Kansas was picked first in the Associated Press top 25 preseason men's basketball poll Monday, getting the No. 1 nod on half of the 60 ballots from a national media panel to start the season ahead of Alabama and two-time defending national champion UConn.
Kansas scooped up 30 first-place votes from the AP panel. The Crimson Tide, led by All-American guard Mark Sears and Jarin Stevenson, earned 14 first-place votes and UConn, which is trying to become the first school since John Wooden's teams at UCLA to win three straight titles, received 11 first-place votes and is third.
Houston earned four first-place votes and is fourth ahead of Iowa State, which returns its top four scorers from a team that was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga received one first-place vote and is the sixth.
Duke, led by consensus No. 1 recruit Cooper Flagg, is seventh ahead of Baylor, North Carolina and Arizona in the top 10.
The Jayhawks were also last year's preseason No. 1, but the season hardly went as planned. They were dragged down by injuries and struggled in Big 12 play, and a team led by All-American center Hunter Dickinson ultimately was routed by Cincinnati in the conference tournament and Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Kansas Coach Bill Self retooled in the offseason, landing one of the nation's top transfer classes. A.J. Storr of Wisconsin, South Dakota State guard Zeke Mayo and Rylan Griffen from Alabama are part of a versatile bunch joining Dickinson and fellow seniors Dajuan Harris Jr. and KJ Adams Jr. -- both part of their 2022 national title squad -- to form a deeper and more talented team.
"We welcome being No. 1, especially with our returning players like Hunter, Dajuan and KJ, and then you add the players we brought in," Self said. "The goal is to be No. 1 at the end of the season, and though we welcome this, it is not the end goal."
The new-look Big 12, which lost Oklahoma and Texas but welcomed Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado, has three of the top five and five of the top 10 in the preseason AP poll. The SEC leads the way with nine in the top 25.
"To have three Big 12 teams in the top five and five in the top 10 just shows how competitive this league will be," Self said. "Every year we talk about the Big 12 being the toughest conference in the nation and with the four additions it became even stronger."
No. 11 Auburn, Tennessee and Texas A&M start off the second 10, followed by Purdue and Creighton. John Calipari has Arkansas at No. 16 with Indiana, Marquette, Texas and Cincinnati -- making its first poll appearance since 2019 -- in the top 20.
The Boilermakers are trying to win a third straight Big Ten title after the departure of AP player of the year Zach Edey.
Florida, UCLA, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Rutgers round out the preseason top 25.
FILE - John Calipari answers questions from reporters during a press conference after being introduced as Arkansas's head head basketball coach Wednesday, April 10, 2024, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods, File)
FILE - St. John's head coach Rick Pitino looks on during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Stony Brook, Nov. 7, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
North Carolina guard Seth Trimble speaks during a ACC men's NCAA college basketball media day, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Iowa State forward Milan Momcilovic looks on during Iowa State's NCAA college basketball media day, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Kentucky men's NCAA college basketball head coach Mark Pope speaks at the team's media day at the Craft Center on campus in Lexington, Ky., Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024.. (AP Photo/James Crisp)