Purdue Ranked #1 in AP Men’s College Basketball Preseason Poll

Purdue begins the season as the #1 ranked team in men’s college basketball, the first time in school history the Boilermakers have been the top pick in the preseason poll. They’ll have an early season test in their third game against #15 Alabama on November 13th.

Last year’s national runner up, the Houston Cougars, open the season at #2. Houston will host three ranked schools–#20 Auburn, #15 Tennessee, and #14 Arkansas—between November 16 and December 20th. That will be followed by an always tough Big 12 schedule. Last year the Cougars were 19-1 in conference play, and finished 35-5 overall, losing to Florida in the National Championship game.

Speaking of Florida, the Gators enter the season at #3. They’ll open the season against #13 Arizona on November 3rd in Las Vegas, and will play at #6 Duke and host #4 Connecticut in early December. The Gators eliminated the Huskies in the round of 32 in last year’s tournament. Florida’s SEC schedule includes two games with #9 Kentucky. UCONN will be tested early this season, with games against five ranked non conference foes between November 15th and December 9th. They’ll also face #5 St. Johns and #23 twice each in Big East conference play.

And speaking of the #5 Red Storm, St. John’s was 31-4 and a #2 seed in the NCAA tournament before being upset by 10th seeded Arkansas in the second round. Duke checks in at #6. The Blue Devils lost to Houston in the Final Four last year. The 7th ranked Michigan Wolverines, who lost to Auburn in the Sweet 16 in the tournament, will get a chance to avenge that loss when they face the Tigers in Las Vegas on November 25th. Eighth ranked Brigham Young, ninth ranked Kentucky, and #10 Texas Tech round out the Top Ten.

Number 11 Louisville leads off the second ten. The Cardinals will play intrastate rival Kentucky on November 11th. UCLA is ranked 12th. The Bruins will play old Pac-12 rival and thirteenth ranked Arizona on November 14th. As mentioned, the Wildcats open with Florida, and will follow the UCLA game at UCONN on the 19th. They’ll also host #20 Auburn and #15 Alabama in consecutive games in December, before embarking on a conference schedule that includes seven games against currently ranked opponents. Arizona is followed by Arkansas at #14 and Alabama at #15. The Crimson Tide have a brutal non conference schedule that has them playing #5 St. Johns, #1 Purdue, #17 Illinois, and #21 Gonzaga consecutively in November, as well as a December matchup with #13 Arizona.

Number 16 Iowa State’s non conference schedule includes St. John’s, #23 Creighton, and Purdue. The Cyclones are followed by #17 Illinois and #18 Tennessee. The Volunteers will host the Fighting Illini on December 6th. Kansas is 19th; the Jayhawks will play Duke on November 18th in a matchup of traditional college basketball powerhouses. Auburn at #20 completes the second ten.

Gonzaga, who surprisingly finished second in the WCC standings last year behind St. Mary’s, opens the season at #21. The Bulldogs non conference schedule includes games with Creighton, Alabama, and Kentucky. They’ll play St. Mary’s twice in conference play, including the last game of the regular season.

The Michigan State Spartans are #22. They’ll play three traditional top programs with games against Kentucky, North Carolina, and Duke; they have two games against in state rival Michigan in Big Ten play, including their last regular season game. The Creighton Bluejays are at #23, followed by #24 Wisconsin and #25 North Carolina.

Here’s the highlight reel from last year’s championship game between Florida and Houston: