Kansas tops AP preseason poll

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AP Top 25 Rank Team Record Pts Fin 1. Kansas 27-8 1,612 14 2. Michigan St. 31-7 1,515 8 3. Texas 23-12 1,397 -- 4. Kentucky 22-14 1,372 -- 5. Villanova 30-8 1,347 11 6. North Carolina 34-4 1,320 2 7. Purdue 27-10 1,284 17 8. West Virginia 23-12 1,115 -- 9. Duke 30-7 1,064 6 10. Tennessee 21-13 897 -- 11. Butler 26-6 864 22 12. Connecticut 31-5 844 5 13. California 22-11 800 -- 14. Washington 26-9 776 15 15. Michigan 21-14 578 -- 16. Ohio St. 22-11 465 -- 17. Oklahoma 30-6 410 7 18. Mississippi St. 23-13 393 -- 19. Louisville 31-6 335 1 20. Georgetown 16-15 326 -- 21. Dayton 27-8 318 -- 22. Georgia Tech 12-19 301 -- 23. Illinois 24-10 282 -- 24. Clemson 23-9 217 24 25. Minnesota 22-11 172 -- Others receiving votes: Maryland 171, Siena 112, Notre Dame 107, Florida St. 92, Vanderbilt 90, Syracuse 83, Oklahoma St. 65, UCLA 63, Florida 53, Wake Forest 50, Xavier 42, Gonzaga 37, South Carolina 28, Kansas St. 24, BYU 21, N. Iowa 16, Tulsa 16, Mississippi 15, Texas A&M 10, Missouri 8, Boston College 6, Pittsburgh 4, Utah St. 2, Va. Commonwealth 2, W. Kentucky 2, Holy Cross 1, Old Dominion 1.

Kansas is the runaway choice for No. 1 in The Associated Press' preseason college basketball poll.

The Jayhawks return all five starters and welcome one of the country's top recruiting classes. They are coming off a 27-8 season that ended in the third round of the NCAA tournament.

Kansas received 55 first-place votes Thursday from the 65-member national media panel to easily outdistance Michigan State, which was No. 1 on five ballots. The Spartans return seven of their top nine scorers from last season's national runner-up squad.

Texas, Kentucky and Villanova round out the top five. North Carolina, a unanimous preseason No. 1 last season that won the national title, was sixth. Purdue, West Virginia, Duke and Tennessee complete the top 10.

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