College basketball rankings: Big 12 men’s teams in top 25 of preseason AP poll

If the initial Associated Press poll is to be believed, the 2024-25 college basketball season could prove to be a monster season for fans of Big 12 men’s basketball.

The conference boasts not only the No. 1 overall team in the preseason rankings, released Monday afternoon, but also three of the top five teams and five of the top 10 teams. Led by coach Bill Self, the Kansas Jayhawks were the top-ranked team. Houston (No. 4) and Iowa State (No. 5) joined Kansas in the top five, while Baylor (No. 8) and newcomer Arizona (No. 10) also seem poised to make noise.

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No. 20 Cincinnati was the other Big 12 team ranked in the top 25, while Texas Tech, Kansas State, BYU and Arizona State were all good enough to garner votes.

The Jayhawks were picked to win the 16-team Big 12 in the preseason poll released last week by coaches, while graduate center Hunter Dickinson was named the conference’s preseason player of the year. Kansas basketball also opened the 2023-24 season ranked No. 1 overall, but finished 23-11 and lost in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

The Big 12 tied the SEC with eight total bids in the 2023-24 NCAA Tournament, also a conference record. A ninth team, Oklahoma, was among the tournament’s “First Four out.” The Sooners and Texas ― which also qualified last season ― have since moved to the SEC.

Last season, the Big 12 had a tournament-high five teams reach the second round, but had only two teams reach the Sweet 16 and none in the Elite Eight. Houston and Iowa State reached the Sweet 16, as did Arizona, but it was in the Pac-12 last season.

Here’s a look at the full AP Top 25 rankings and where Big 12 teams fell in the rankings:

Big 12 teams in 2024-25 preseason men’s basketball rankings

Big 12 teams bolded. First-place votes in parentheses.

1. Kansas (30)

2. Alabama (14)

3. UConn (11)

4. Houston (4)

5. Iowa State

6. Gonzaga (1)

7. Duke

8. Baylor

9. North Carolina

10. Arizona

11. Auburn

12. Tennessee

13. Texas A&M

14. Purdue

15. Creighton

16. Arkansas

17. Indiana

18. Marquette

19. Texas

20. Cincinnati

21. Florida

22. UCLA

23. Kentucky

24. Ole Miss

25. Rutgers

Others receiving votes: Illinois 92, St. John’s 91, Xavier 73, Texas Tech 58, Wake Forest 37, Kansas State 30, Michigan State 29, Ohio State 29, Michigan 19, BYU 14, Oregon 12, McNeese State 11, Miami 11, Boise St. 9, Saint Louis 9, Clemson 9, Providence 9, Mississippi State 6, VCU 6, Wisconsin 5, Saint Mary’s 5, Louisville 4, UAB 4, Arkansas-Little Rock 3, Grand Canyon 3, Arizona State 2, San Diego State 2, Princeton 2, High Point 1, Maryland 1.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: College basketball rankings: Big 12 men’s teams in preseason AP poll