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The Wisconsin Badgers will open the season ranked as the No. 10 team in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
Coming off a Sweet Sixteen appearance and returning 99.8 percent of its minutes from last season, the Badgers are the second-highest ranked Big Ten team. Michigan State came in one spot ahead at No. 9, while Indiana (No. 12), Purdue (No. 15) and Maryland (No. 21) slotted in behind Wisconsin.
While a preseason college basketball poll may not mean anything in terms of how the season will play itself out, we still care because it helps assign expectations to a team’s season and signifies that, oh crap, college basketball is actually right around the corner.
Duke is ranked first, receiving 27 of 32 first-place votes.
Here is the full set of rankings:
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | 1ST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke | 0-0 | 792 | 27 |
| 2 | Kansas | 0-0 | 721 | 1 |
| 3 | Villanova | 0-0 | 700 | 1 |
| 4 | Kentucky | 0-0 | 695 | 2 |
| 5 | Oregon | 0-0 | 620 | 1 |
| 6 | North Carolina | 0-0 | 614 | 0 |
| 7 | Virginia | 0-0 | 596 | 0 |
| 8 | Xavier | 0-0 | 552 | 0 |
| 9 | Michigan St | 0-0 | 544 | 0 |
| 10 | Wisconsin | 0-0 | 487 | 0 |
| 11 | Arizona | 0-0 | 468 | 0 |
| 12 | Indiana | 0-0 | 435 | 0 |
| 13 | Gonzaga | 0-0 | 371 | 0 |
| 14 | Louisville | 0-0 | 367 | 0 |
| 15 | Purdue | 0-0 | 324 | 0 |
| 16 | Connecticut | 0-0 | 239 | 0 |
| 17 | Syracuse | 0-0 | 224 | 0 |
| 18 | West Virginia | 0-0 | 204 | 0 |
| 19 | St. Mary's | 0-0 | 203 | 0 |
| 20 | UCLA | 0-0 | 185 | 0 |
| 21 | Maryland | 0-0 | 153 | 0 |
| 22 | Texas | 0-0 | 124 | 0 |
| 23 | Creighton | 0-0 | 113 | 0 |
| 24 | Rhode Island | 0-0 | 85 | 0 |
| 25 | Cincinnati | 0-0 | 75 | 0 |
| Others Receiving Votes: Florida State 65; Iowa State 56; California 43; Miami (Fla.) 35; Dayton 34; Oklahoma 33; Seton Hall 24; Texas A&M 22; Notre Dame 18; San Diego State 17; Virginia Tech 16; Wichita State 15; Southern California 14; Butler 14; Ohio State 12; Florida 11; Clemson 11; Colorado 11; Michigan 10; Pittsburgh 7; Georgia 6; Virginia Commonwealth 6; Yale 6; Chattanooga 5; Washington 4; Nevada 3; Kansas State 3; Arkansas 2; Davidson 2; Valparaiso 2; Southern Methodist 1; Utah 1. | ||||