College basketball season is in the air, as the Associated Press has released their Pre-Season Top 25 poll for the 2015-2016 campaign.
Four ACC teams have made the cut in the initial poll of the season, with the North Carolina Tar Heels entering the year as the nation’s pre-season number one team for a record ninth time in the poll’s history, and for the first time since prior to the 2010-2011 campaign. Seeing the ‘Heels as the nation’s best team entering the season doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as they are returning four out of their five starters, as well as nine out of their top ten scorers from last season.
The defending national champion Duke Blue Devils come into the new year at number five, followed by the Virginia Cavaliers at number six. The fourth and final team in the season’s first rankings are the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, who enter the season ranked 19th in the country.
With just under two weeks until the opening tip, here’s the full ranking, with the number of first-place votes in parentheses:
AP Top 25
1. North Carolina (35)
2. Kentucky (10)
3. Maryland (14)
4. Kansas (5)
5. Duke
6. Virginia (1)
7. Iowa State
8. Oklahoma
9. Gonzaga
10. Wichita St.
11. Villanova
12. Arizona
13. Michigan St.
14. California
15. Indiana
16. Utah
17. Wisconsin
18. Vanderbilt
19. Notre Dame
20. Connecticut
21. LSU
22. Baylor
23. Purdue
24. Butler
25. Michigan
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