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The preseason Coaches' Poll was released Thursday morning, and the Virginia Cavaliers checked in at No. 6, the Hoos' highest preseason start since 1982-1983. That would be, of course, the Ralph Sampson era, in case you were wondering.
The reigning regular season ACC Champion Cavaliers did not receive any first place votes, while their ACC brethren North Carolina checked in at No. 2 with 12 first place votes, while Duke was ranked No. 4 with three first place votes. Notre Dame (18) is the only other ACC school in the Top 25.
Virginia only plays each of North Carolina, Duke, and Notre Dame once this season, but they will also face No. 9 Villanova, No. 14 Cal, and No. 23 West Virginia in preseason contests. Louisville, NC State, FSU, and Miami each also received votes.
Though the Big Ten has five ranked teams (Maryland, Michigan State, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Purdue), Virginia's assigned ACC-B1G team, Ohio State, was nowhere to be found. (They received two votes.)
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | 1ST | PREV | CHANGE | HI/LOW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky Wildcats | 38-1 | 749 | 11 | NR | 0 | - |
| 1 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 26-12 | 749 | 12 | NR | 0 | - |
| 3 | Maryland Terrapins | 28-7 | 723 | 5 | NR | 0 | - |
| 4 | Duke Blue Devils | 35-4 | 686 | 3 | NR | 0 | - |
| 5 | Kansas Jayhawks | 27-9 | 675 | 1 | NR | 0 | - |
| 6 | Virginia Cavaliers | 30-4 | 667 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
| 7 | Iowa State Cyclones | 25-9 | 541 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
| 8 | Oklahoma Sooners | 24-11 | 520 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
| 9 | Villanova Wildcats | 33-3 | 498 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
| 10 | Arizona Wildcats | 34-4 | 477 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
| 11 | Gonzaga Bulldogs | 35-3 | 468 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
| 12 | Wichita State Shockers | 30-5 | 461 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
| 13 | Michigan State Spartans | 27-12 | 386 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
| 14 | California Golden Bears | 18-15 | 350 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
| 15 | Indiana Hoosiers | 20-14 | 312 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
| 16 | Utah Utes | 26-9 | 250 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
| 17 | Wisconsin Badgers | 36-4 | 181 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
| 18 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 32-6 | 172 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
| 19 | LSU Tigers | 22-11 | 163 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
| 20 | Vanderbilt Commodores | 21-14 | 153 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
| 21 | Baylor Bears | 24-10 | 145 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
| 22 | Butler Bulldogs | 23-11 | 132 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
| 23 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 25-10 | 125 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
| 24 | Purdue Boilermakers | 21-13 | 110 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
| 24 | Connecticut Huskies | 20-15 | 110 | 0 | NR | 0 | - |
|
Others Receiving Votes
Michigan 108; Louisville 93; Texas A&M 58; UCLA 48; Georgetown 45; Cincinnati 43; North Carolina State 36; Oregon 33; Texas 29; Xavier 25; Florida State 25; Miami (Fla.) 11; San Diego State 10; Iowa 8; Davidson 5; Boise State 5; Providence 5; Stephen F. Austin 2; Belmont 2; Ohio State 2; Tulsa 1; Dayton 1; Old Dominion 1; Marquette 1. |
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