LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky men's basketball team will begin the season at No. 10 in the Associated Press Top 25.
Gonzaga and UCLA are numbers 1 and 2 respectively. They were the only teams to receive first-place votes.
The Wildcats will play seven opponents who start out in the initial rankings. UK opens the season with No. 9 Duke, No. 3 Kansas in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge, No. 17 Ohio State in Las Vegas and four SEC teams who are in the rankings. UK is the highest with Alabama (14), Arkansas (16), Tennessee (18) and Auburn (22).
The Coaches Poll will be announced at a later date. Other preseason rankings have the Wildcats ranked No. 9 by ESPN, No. 13 by Blue Ribbon magazine, No. 14 by CBS Sports and No. 17 by KenPom.com.
AP Top 25
| RK | TEAM | REC | PTS | TREND |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gonzaga(55) | 0-0 | 1562 | - |
| 2 | UCLA(8) | 0-0 | 1459 | - |
| 3 | Kansas | 0-0 | 1427 | - |
| 4 | Villanova | 0-0 | 1332 | - |
| 5 | Texas | 0-0 | 1315 | - |
| 6 | Michigan | 0-0 | 1255 | - |
| 7 | Purdue | 0-0 | 1213 | - |
| 8 | Baylor | 0-0 | 992 | - |
| 9 | Duke | 0-0 | 963 | - |
| 10 | Kentucky | 0-0 | 894 | - |
| 11 | Illinois | 0-0 | 861 | - |
| 12 | Memphis | 0-0 | 831 | - |
| 13 | Oregon | 0-0 | 775 | - |
| 14 | Alabama | 0-0 | 713 | - |
| 15 | Houston | 0-0 | 694 | - |
| 16 | Arkansas | 0-0 | 673 | - |
| 17 | Ohio State | 0-0 | 581 | - |
| 18 | Tennessee | 0-0 | 563 | - |
| 19 | North Carolina | 0-0 | 547 | - |
| 20 | Florida State | 0-0 | 381 | - |
| 21 | Maryland | 0-0 | 294 | - |
| 22 | Auburn | 0-0 | 267 | - |
| 23 | St. Bonaventure | 0-0 | 238 | - |
| 24 | UConn | 0-0 | 161 | - |
| 25 | Virginia | 0-0 | 125 | - |
Others receiving votes: Michigan State 87, Indiana 41, USC 30, Arizona 26, Virginia Tech 25, Oklahoma State 25, Xavier 22, Texas Tech 17, Richmond 13, Rutgers 11, Colorado State 11, Belmont 7, LSU 7, St. John's 5, Mississippi State 5, Syracuse 5, San Diego State 5, Drake 4, Colorado 4, BYU 3, Louisville 3, Notre Dame 3
