Duke sits at No. 1 in the AP Preseason Poll

The Associated Press released the men’s college basketball preseason rankings on Monday and Duke found itself sitting at No. 1.

There is no surprise that the Blue Devils are ranked the top team in the country. They are returning players like Grayson Allen, Chase Jeter, Amile Jefferson and Luke Kennard. In addition to that, Duke’s strong freshman class that includes Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles, Frank Jackson, and Marques Bolden makes the team even more dangerous.

The Blue Devils did take a major hit prior to the start of the season as Giles is out with a knee injury and Tatum recently suffered a foot sprain that will keep him out for two weeks. Despite that, this team is still good enough to be ranked at the top.

Kentucky was placed second as the Wildcats expect to get a big contribution from their freshmen De’Aaron Fox, Edrice “Bam” Adebayo and Malik Monk. Kansas sits at No. 3, while Villanova and Oregon rounds out the top five. Maryland is ranked No. 25 after being the No. 3 in last season preseason ranking. Below is the rest of the rankings.

1. Duke

2. Kentucky

3. Kansas

4. Villanova

5. Oregon

6. North Carolina

7. Xavier

8. Virginia

9. Wisconsin

10. Arizona

11. Indiana

12. Michigan State

13. Louisville

14. Gonzaga

15. Purdue

16. UCLA

17. Saint Mary’s

18. UConn

19. Syracuse

20. West Virginia

21. Texas

22. Creighton

23. Rhode Island

24. Iowa State

25. Maryland

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