The start of the college basketball season is right around the corner, and the voters in the USA TODAY Sports preseason coaches poll have weighed in on who they think will be the teams to beat this season.
We begin today with the release of the men’s poll, where Purdue will open the campaign at No. 1. The Boilermakers, who played for the championship two years ago but are still seeking the program’s first national title, received 18 of 31 first-place votes. It is the first ever preseason No. 1 ranking for Purdue.
Houston, last season’s NCAA tournament runner-up, begins this year where the last one ended at No. 2. The Cougars were picked first on 12 ballots and will start a position higher than the school that knocked them off in the most recent title game. That would be Florida, which will open its championship defense with a No. 3 preseason ranking, though the Gators did pick up one first-place nod. Perennial powers Connecticut and Duke round out the preseason top five.
TOP 25: Complete USA TODAY Sports preseason men's basketball poll
The rest of the top 10 also includes some names quite familiar to hoops followers. St. John’s opens at No. 6 followed by No. 7 Michigan, and Kentucky and Louisville hold down the 9 and 10 spots. Then there’s Brigham Young, checking in at No. 8 with its highest preseason ranking.
