No. 1 Florida, one day removed from a Baylor loss, tops a poll built for Tuesday's exhibitions
Florida took 47 of 59 first-place votes in the AP preseason poll despite an 82-76 exhibition loss to Baylor the day before. No. 2 Duke hosts Tennessee and No. 4 UConn visits Michigan State on Tuesday.
- Florida topped the AP preseason poll with 47 first-place votes; Duke received 10 and was ranked second, Illinois got two and was ranked third, and UConn and Arizona rounded out the top five. m:…3985
- Baylor beat No. 1 Florida 82-76 in an exhibition on Oct. 18; Florida shot 13.8 percent from three and its bench was outscored 33-3, while Baylor's Kayden Mingo scored 31 points. m:…3387
- No. 8/9 Tennessee plays an exhibition at No. 2/2 Duke on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. ET; No. 4 UConn travels to No. 6 Michigan State for a preseason game broadcast exclusively on B1G+, with a $8.99 pay-per-view option for non-subscribers. m:…1257 m:…4265
- Gonzaga is No. 15, its 17th straight preseason poll appearance — Gonzaga, Duke, Kansas and Kentucky are the only programs in all 17; St. John's is No. 13, the sixth-highest preseason rank in program history. m:…3985 m:…2227
The poll
Florida opens the men's college season No. 1 in the AP preseason poll with 47 of 59 first-place votes. Duke took 10 first-place votes and the No. 2 spot; Illinois got the other two and sits No. 3; UConn and Arizona round out the top five. m:…3985
Gonzaga landed at No. 15 — its 17th consecutive preseason poll appearance, one of only four programs, with Duke, Kansas and Kentucky, to appear in all 17. St. John's checks in at No. 13, the sixth-highest preseason rank in program history, behind the nation's top-ranked transfer class for the second straight offseason and a first Sweet 16 in nearly three decades last season. m:…3985 m:…2227
Gonzaga's poll staying power runs deeper than the streak: the program has appeared in 187 of the last 214 AP polls since the start of the 2016 season — third-most in the nation — averaging a No. 7.7 ranking since 2017, and this is its 26th straight season ranked in the AP poll at some point. For St. John's, the No. 13 slot rides on roster churn: transfers Tounde Yessoufou and Keyshawn Hall rank fourth and fifth nationally among transfers per 247Sports, alongside three European recruits and two freshmen. The Johnnies won exhibitions against Drexel and Rutgers, host No. 7 Texas at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, and open the season Nov. 2 against Monmouth. m:…3985 m:…2227
The Baylor problem
The catch: Florida lost to Baylor 82-76 in an exhibition on Oct. 18 — the day before the poll was published. Baylor's Kayden Mingo scored 31 points; Florida shot 13.8 percent from three and its bench was outscored 33-3. Denzel Aberdeen and Urban Klavzar combined to shoot 3-for-24 from the floor. m:…3387
Coach Todd Golden said the team needs to be more aggressive getting the ball into the post, starting with him — the team's paraphrase of his remarks. The rest of the box score was less alarming: Thomas Haugh led Florida with 19 points, Rueben Chinyelu posted 13 points and 15 rebounds, and the Gators committed only eight turnovers. m:…3387
My read on the timing: exhibitions don't count, which is exactly why they matter here — voters handed Florida the No. 1 spot anyway, and the Baylor tape is now the first scouting report on the new No. 1. m:…3387 m:…3985
Tuesday's exhibitions
Two top-10 exhibitions headline Tuesday night. No. 8/9 Tennessee travels to No. 2/2 Duke for a 7 p.m. ET exhibition at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Duke finished 35-3 and swept the ACC titles; Tennessee won 25 games and reached a fourth straight Sweet 16. The Volunteers won the last official meeting 65-52 in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, and the all-time series is split at 16 games apiece. Rick Barnes has 861 career wins, second among active Division I coaches, and his program has 226 wins over the last nine seasons — eighth in Division I. m:…1257
The personnel is new on both sides. Tennessee's nine transfers totaled 3,880 points in 272 appearances last year, and Juke Harris was named a Preseason Third Team All-American by Blue Ribbon Yearbook. Duke's leading returner is Patrick Ngongba II at 10.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game — which tells you how much of Tuesday is about first impressions. That last clause is my read, not a reported fact. m:…1257
No. 4 UConn goes to No. 6 Michigan State for a preseason game, broadcast exclusively on B1G+ — non-subscribers can access it via a one-time $8.99 pay-per-view fee. UConn beat Syracuse 72-52 in its preseason opener on Oct. 13; Michigan State beat Incarnate Word 89-59 on Oct. 2. UConn closes its preseason slate at home against Purdue on Oct. 27. m:…4265
What is still unresolved
- Whether voters hold the Baylor exhibition loss against Florida in next week's poll.
- How Tuesday's exhibitions — Tennessee at Duke, UConn at Michigan State — reset expectations before the season opens Nov. 2.
- Whether St. John's transfer-heavy roster converts a No. 13 preseason rank into March relevance.
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