The preseason AP Top 25 basketball poll: Duke, UNC land in top 10. Is NC State ranked?
At long last, NC State got the last laugh on Triangle and ACC rivals Duke and North Carolina last March by topping both on the way to an ACC championship and a Final Four appearance.
As the new season approaches, those accomplishments didn’t carry over to the first AP Top 25 poll.
While No. 7 Duke and No. 9 UNC start the season as top-10 teams, the Wolfpack are unranked in the poll, which is voted on by a nationwide media panel.
NC State won its first ACC championship since 1987 by knocking off Duke in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals before topping UNC, 84-76, in the championship game two nights later.
In the NCAA Tournament, on the way to its first Final Four since 1983, the Wolfpack defeated Duke, 76-64, in the South Regional final. Those accomplishments helped N.C. State to the No. 10 ranking in last season’s final AP poll, which was released after UConn beat Purdue, 75-60, in the NCAA Tournament championship game.
With N.C. State losing star players DJ Horne and DJ Burns from last season’s 26-15 team, the Wolfpack not only didn’t crack the preseason top 25, it didn’t receive a single vote.
Duke returns two players who started games on last season’s 27-9 team in guards Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster. But the Blue Devils brought in a strong freshman class that was voted the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class and is led by 6-9 Cooper Flagg and 7-2 Khaman Maluach. Both are projected to be first-round picks in next summer’s NBA Draft with Flagg expected to the No. 1 overall selection.
UNC went 29-8 last season and returns the reigning ACC player of the year in senior guard RJ Davis. His starting backcourt mate, Elliot Cadeau, also returns with five-star recruits Ian Jackson and Drake Powell expected to add punch as freshmen.
Both Duke and UNC will get chances to state their cases to move up in the season’s first three weeks.
The Tar Heels travel to play at No. 1 Kansas on Nov. 8, while the Blue Devils will face the Jayhawks on a neutral court in Las Vegas on Nov. 26.
Duke also plays No. 22 Kentucky on Nov. 12 in Atlanta, at No. 10 Arizona on Nov. 22 and plays No. 11 Auburn at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Dec. 4.
Also in November, UNC plays in a stacked Maui Invitational tournament field that includes No. 3 UConn, No. 5 Iowa State and No. 11 Auburn.
While Duke and UNC are the only ACC teams in the preseason top 25, fellow league schools Wake Forest, Miami, Clemson and Louisville received votes.
Preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll
Rank | Team |
1 | Kansas |
2 | Alabama |
3 | UConn |
4 | Houston |
5 | Iowa State |
6 | Gonzaga |
7 | Duke |
8 | Baylor |
9 | North Carolina |
10 | Arizona |
11 | Auburn |
12 | Tennessee |
13 | Texas A&M |
14 | Purdue |
15 | Creighton |
16 | Arkansas |
17 | Indiana |
18 | Marquette |
19 | Texas |
20 | Cincinnati |
21 | Florida |
22 | UCLA |
23 | Kentucky |
24 | Mississippi |
25 | Rutgers |