Defending champion Florida ranked No. 1 by coaches

	Preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll RNK. TEAM PTS PVS 1. FLORIDA (30) (33-6) 772 1 2. NORTH CAROLINA (23-8) 728 14 3. KANSAS (25-8) 714 22 4. OHIO ST (26-6) 595 13 5. (tie) PITTSBURGH (25-8) 583 18 5. (tie) UCLA (32-7) 583 2 7. LSU (27-9) 556 3 8. GEORGETOWN (23-10) 538 16 9. WISCONSIN (19-12) 530 NR 10. ARIZONA (20-13) 478 NR 11. DUKE (32-4) 477 7 12. ALABAMA (18-13) 420 NR 13. TEXAS A&M (22-9) 335 NR 14. MEMPHIS (33-4) 328 6 15. BOSTON COLLEGE (28-8) 284 11 16. WASHINGTON (26-7) 240 12 17. MARQUETTE (20-11) 203 NR 18. CONNECTICUT (30-4) 200 4 19. TEXAS (30-7) 172 9 20. SYRACUSE (23-12) 138 NR 21. GEORGIA TECH (11-17) 137 NR 22. KENTUCKY (22-13) 119 NR 23. CREIGHTON (20-10) 113 NR 24. TENNESSEE (22-8) 106 20 25. NEVADA (27-6) 101 NR Dropped Out: No. 5 VILLANOVA, No. 8 GEORGE MASON, No. 10 GONZAGA, No. 15 WEST VIRGINIA, No. 17 ILLINOIS, No. 19 GEO WASHINGTON, No. 21 WICHITA ST, No. 23 IOWA, No. 24 BRADLEY, No. 25 BUCKNELL Others Receiving Votes: GONZAGA 88, WICHITA ST 78, LOUISVILLE 77, SOUTHN ILLINOIS 70, ILLINOIS 52, XAVIER 44, VILLANOVA 39, AIR FORCE 26, SAN DIEGO ST 24, HOFSTRA 20, OKLAHOMA ST 19, MICHIGAN 17, MICHIGAN ST 15, MARYLAND 12, DEPAUL 11, FLORIDA ST 9, GEORGE MASON 6, INDIANA 5, HOUSTON 3, BYU 2, GEO WASHINGTON 2, WINTHROP 2, BUCKNELL 1, NEW MEXICO ST 1, SAINT LOUIS 1, UTAH 1.

BRISTOL, Conn. (Ticker) -- After returning all five starters from last season's national championship squad, Florida is a near-unanimous No. 1 in the preseason USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll released Friday.

The Gators (33-6), who beat UCLA, 73-57, in the NCAA title game in Indianapolis, received 30 of 31 first-place votes and 772 points. Florida is led by 6-11 junior forward Joakim Noah, the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA tournament.

Led by sophomore forward Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina (23-8) is second with 728 points, while Kansas (25-8) is third with 714 points.

Ohio State (26-6) received the remaining first-place vote and is fourth with 595 points. The Buckeyes boast a stellar freshman class that is headlined by 7-1 center Greg Oden, who may declare for the NBA draft after just one season in Columbus.

Pittsburgh (25-8) and UCLA (32-7) are tied for fifth, followed by Louisiana State (27-9), Georgetown (23-10), Wisconsin (19-12) and Arizona (20-13).

Duke (32-4) starts the second 10, followed by Alabama (18-13), Texas A&M (22-9), Memphis (33-4), Boston College (28-8), Washington (26-7), Marquette (20-11), Connecticut (30-4), Texas (30-7) and Syracuse (23-12).

Georgia Tech (11-17), Kentucky (22-13), Creighton (20-10), Tennessee (22-8) and Nevada (27-6) complete the poll.

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