar Heels received first-place votes with 47 votes to start the season. They beat Gonzaga, the preseason favorite of the past two years.
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Gonzaga was second in the rankings with 12 first place votes, Houston was third, and Kentucky was fourth.
“When I opened my locker for my first practice last year, there was a picture of the New Orleans Superdome. I wanted them to see where we were going in April,” said North Carolina. State coach Hubert Davis told the Associated Press. “Hard work and preparation and practice to be able to do it. This year it’s the same approach as last year. The only difference this year is the noise outside. ”
“Last year we didn’t think the outside noise gave us a chance. This year we think the outside noise gives us a chance.”
Gonzaga lost to Kansas in last year’s final. The Jayhawks entered the preseason rankings tied for fifth with Baylor. Duke, entering the first season with John Scheer on the sidelines instead of Mike Kushwski, was ranked seventh.
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The first handful of regular season college basketball starts on November 7th.
The rest of the AP rankings are now:
—
1).north carolina
2).Gonzaga
3).houston
Four).kentucky
Five).Kansas
Five).Baylor
7).duke
8). UCLA
9).clayton
Ten).Arkansas
11).Tennessee
12).texas
13).Indiana
14). TCU
15).auburn
16).Villanova
17).Arizona
18).Virginia
19).San Diego
20).Alabama
twenty one).Oregon
twenty two).Michigan
twenty three).Illinois
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twenty four).Dayton
twenty five).texas tech