College basketball rankings: Winners and losers from preseason AP Top 25
The AP has released the top teams in college basketball to begin the 2023-24 season.
By Drew Koch
Every year the AP releases its college basketball preseason Top 25 rankings, and every year fanbases from around the country overreact. The 2023-24 season is sure to be no different.
Though the preseason rankings can be a good barometer of how the college basketball season will unfold, the North Carolina Tar Heels found out the hard way that being No. 1 in the preseason doesn't mean a thing once March rolls around.
Last year, UNC was ranked No. 1 and didn't even make the NCAA Tournament. In fact, of the 25 teams ranked to begin last season, only San Diego State (19) made it to the Final Four. Let's first look at the full preseason AP Top 25.
College basketball rankings: Kansas No. 1 in preseason AP Top 25
- Kansas Jayhawks
- Duke Blue Devils
- Purdue Boilermakers
- Michigan State Spartans
- Marquette Golden Eagles
- UConn Huskies
- Houston Cougars
- Creighton Bluejays
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Florida Atlantic Owls
- Gonzaga Bulldogs
- Arizona Wildcats
- Miami Hurricanes
- Arkansas Razorbacks
- Texas A&M Aggies
- Kentucky Wildcats
- San Diego State Aztecs
- Texas Longhorns
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- Baylor Bears
- USC Trojans
- Villanova Wildcats
- Saint Mary's Gaels
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Illinois Fighting Illini
But let's look at some of the winners and losers in the early-going, shall we?
Winner: Kansas Jayhawks
Let's start at the top. The Kansas Jayhawks occupy the No.1 spot in the AP Top 25 college basketball rankings. And, why not? The Jayhawks were one of the best teams in the country a year ago and added coveted forward Hunter Dickinson via the transfer portal.
Dickinson led the way for the Michigan Wolverines in 2022-23, but wasn't yet ready to make the jump to the NBA. The 7-foot-1, 260-pound Dickinson is going to be a load down low for the Jayhawks opponents, and his big body will no doubt help the KU come off screens for wide-open jumpers.
The hope, of course, is that head coach Bill Self is 100 percent following a health scare last spring. By all accounts, Self is ready for the rigors that come with coaching the best team (on paper) in college basketball this season.
The Big12 has a newcomer this season in Houston. The Cougars are ranked among the Top 10 in the AP poll as well, so Kansas will have some company from within the conference. Texas and Baylor are ranked in the Top 25 as well, but Kansas has to feel pretty good about sitting at No. 1 to begin the season.