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The Virginia Cavaliers check in at No. 25 in the first AP Top 25 poll of the 2021-2022 college basketball season. It’s the lowest Virginia has been ranked by the AP in the preseason since the 2017-2018 season when the Hoos were unranked (garnering enough votes for No. 27). That season...did not end well.
There are no ACC teams in the top five, with Duke leading the conference at No. 9 in Mike Krzyzewski’s final season. UNC comes in next at No. 19, while Florida State checks in at No. 20. Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Louisville, and Notre Dame all also received votes.
Here’s the full Top 25:
AP Top 25 College Basketball Poll Week 1
| Rank | Team | Conference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | Conference | Points |
| 1 | Gonzaga (0-0) | West Coast | 1,562 (55) |
| 2 | UCLA (0-0) | Pacific 12 | 1,459 (8) |
| 3 | Kansas (0-0) | Big 12 | 1427 |
| 4 | Villanova (0-0) | Big East | 1332 |
| 5 | Texas (0-0) | Big 12 | 1315 |
| 6 | Michigan (0-0) | Big Ten | 1255 |
| 7 | Purdue (0-0) | Big Ten | 1213 |
| 8 | Baylor (0-0) | Big 12 | 992 |
| 9 | Duke (0-0) | Atlantic Coast | 963 |
| 10 | Kentucky (0-0) | Southeastern | 894 |
| 11 | Illinois (0-0) | Big Ten | 861 |
| 12 | Memphis (0-0) | American Athletic | 831 |
| 13 | Oregon (0-0) | Pacific 12 | 775 |
| 14 | Alabama (0-0) | Southeastern | 713 |
| 15 | Houston (0-0) | American Athletic | 694 |
| 16 | Arkansas (0-0) | Southeastern | 673 |
| 17 | Ohio State (0-0) | Big Ten | 581 |
| 18 | Tennessee (0-0) | Southeastern | 563 |
| 19 | North Carolina (0-0) | Atlantic Coast | 547 |
| 20 | Florida State (0-0) | Atlantic Coast | 381 |
| 21 | Maryland (0-0) | Big Ten | 294 |
| 22 | Auburn (0-0) | Southeastern | 267 |
| 23 | St. Bonaventure (0-0) | Atlantic 10 | 238 |
| 24 | Connecticut (0-0) | Big East | 161 |
| 25 | VIRGINIA (0-0) | Atlantic Coast | 125 |
Virginia’s only ranked non-conference opponent is No. 15 Houston, who hosts the Cavaliers on November 16. UVA’s B1G opponent this year, Iowa, comes in unranked.
This looks to be a rebuilding year by Virginia’s recent standards, with a stacked incoming class coming in next year. But that’s not to say the Hoos won’t still make a splash this season with national champion point guard Kihei Clark and company hungry to make another deep run in the tournament. On Monday afternoon, Clark was also named a candidate for the 2022 Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award.
Season tips off on November 9 at 9:00 p.m. ET in Charlottesville against Navy, a game that will be shown on the ACC Network.