Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark on men’s, women’s hoopa, football
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark on men’s, women’s basketball, Big 12 football
In the opening USA TODAY Top 25 Preseason coaches poll, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats are ranked No. 20, just as they were in the first Associated Press poll.
Coming off a 22-15 season and the NIT quarterfinals, the Bearcats are out to secure their first NCAA tournament berth under head coach Wes Miller. Miller added key transfers Dillon Mitchell from Texas, Arrinten Page from USC, Connor Hickman from Bradley in the offseason, and four-start high school recruits Tyler Betsey and Tyler McKinley.
McKinley is out for the season with a knee injury, but the new look Bearcats looked impressive in their CareSource Charity exhibition against Ohio State, winning 80-62.
UC plays a “secret” scrimmage with Pitt over the weekend and opens the regular season Nov. 4 at Fifth Third Arena vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Big 12 teams also in the Top 25 are No. 1 Kansas, No. 4 Houston, No. 6 Iowa State, No. 8 Baylor, and No. 9 Arizona.
The USA TODAY Sports preseason Top 25 men’s basketball poll, with team’s RECORDS FROM LAST YEAR in parentheses, total points based on 25 for first place through one point for 25th, ranking in last year’s final poll and first-place votes received.
Rank | School (record) | Points | Last year’s final ranking | First-place votes |
1 | Kansas (23-11) | 743 | 21 | 15 |
2 | Alabama (25-12) | 718 | 4 | 6 |
3 | Connecticut (37-3) | 717 | 1 | 6 |
4 | Houston (32-5) | 698 | 3 | 4 |
5 | Duke (27-9) | 625 | 9 | 0 |
6 | Iowa State (29-8) | 591 | 8 | 0 |
7 | Gonzaga (27-8) | 575 | 16 | 0 |
8 | Baylor (24-11) | 545 | 14 | 0 |
9 | Arizona (27-9) | 510 | 12 | 0 |
10 | North Carolina (29-8) | 498 | 6 | 0 |
11 | Auburn (27-8) | 465 | 17 | 0 |
12 | Tennessee (27-9) | 437 | 5 | 0 |
13 | Purdue (34-5) | 390 | 2 | 0 |
14 | Creighton (25-10) | 342 | 10 | 0 |
15 | Texas A&M (21-15) | 332 | NR | 0 |
16 | Arkansas (16-17) | 272 | NR | 0 |
17 | Marquette (27-10) | 268 | 11 | 0 |
18 | Indiana (19-14) | 208 | NR | 0 |
19 | Texas (21-13) | 166 | NR | 0 |
20 | Cincinnati (22-15) | 163 | NR | 0 |
21 | Florida (24-12) | 130 | NR | 0 |
22 | UCLA (16-17) | 123 | NR | 0 |
23 | Kentucky (23-10) | 95 | 19 | 0 |
24 | Illinois (29-9) | 87 | 7 | 0 |
25 | Mississippi (20-12) | 66 | NR | 0 |
Dropped out: No. 13 North Carolina State (26-15); No. 15 Clemson (24-12); No. 18 San Diego State (26-11); No. 20 Utah State (28-7); No. 22 Saint Mary’s (26-8); No. 23 South Carolina (26-8); No. 24 Washington State (25-10); No. 25 Texas Tech (23-11).Others receiving votes: Texas Tech (23-11) 60; Rutgers (15-17) 57; St. John’s (20-13) 42; Xavier (16-18) 26; Michigan State (20-15) 25; Brigham Young (23-11) 16; Oregon (24-12) 16; Kansas State (19-15) 11; Boise State (22-11) 9; Saint Mary’s (26-8) 9; Clemson (24-12) 8; Dayton (25-8) 7; Ohio State (22-14) 7; Maryland (16-17) 4; Grand Canyon (30-5) 3; Mississippi State (21-14) 2; Princeton (24-5) 2; San Diego State (26-11) 2; Virginia (23-11) 2; Wake Forest (21-14); Wisconsin (22-14) 1.
The USA TODAY Sports Board of Coaches is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The board for the 2024-25 season: Tobin Anderson, Iona; Adrian Autry, Syracuse; John Becker, Vermont; Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s; Jeff Boals, Ohio; Alvin Brooks, Lamar; Scott Drew, Baylor; Matt Driscoll, North Florida; Dan Earl, Chattanooga; Jonas Hayes, Georgia State; Alan Huss, High Point; Donte’ Jackson, Grambling; Ben Jacobson, Northern Iowa; James Jones, Yale; Greg Kampe, Oakland; Brad Korn, Southeast Missouri State; Greg McDermott, Creighton; Nick McDevitt, Middle Tennessee; Mike McGarvey, Lafayette; Niko Medved, Colorado State; Dan Monson, Eastern Washington; Chris Mooney, Richmond; Nate Oats, Alabama; Eric Olen, UC San Diego; Matt Painter, Purdue; Michael Schwartz, East Carolina; Patrick Sellers, Central Connecticut State; Zach Spiker, Drexel; Brett Tanner, Abilene Christian; Stan Waterman, Delaware State; Jeff Wulbrun, Denver.
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