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A whole new season means whole new expectations. For defending national champions Virginia Cavaliers, it still means an uphill battle ahead of them to climb back to the top of the rankings. The AP released its initial college basketball Top 25 Monday afternoon, and the Hoos are at No. 11.
Virginia finished last year at No. 2 (the AP does not release a final postseason poll). As the Hoos lost considerable talent to the NBA, there are still a lot of question marks for the perennial contenders.
Fellow Final-Four team Michigan State takes the top spot in the AP Poll. There are four ACC teams in the Top 25, with Virginia being the lowest ranked among them. Duke checks in at No. 4, Louisville No. 5, and North Carolina comes in at No. 9.
Florida State, Notre Dame, Syracuse, and NC State each also received votes.
Of last year’s Final Four, Texas Tech is No. 13 and Auburn comes in at No. 24.
Here’s the full AP Poll:
AP Top 25
| Rank | Team | Conference |
|---|---|---|
| Rank | Team | Conference |
| 1 | Michigan State | Big Ten |
| 2 | Kentucky | SEC |
| 3 | Kansas | Big 12 |
| 4 | Duke | ACC |
| 5 | Louisville | ACC |
| 6 | Florida | SEC |
| 7 | Maryland | Big Ten |
| 8 | Gonzaga | WCC |
| 9 | North Carolina | ACC |
| 10 | Villanova | Big East |
| 11 | Virginia | ACC |
| 12 | Seton Hall | Big East |
| 13 | Texas Tech | Big 12 |
| 14 | Memphis | AAC |
| 15 | Oregon | Pac-12 |
| 16 | Baylor | Big 12 |
| 17 | Utah State | MWC |
| 18 | Ohio State | Big Ten |
| 19 | Xavier | Big East |
| 20 | St. Mary's | WCC |
| 21 | Arizona | Pac-12 |
| 22 | LSU | SEC |
| 23 | Purdue | Big Ten |
| 24 | Auburn | SEC |
| 25 | VCU | A-10 |
Outside of conference play, Virginia will also be taking on No. 23 Purdue on the road as part of the ACC-B10 challenge. The Hoos will also play Vermont, who received votes.
Season Tipoff is on November 6 at 9:00 p.m. at Syracuse!
(I know some of you are going to put in the comments that “none of this matters. Just play the game and get the Ws.” )