2014 AP Preseason Basketball Poll Released

The Associated Press has released its first Top 25 college basketball poll, and, predictably, the Kentucky Wildcats are the No. 1 team in the nation.

Armed with another exceptional freshman class—highlighted by 5-star recruits Karl-Anthony Towns and Tyler Ulis—and a distinguished group of holdovers from last season's national runner-up squad led by Andrew Harrison and Willie Cauley-Stein, head coach John Calipari's squad is loaded again.

The Wildcats received 52 of the 65 first-place votes among pollsters.

Rank	Team (First-place votes)
1	Kentucky (52)
2	Arizona (5)
3	Wisconsin (8)
4	Duke
5	Kansas
6	North Carolina
7	Florida
8	Louisville
9	Virginia
10	Texas
11	Wichita State
12	Villanova
13	Gonzaga
14	Iowa State
15	VCU
16	San Diego State
17	Connecticut
18	Michigan State
19	Oklahoma
20	Ohio State
21	Nebraska
22	SMU
23	Syracuse
24	Michigan
25	Utah (tie)
25	Harvard (tie)

Just behind Kentucky are the Arizona Wildcats at No. 2 and the Wisconsin Badgers at No. 3. Despite being ranked a slot lower than Arizona, Wisconsin received eight first-place votes to the Wildcats' five. 

The Duke Blue Devils (No. 4) and the Kansas Jayhawks round out the Top Five. 

Taking a look at how the power conferences are represented, the ACC and the Big Ten each have five teams in the poll (including four from the ACC in the Top 10). The Big 12 has four and the Pac-12 has two, as does the AAC, which includes the defending national champion Connecticut Huskies.

Kevin Ollie's team lost stars Shabazz Napier and DeAndre Daniels, but it is still ranked No. 17 in the opening poll. The SMU Mustangs are another notable inclusion. They come in ranked No. 22 in the nation and have legendary head coach Larry Brown at the helm.

The season tips off on Friday, Nov. 14. The opening-night slate will feature several of the nation’s ranked teams, including all of the Top Five.