Kansas ranked No. 1 in AP men's basketball poll ... again

Gary Bedore, The Kansas City Star on Oct 14, 2024

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Kansas men’s basketball will open the 2024-25 season as the No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25 for a second straight season and fifth time in poll history.

The Jayhawks on Monday received 30 of a possible 60 first-place votes from an AP panel. Alabama came in second with 14 first-place votes, while UConn, Houston and Iowa State completed the top five.

“We welcome being preseason No. 1, especially with our returning players like Hunter (Dickinson), Dajuan (Harris) and KJ (Adams), and then you add the players we brought in,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said. “The goal is to be No. 1 at the end of the season, and though we welcome this, it is not the end goal.”

KU has been No. 1 five times in the 22-year Bill Self era. The Jayhawks also were No. 1 entering the 2004-05, 2009-10, 2018-19 and 2023-24 seasons.

Kansas was also No. 1 in the first poll of the 1956-57 season, but preseason polls did not begin until 1961-62.

This marks the 60th time Kansas has been ranked No. 1. The last time KU was No. 1 in the AP poll was Nov. 20, 2023, the third poll of last season. KU was ranked in the top 10 of the 2023-24 AP poll all but three weeks.

KU for the 13th consecutive year will enter a season ranked seventh or higher. This is also the 15th time in the last 16 seasons that the Jayhawks have entered the season No. 7 or higher by the AP, including 12 times in the top 5 and seven in the top 3.

KU was No. 1 in 2009-10, No. 3 in 2016-17, No. 1 in 2018-19, No. 3 in 2019-20, No. 3 in 2021-22, No. 1 in 2023-24 and No. 1 in 2024-25.

KU will play 10 games against teams ranked in the preseason Associated Press Top 25, including seven against Big 12 opponents and eight against top-10 foes. KU will play against No. 4 Houston (twice), No. 5 Iowa State (twice), No. 7 Duke, No. 8 Baylor, No. 9 North Carolina, No. 10 Arizona, No. 15 Creighton and No. 20 Cincinnati.

“To have three Big 12 teams in the top 5 and five in the top 10 just shows how competitive this league will be this season,” Self said. “Every year we talk about the Big 12 being the toughest conference in the nation, and with the four additions, it became even stronger.”

Kansas went 23-11 a year ago, reaching the NCAA Tournament for the 33rd time in the last 34 years, a run that started in 1990.

Kansas State in the preseason poll was included in the “also receiving votes” category.

2024-25 Associated Press preseason poll

Rank. School (first-place votes) – points

1. Kansas (30) — 1,449

2. Alabama (14) — 1,428

3. UConn (11) — 1,345

4. Houston (4) — 1,343

5. Iowa State — 1,177

6. Gonzaga (1) — 1,157

7. Duke — 1,154

8. Baylor — 1,109

9. North Carolina — 1,037

10. Arizona — 905

11. Auburn — 901

12. Tennessee — 775

13. Texas A&M — 737

14. Purdue — 678

15. Creighton — 631

16. Arkansas — 625

17. Indiana — 492

18. Marquette — 484

19. Texas — 332

20. Cincinnati — 271

21. Florida — 249

22. UCLA — 210

23. Kentucky — 191

24. Ole Miss — 132

25. Rutgers — 102

Also receiving votes: Illinois, St. John’s, Xavier, Texas Tech, Wake Forest, Kansas State, Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan, BYU, Oregon, McNeese State, Miami (Fla.), Boise State, Saint Louis, Clemson, Providence, Mississippi State, VCU, Wisconsin, Saint Mary’s, Louisville, UAB, Arkansas-Little Rock, Grand Canyon, Arizona State, San Diego State, Princeton, High Point, Maryland.