Cincinnati Bearcats ranked No. 20 in 1st USA TODAY coaches poll. 6 Big 12 schools ranked

Posted by author October 23, 2024 Basketball

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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.

USA TODAY Preseason Top 25

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.