Duke ranked No. 1 in AP preseason poll
Nov 1, 2017 - 7:12 PM Duke was named the preseason No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll on Wednesday for the second consecutive season and ninth time overall.Coach Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils are flanked by senior guard Grayson Allen and have benefited from the addition of 6-foot-11 forward Marvin Bagley III, who was widely considered the No. 1 recruit of the 2018 class before reclassifying.
Duke, which has spent 129 total weeks as the AP's top-ranked team, received 33 of 65 first-place votes from a national media panel in the AP Top 25 released Wednesday. The Blue Devils first landed atop the preseason poll in 1978-79 and finished seventh in last year's final poll.
"It is an honor to be picked No. 1 in your sport," Krzyzewski said in a statement. "At this time of the year, it truly is a prediction, so you haven't earned No. 1 yet. More than likely, past teams that have played at Duke have put this team in a position where people might say, 'How is that team going to do?' or 'They have a lot of talent' and all of the sudden, you're No. 1.
"Certainly, it's an honor and we'll look forward to trying to achieve and earn that ranking at some time during the season, hopefully at the end."
No. 2 Michigan State received 13 first-place votes, No. 3 Arizona had 18 and No. 4 Kansas got one. Kentucky, which did not receive a first-place vote, rounded out the top 5.
Four of the top five teams in the poll -- Duke, Michigan State, Kansas and Kentucky -- will begin their regular seasons in the Championship Classic in Chicago on Nov. 14.
Villanova, Wichita State, Florida, defending national champion North Carolina and USC round out the top 10. The Tar Heels were ranked sixth in the 2016 preseason poll before advancing to defeat Gonzaga in the national title game.
West Virginia was No. 11, followed by Cincinnati, Miami, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Louisville, Xavier, 2017 national runner-up Gonzaga, Northwestern and No. 20 Purdue.
UCLA, Saint Mary's, Seton Hall, Baylor and Texas A&M filling the final five spots.
The Atlantic Coast Conference had the most ranked teams with five, while the Big 12 and Big Ten had four each. The Big East and Pac-12 each had three.
No one has shouted yet.
Be the first!
Be the first!
Related News
- Should College Basketball Ban Court Storming? Feb 26
- Duke's Kyle Filipowski Says Court-Storming Hit Was 'Intentional' Feb 25
- Duke Moves Back Up In The Latest Poll And An Early Look At The Serious March Contenders Dec 26
- YouTube Gold: Mark Price vs. Alan Iverson Dec 26
- Duke’s Top Ten Players? Dec 25
- ACC Roundup - Georgia Tech Falls In Hawaii Dec 25
- ACC Roundup - NC State Shows No Mercy Dec 24
- ACC Roundup - Notre Dame Gets A Key Win And Georgia Tech Survives A Great Hawaii Comeback Dec 23
- 3 Likes And 3 Dislikes: MSU Tramples Stony Brook, 99-55 Dec 22
- ACC Roundup - Kenny Payne’s Last Stand? Dec 22
- Jon Scheyer’s Wife Interviewed Dec 22
- YouTube Gold: Dennis Rodman, Psychologist Extraordinaire Dec 22