Kentucky Ranked No. 1 in AP’s Preseason Poll


by Bill DiFilippo / @bflip33

After bringing in the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class, John Calipari and his Kentucky Wildcats are the No. 1 team in the country in the inaugural Associated Press poll.

Kentucky is one of three teams to receive first place votes to kick off the season. The Wildcats received 27, the Michigan State Spartans received 22, the defending champion Louisville Cardinals received 14, and the Duke Blue Devils received two.

Kentucky narrowly got the top spot over Michigan State. The Wildcats accumulated 1,546 ponts in the poll, while Tom Izzo’s Spartans received 1,543. The two teams will face off on Nov. 12 at the Champions Classic in Chicago.

That isn’t the only matchup between top three teams in the preseason poll: Kentucky and Louisville will play their annual game on Dec. 28 in Lexington.

This is the first time that Kentucky was named the preseason #1 since 1995-96. That season, Rick Pitino led the Wildcats to a 34-2 record and a national title.

From ESPN:

“It’s a nice honor, but it’s way too early to figure out who’s the best team in the country,” Calipari said. “We may be very talented, but I can’t imagine us being the best team in the country at this point.”

The rest of the poll can be found below.

5) Kansas

6) Arizona

7) Michigan

t-8) Oklahoma State

t-8) Syracuse

t-10) Florida

11) Ohio State

12) North Carolina

13) Memphis

14) Virginia Commonwealth

15) Gonzaga

16) Wichita State

17) Marquette

18) Connecticut

19) Oregon

20) Wisconsin

21) Notre Dame

22) UCLA

23) New Mexico

24) Virginia

25) Baylor