MBB Slotted at #5 in AP Poll

The Associated Press released its Preseason Men’s Basketball Top 25 earlier today. The Baylor Bears, fresh off of 4^th place finish in the final AP Poll last season, check in tied for 5^th with reigning national champions (and conference competitors), the Kansas Jayhawks.

This marks the third consecutive season where Baylor is ranked in the Top 10 nationally without having played a single game. That’s truly remarkable. Scott Drew’s program is now a nationally recognized powerhouse that shows no signs of slowing down. Last season, Baylor was ranked 8^th in the preseason poll while the year before they held the No. 2 spot heading into what would be the best season in program history. This is only the 10^th time in program history that the team is ranked in the preseason poll.

The rest of the poll’s top 5 consist of (in order) North Carolina, Gonzaga, Houston, and Kentucky.

Top 25 teams on Baylor’s non-conference schedule include Gonzaga (2), Arkansas (10), Virginia (18) and either UCLA (8) or Illinois (23).

The Big XII has 5 representatives in the poll, tying the SEC for the most by any conference. Baylor and Kansas are each tied for 5^th. Texas (12) and TCU (14) are also inside the top 15. Texas Tech claims the last spot in the poll at 25^th.