The preseason AP Basketball poll came out yesterday with a familiar face at No. 13. That’s right, Texas Tech basketball has been ranked with the highest preseason ranking in program history. It’s a far cry from where they finished last season, but it’s a good place for this team to start.
We’ll have our big season preview (written by yours truly) out soon enough, but I think this is a great place for this year’s team to start. The talent we have coming back will certainly anchor the back-court with some great newcomers playing all of the minutes in the front-court.
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Michigan State was ranked No. 1 in the country, getting 60 of the 65 first place votes. Kentucky and Kansas get the second and third place ranking respectively and Louisville gets the No. 5 ranking. That means that at some point in the season, Tech will play three of the top-5 preseason ranked teams.
While the preseason ranking means almost nothing to the players and coaching staff, it makes a great deal to some of the fans watching the polls. It will be a great season for Red Raider basketball and I look forward to watching what Coach Beard and his team can do! Full AP Poll below!
Team: Points (1st place votes):
No. 1: Michigan State 1619 (60)
No. 2: Kentucky 1497 (2)
No. 3: Kansas 1457 (3)
No. 4: Duke 1399
No. 5: Louisville 1386
No. 6: Florida 1313
No. 7: Maryland 1134
No. 8: Gonzaga 1096
No. 9: North Carolina 1060
No. 10: Villanova 1048
No. 11: Virginia 1007
No. 12: Seton Hall 863
No. 13: Texas Tech 837
No. 14: Memphis 773
No. 15: Oregon 742
No. 16: Baylor 523
No. 17: Utah State 491
No. 18: Ohio State 407
No. 19: Xavier 356
No. 20: Saint Mary’s 330
No. 21: Arizona 265
No. 22: LSU 234
No. 23: Purdue 230
No. 24: Auburn 210
No. 25: VCU 193
Others Receiving Votes:
Washington 164, Colorado 152, Tennessee 78, Marquette 68, Florida St. 36, Davidson 34, Harvard 24, Illinois 14, Missouri 13, Mississippi St. 12, Houston 11, Georgetown 11, Cincinnati 8, Notre Dame 7, Creighton 4, Syracuse 3, NC State 3, Vermont 2, Alabama 2, Southern Cal 2, Liberty 2, Michigan 2, Dayton 1, Colgate 1, Providence 1.