Twelve Bleacher Report college basketball writers and I ranked the top 25 teams in the nation. If you are interested in participating in future polls, e-mail your rankings to me at jsflemin@syr.edu. I will begin accepting ballots on Thursday, Nov. 20, and the poll will be published on Sunday, Nov. 23.
For future polls, could you also send me a link to your B/R profile to save me a little time. If you do not have a B/R account and still wish to participate in the B/R poll, you can still participate. Just let me know in your e-mail if you don't have a B/R account.
A first place vote is worth 25, and a 25th place vote is worth one.
Rank, Team, (first place votes), total votes
1. North Carolina (11) 323
A near unanimous choice in the Bleacher Creature preseason poll, North Carolina garnered 11 of 13 first place votes. North Carolina was ranked as high as first and as low as second.
2. UConn (1) 304
UConn picked up one of the two remaining first place votes on the way to its second place ranking. The Huskies ranked as high as first and as low as fifth.
3. UCLA 292
Despite not picking up a first place vote, the Bruins picked up the third-most votes from Bleacher Report readers. UCLA ranked as high as second and as low as sixth.
4. Louisville (1) 291
The Cardinals grabbed the final first place vote but still only finished fourth in the voting. U of L ranked as high as first and as low as seventh.
5. Pitt 258
There was a noticeable drop-off in the voting after the top four. The Panthers picked up on average at least 2.5 less points per ballot than the top four. Pitt ranked as high as fourth and as low as ninth.
6. Michigan State 249
The Spartans are the first team to make the top 25 from the Big Ten. MSU ranked as high as third and as low as 14th.
7. Texas 231
The Longhorns are Bleacher Report voters top pick for the Big 12. UT ranked as high as high as fourth and as low as 14th.
8. Duke 226
The Blue Devils are the second ACC team to make the rankings. Duke ranked as high as fifth and as low as 14th.
9. Notre Dame 222
The Fighting Irish are the fourth team from the Big East to make the top 10. Notre Dame ranked as high as fourth and as low as 15th.
10. Purdue 215
The second team from the Big Ten just sneaks into the top 10. The Boilermakers ranked as high as fifth and as low as 13th.
11. Gonzaga 204
The first mid-major in the B/R top 25 barely misses the top 10. The Zags ranked as high as seventh and as low as 14th.
12. Tennessee 180
The first SEC team breaks into the rankings at 12th overall. The Volunteers ranked as high as ninth and as low as 16th.
13. Memphis 167
Last year's runner-up comes in 13th in the B/R poll as the second highest ranked mid-major. The Tigers ranked as high as ninth and as low as 21st.
14. Oklahoma 164
A trendy top five or 10 pick by many mainstream media members, the Sooners were picked 14th by B/R readers. OU ranked as high as seventh and as low as 23rd.
15. Arizona State 135
The one team voters agreed on the most from the middle tier teams was Arizona State. The Sun Devils ranked as high as 13th and as low as 19th.
16. Marquette 111
The Golden Eagles are the highest-ranked team to not appear on every single ballot. MU ranked as high as 12th, but also went unranked on one ballot.
17. Miami 106
The third team from the ACC ranked as high as 14th, but also went unranked on one ballot.
18. Florida 91
The Gators are just the second SEC team to make the B/R Top 25. UF ranked as high as 14th and went unranked on one ballot.
19. Georgetown 83
The Hoyas are the sixth team from the Big East to make the top 25. GU ranked as high as 11th, but also went unranked on one ballot.
20. Davidson 70
America's favorite Cinderella just barely sneaks into the top-20. The Wildcats ranked as high as 17th, but also went unranked on multiple ballots.
21. USC 65
The Trojans are just the third team in the Pac-10 to make the top 25. USC ranked as high as 17th and went unranked on one ballot.
22. Wake Forest 62
The Demon Deacons enter the rankings as the fourth team from the ACC. WF ranked as high as 17th and went unranked on multiple ballots.
23. Villanova 54
The Wildcats squeak into the rankings after a Sweet 16 performance last year. 'Nova ranked as high as 13th, but went unranked on one ballot
24. Syracuse 24
The Orange round out the eight teams to receive enough votes to make the top 25. The 'Cuse ranked as high as 15th and went unranked on multiple ballots.
