Gonzaga, Baylor, Villanova, Virginia lead AP preseason top 25 college basketball rankings

Just about the only thing Gonzaga has left to accomplish under Mark Few is win a national championship.

The ’Zags scratched another first off the list Monday: They will open the season at No. 1.

Despite losing West Coast Conference player of the year Filip Petrusev, the Bulldogs received 28 first-place votes and 1,541 points from a 64-member national media panel. That was just enough to edge Baylor (24 first-place vote) by a single point for the top spot in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 heading toward the delayed Nov. 25 start of the season.

“It’s a great honor to be selected No. 1,” Few said. “We understand that it is more a reflection of what our program has accomplished over the years and hope to play up to that standard as we start our season.”

Here is the complete top 25:

2020-21 Men’s basketball AP Top 25 preseason poll:
RANK SCHOOL POINTS PREVIOUS RECORD
1 Gonzaga (28) 1,541 2 0-0
2 Baylor (24) 1,540 5 0-0
3 Villanova (11) 1,501 10 0-0
4 Virginia (1) 1,364 16 0-0
5 Iowa 1,273 25 0-0
6 Kansas 1,221 1 0-0
7 Wisconsin 1,150 17 0-0
8 Illinois 1,105 21 0-0
9 Duke 1,073 11 0-0
10 Kentucky 1,038 8 0-0
11 Creighton 922 7 0-0
12 Tennessee 919 NR 0-0
13 Michigan State 820 9 0-0
14 Texas Tech 790 NR 0-0
15 West Virginia 651 24 0-0
16 North Carolina 465 NR 0-0
17 Houston 438 22 0-0
18 Arizona State 402 NR 0-0
19 Texas 380 NR 0-0
20 Oregon 375 13 0-0
21 Florida State 351 4 0-0
22 UCLA 336 NR 0-0
23 Ohio State 270 19 0-0
24 Rutgers 190 NR 0-0
25 Michigan 160 NR 0-0

Story courtesy of NCAA.com

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