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Christmas might still be a couple of months away, but for many sports fans, we’re currently experiencing one of the most wonderful times of the year.
Football season is in full swing, the World Series is right around the corner, and there’s already been an incredible amount of juicy NBA drama just a few games into what is already shaping up to be a fantastic year for pettiness.
Oh, there’s also hockey so, you know, if you want to, go ahead and watch that.
However, if that somehow isn’t enough to wet your whistle, there’s still even more to look forward to in the form of college basketball.
When the madness finally settled down last March, Villanova had secured their second national championship in three years and will look to become the Alabama of men’s basketball when they kick off their newest campaign this year.
However, if the first poll of the season is any indication, they’ve got a bit of work ahead of them.
On Monday, the AP released the results of its first preseason poll to give fans a preview of what this season might have in store, and as you’d expect, it’s filled with all of the usual suspects.
Here’s how things look heading into the season (first-place votes are in parentheses):
- Kansas (37)
- Kentucky (19)
- Gonzaga (1)
- Duke (4)
- Virginia (2)
- Tennessee
- Nevada
- North Carolina
- Villanova
- Michigan State
- Auburn
- Kansas State
- West Virginia
- Oregon
- Virginia Tech
- Syracuse
- Florida State
- Mississippi State
- Michigan
- TCU
- UCLA
- Clemson
- LSU
- Purdue
- Washington
Kansas boasts a number of veterans and a couple of highly-hyped prospects (as does Kentucky) and both Gonzaga and Virginia will attempt to improve on their underwhelming tournament performances last year (especially the Cavaliers).
It’s also impossible to ignore Duke’s potential, as they’re stacked with some of the best freshmen in the entire country— including the beast of a human that is Zion Willaimson.
Let the countdown begin.