24. Kansas 24
The reigning national champions just barely squeak into the top 25 as they are tied with Syracuse. The Jayhawks ranked as high as 19th and went unranked on multiple ballots.
Others Receiving Votes
Wisconsin (20), Baylor (14), St. Mary's College (8), Kentucky (6), LSU (5), Ohio State (4), Virginia Tech (4), Clemson (4), Siena (3), UNLV (3), Washington (1)
Participants in this week's poll
Jameson Fleming, Ari Kramer, Kristofer Green, Tony Bishop, Adam Conlon, College Football Fanatic, Brett Lissenden, Jason Funk, Clayton Martin, Tim Pollock, Daniel Damico, Paul Sievers, Ryan C
comments (32) write a comment »
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about 1 month ago
Hey I'm Ryan Callahan (not Matt Callahan) and I participated in this. I would agree with most of the poll this week.
from about 1 month ago
Hey I fixed it already. Do you want to be listed as Ryan C or Ryan Callahan. (I know a guy named Matt Callahan so that's what caused the slip). Sorry 'bout it.
from about 1 month ago
its fine...Ryan Callahan is fine
about 1 month ago
How often will we be updating the polls? Weekly?
from about 1 month ago
Yeah weekly. I want a full week of the season to pass before we update again which is why we are waiting a week and a half for the next poll. After that it will be every week.
from about 1 month ago
Very exciting.
By the way... Northeastern is my sleeper for the season.
from about 1 month ago
I'll stay in the northeast for my mid-major sleeper: give me Cornell.
from about 1 month ago
Cornell is very solid, but in the Ivy League they need to be on top at the end of the regular season to make the NCAA tourney. Penn will give them a run for their money.
from about 1 month ago
That whole pick of Northeastern as a sleeper, not looking too good tonight against Michigan. I don't know if you watched the game on ESPNU, but the Huskies got housed in the second half and lost by about 20.
from about 1 month ago
Yeah I know. They'll still be good. Although Mich isn't so great this year, it was at home and I'm sure a good number of students turned out for the 2nd home game of the year. They'll be fine.
about 1 month ago
This turned out to be a pretty good list, thanks for doing this man, you can count on my input through out the season. Even though it looks like my opinion (U of L #1 and Zags #7) were quite different than the rest of the contributors. Thanks again man.
from about 1 month ago
You weren't that off on U of L and Gonzaga. I had the Zags in my top ten and UL picked first isn't that out there. They did finish fourth in the rankings. Looking forward to your future rankings.
from about 1 month ago
Haha.. I should have known that Louisville pick was you (that's ok, I think my ND vote was their highest).
This is going to be fun.
about 1 month ago
But were are the Richmond Spiders, they are going all the way this year!
from about 1 month ago
Let's see what they do Tuesday against Syracuse before I would give an ounce of thought to putting them in my top 25.
about 1 month ago
No love for Washington???? get ready cause Issiah Thomas is coming for you. Pac-10 freshman of the year. The Dawgs will take down the trojans AND the sun devils this year.
And the Zags will kill this year. Downs is a former McD AA. Highvelt went through a full season of detox. Daye is the 2nd best shooter in college ball and pargo is a pogo stick.
And can you get me in on the vote next time, the PNW needs some more love!!! iwantstats@iwantstats.com
from about 1 month ago
Two weekends from now will be the next poll so make sure you get your picks in then.
Washington is good, I don't think they are quite USC or ASU good though. There's a lot of potential on that team definitely.
I ranked Gonzaga ninth I think, but they are my sleeper final four team.
from about 1 month ago
Washington got one vote, from me, number 25 in my rankings if i remember correctly. I am a big fan of I.T. and i agree that he will be in the running for Pac10 freshman of the year. I have them finishing 3rd in the pac behind UCLA and ASU. I think USC is overrated ( i did rank them 21, but after further research, i would change that.) and will finish 5th behind WSU.
I do not want jump too much into the Zag argument, because I am a huge Homer for them and my opinion may not be based on fact. But i think, more than any other year, this Gonzaga team has a legit shot to getting that final four bid.
from about 1 month ago
I agree that this Gonzaga's best team and their best shot to make a final four since they've become a top flight program.
from about 1 month ago
Adam thanks for giving them some love, I think they will hover around 15 for much of the season. Along with Issiah, Brockman is one of the stronges SRs in the game. Im not big on dentmon, but Venoy will really come along with a year under his belt.
