USA Today College Basketball Coaches Poll 2015: Preseason Rankings Released

Kentucky and North Carolina will enter the new season as the co-No. 1 college basketball teams in the country based on the preseason USA Today Sports Coaches Poll released Thursday.

Maryland, Duke and Kansas round out the initial Top Five. The Blue Devils are the reigning national champions after beating Wisconsin, which opens at No. 17, in last year's title game. Both finalists lost several key contributors to the NBA during the offseason.

Here's a look at the complete Top 25 to kick of the 2015-16 campaign, via USA Today:

Rank	Team	Points	1st Place Votes
T-1	Kentucky	749	11
T-1	North Carolina	749	12
3	Maryland	723	5
4	Duke	686	3
5	Kansas	675	1
6	Virginia	667	0
7	Iowa St.	541	0
8	Oklahoma	520	0
9	Villanova	498	0
10	Arizona	477	0
11	Gonzaga	468	0
12	Wichita St.	461	0
13	Michigan St	386	0
14	California	350	0
15	Indiana	312	0
16	Utah	250	0
17	Wisconsin	181	0
18	Notre Dame	172	0
19	LSU	163	0
20	Vanderbilt	153	0
21	Baylor	145	0
22	Butler	132	0
23	West Virginia	125	0
T-24	Purdue	110	0
T-24	Connecticut	110	0

Kentucky head coach John Calipari doesn't think the high praise is warranted for his latest group of superstar recruits, though. At least not yet. He candidly discussed the status of his team at last week's Wildcat Tipoff Luncheon, as noted by ESPN.com news services.

"This year's team, as we speak, we stink," Calipari said. "I said to them two days ago: 'There's one really good thing that's happening.' They said, 'What's that, Coach?' I said, 'We're not playing tomorrow, so we're OK. I'm not going to panic yet.'"

Skal Labissiere, Jamal Murray and Isaiah Briscoe headline the new Wildcats core, which changes on an annual basis. There's once again enough talent on the roster to make a championship charge, but it sounds like Calipari is trying to downplay expectations for now.

North Carolina reached the Sweet 16 last season and lost just one impact player, J.P. Tokoto. Roy Williams has a veteran group to work with, led by Marcus Paige, who could find himself in the Naismith College Player of the Year conversation at season's end.

One other team that's going to generate a lot of attention this season is LSU. The Tigers enter the season at No. 19 in the rankings, but if top recruit Ben Simmons lives up to the incredible hype, they could work their way into the championship conversation.

Simmons is the No. 1 incoming player in the nation, according to 247Sports' composite rankings, and the projected top overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, per NBADraft.net.

Fran Fraschilla of ESPN set the baseline expectations for the talented Aussie:

There were no major surprises in the preseason poll as teams begin to ramp up their preparations for the start of the season next month.

Five different teams received first-place votes, showing there's no overwhelming favorite, which differs from last year when Kentucky was the preseason No. 1 by a large margin. That should make for a competitive, entertaining season of college basketball.