Michigan State, USC among snubs in preseason AP Top 25 men's basketball poll

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By Andy Katz
FOX Sports College Basketball Analyst

The AP Preseason Top 25 poll got the No. 1 team right.

And No. 2.

And then after that, well, there are some spots that could use a good reworking.

Why?

North Carolina returns its core from finishing the season within a whisker of winning the national championship. That’s the product of a new era where name, image and likeness are keeping players like Armando Bacot in school for one more season and the transfer portal is allowing the Heels to replace Brady Manek with Pete Nance — a potentially even swap.

The Tar Heels got healthy and better throughout late February and early March. The experience of Caleb Love, RJ Davis, Leaky Black, Bacot and Nance give the Tar Heels a legit shot to repeat where they finished.

At No. 2, Gonzaga has a Player of the Year candidate returning in Drew Timme, a rising star in Julian Strawther and an experienced backcourt returnee in Rasir Bolton. The next-player-up baton in Spokane will likely land with one of a host of players from the backcourt in position to replace Andrew Nembhard. LSU big man transfer Efton Reid III and Anton Watson can help offset the Chet Holmgren departure. There is plenty to deserve a top-two ranking.

Houston’s spot at No. 3 is warranted but could be challenged. Still, Marcus Sasser could be National Player of the Year, and the Cougars defense is as good as any team in the country.

Oscar Tshiebwe’s return and Sahvir Wheeler, a top recruiting class and plenty of outstanding rotation players mean Kentucky will be in the mix for a top spot. Being fourth makes sense, as well.

Kansas has Jalen Wilson back, and the arrival of Kevin McCullar from Texas Tech and the shooting of freshman Gradey Dick mean the defending champion Jayhawks will be back in the mix.

The second five of Baylor, Duke, UCLA, Creighton and Arkansas could easily be tossed and put down in any order, but legitimately will all compete for their respective conference titles.

If you’re looking for top-15 teams that didn’t crack the top 10, then Indiana (13) and TCU (14) have legitimate gripes. The Hoosiers are the pick of the Big Ten with the return of Trayce Jackson-Davis. TCU has the best player in the Big 12 back in Mike Miles and had every right to think it would be in the Sweet 16 a year ago after nearly beating Arizona.

Teams that were snubbed were Michigan State (guards, guards, guards — Tyson Walker, A.J. Hoggard, Jaden Akins), UConn (dominant Adama Sanogo), Miami (Isaiah Wong/Nijel Pack), USC (clutch Drew Peterson), Florida (St. Bonaventure transfer Kyle Lofton/return of Colin Castleton) and even Wyoming (Hunter Maldonado/Graham Ike).

To get those six schools in the poll, I would have taken out Auburn, Villanova, Arizona, Alabama, Oregon and Michigan.

But all 12 of those schools will likely have their time rotating in the top 25. The poll serves its purpose — to set the table for the season. The next poll will be released on Nov. 14 — a week after the season begins on Nov. 7 to give us the real, raw results and a barometer of a truer top 25.

Here is a look at the complete AP Top 25 preseason poll, with last season's final regular-season ranking — if any — in parentheses:

  1. North Carolina
  2. Gonzaga (1)
  3. Houston (15)
  4. Kentucky (7)
  5. Kansas (3)
  6. Baylor (4)
  7. Duke (9)
  8. UCLA (11)
  9. Creighton
  10. Arkansas (17)
  11. Tennessee (5)
  12. Texas (25)
  13. Indiana
  14. TCU
  15. Auburn (8)
  16. Villanova (6)
  17. Arizona (2)
  18. Virginia
  19. San Diego State
  20. Alabama
  21. Oregon
  22. Michigan
  23. Illinois (19)
  24. Dayton
  25. Texas Tech (12)

Others receiving votes: Texas A&M (112), UConn (101), Miami (66), Purdue (56), Saint Louis (36), Michigan State (35), Florida State (32), Xavier (29), Wyoming (25), Ohio State (23), Iowa (13), Rutgers (four), USC (three), Florida (three), Toledo (one), UAB (one), Memphis (one), Virginia Tech (one) and Notre Dame (one).

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Andy Katz is a longtime college basketball writer, analyst and host. He can be seen on the Big Ten Network, as well as March Madness and NCAA.com, and he hosts the podcast "March Madness 365." Katz worked at ESPN for nearly two decades and, prior to that, in newspapers for nine years.