I think we all agree that in the preseason, this my be the best zags team ever. They have the tons of size, great shooting, and athleticism. I really hope Downs gets a chance to shine this year, few has a way of fading out some guys from the O (Errol Knight), but if they can get him the ball cutting through the lane it will be trouble. They don't have a Morrison. but a team is always better than 1 player.
Oh and you may want to fall back on WSU. They only return Baynes (only good v infirior opponents) and Rocheste. They got a couple good frosh, Castro is a man and THompson has the genes, but I don't know if the NCAAs are in the Cougs crystal ball.
from about 1 month ago
Yeah I think WSU isn't very good at all this year. I'd have to take a look at the conference, but off the top of my head I'd put the Cougars behind UCLA, ASU, USC, Washington, and Arizona. Maybe even Oregon also.
from about 1 month ago
I know my views on WSU are in the minority. But, i am looking at how down the Pac is going to be. I think Arizona is going to have a HUGE drop off, and i think its all going to come down to motivation of the players with the uncertainty of the program.
And with USC, it is hard for me to think they are going to succeed, i think Floyd is overrated as a coach (i know i am going to get reamed for that comment) and i think they are heavily flawed as a team, but i am not going to get too into that right now.
But about WSU, i think with the system that Tony is running it is pretty much a plug and go thing. I think that Rocheste has the talent to be an all Pac-10 player. If Baynes can keep on the court, i am not sure there is a better Center in the Pac. (but that is a big if). However, i think that this system will get wins, its not so much about the players as WSU.
from about 1 month ago
Yeah the nice thing about coach bennet is that he plays to win every game. Hes great at ball control and tempo, and plays D first. Cougs will be in a lot of games, but can they pull them out??
I think WAS will be ahread of oregon, their best player is 5-6, I think losing harriston and luenan is too big.
I agree that Floyd is a bit overrated. Sure he has NBA experience, but I was dissapointed in how he integrated OJ mayo in the offense. He didn't get him the ball inside the 3 point line enough, and didnt exploit his athleticism. Maybe he will be better showcasing a player like Derozen, but as of right now, I think the guy has a lot to prove stlll.
about 1 month ago
Isn't Texas supposed to be a top 10 team this year. I am not sure if the voters forgot them, but they are supposed to be pretty good.
Btw, Notre Dame has the hardest schedule i have ever seen in my life. Not only do they have to go through the big east, but they might have to play texas and north carolina in the maui invitational and they have to travel to pauley pavilion on feb 7 in the middle of big east play. they have a six game stretch in late january and early february where they play uconn, marquette, pitt, cincy, ucla, and louisville in that order.
from about 1 month ago
Thanks for pointing the Texas thing out. They are supposed to be listed at number seven. I accidentally lost half the article as I was doing it, and when I re-wrote it I must have left them out. I can't believe no one til now has noticed that.
Thanks Dave.
about 1 month ago
I would love to see where Davidson end's up at the end of the year. Steven Curry was definitly the sleeper last year but won't sneak by any teams this year. He should have came out last year and would have gone in the top 5 in the NBA draft.
from about 1 month ago
Yeah Davidson will be interesting to watch. If Curry can pick up the slack lost by Jason Richards graduating, the Wildcats are definitely a top ten team again. I was surprised that they didn't get as much respect as I thought they deserved. They were on the verge of going to the final four last year, and essentially only lost their point guard, but many people left them completely out of their top-25.
about 1 month ago
Looks good. Purdue and Oklahoma may be the teams that make a big splash.
from about 1 month ago
Yeah I think ranked Purdue and Oklahoma higher than everyone else and had them picked to win each respective conference. I was surprised when the ballots came in and they were ranked so low on some of them.
from about 1 month ago
Purdue is going to be tough to beat this season. Big Ten basketball is going to be exciting this season. So many teams have the talent to contend for the Big Ten title. Can't wait for it all to get started. My Bucks have their first exhibition tonight.
about 1 month ago
Jameson, very impressed you respond to the comments. My Richmond Spiders comment was just a joke. But, they have pulled off some major upsets in their history; hopefully, they will pull one off at some point this year.
from about 1 month ago
Ha yeah I figured it was a joke, but I respond to most comments that are worth responding to.
Richmond has that epic 2 over 15 upset on the 'Cuse so Tuesday night the Orange will be looking for revenge.
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