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Frank Haith's Missouri Tigers earned four votes in the preseason USA Today coaches' basketball poll. That ties them for 38th overall. As we've discussed so far (and will again, I'm sure), that sounds about right to me. The variance for this team is quite high, but four votes is at least a tiny sign of respect.
As expected, a freshly loaded Kentucky squad is No. 1. Only one other SEC team -- No. 8 Florida -- found a spot in the top 25, though Tennessee (73 votes, good for 30th), LSU (2), and Georgia (1) also received votes.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky (16) | 21-12 | 767 | NR |
| 2 | Michigan St. (3) | 27-9 | 749 | 13 |
| 3 | Louisville (10) | 35-5 | 741 | 1 |
| 4 | Duke (3) | 30-6 | 710 | 5 |
| 5 | Arizona | 27-8 | 637 | 14 |
| 6 | Kansas | 31-6 | 623 | 8 |
| 7 | Syracuse | 30-10 | 551 | 3 |
| 8 | Florida | 29-8 | 550 | 9 |
| 9 | Michigan | 31-8 | 548 | 2 |
| 10 | Ohio St. | 29-8 | 533 | 6 |
| 11 | North Carolina | 25-11 | 494 | NR |
| 12 | Oklahoma St. | 24-9 | 462 | NR |
| 13 | Memphis | 31-5 | 334 | 18 |
| 14 | Gonzaga | 32-3 | 270 | 12 |
| 15 | Va. Commonwealth | 27-9 | 258 | 23 |
| 16 | Wichita St. | 30-9 | 233 | 4 |
| 17 | Marquette | 26-9 | 230 | 11 |
| 18 | Oregon | 28-9 | 175 | 15 |
| 19 | Connecticut | 20-10 | 167 | NR |
| 20 | New Mexico | 29-6 | 153 | 19 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | 23-12 | 148 | 22 |
| 22 | Notre Dame | 25-10 | 128 | NR |
| 23 | UCLA | 25-10 | 121 | NR |
| 24 | Indiana | 29-7 | 118 | 7 |
| 25 | Virginia | 23-12 | 103 | NR |
| Others Receiving Votes |
| Baylor 102; Colorado 93; Creighton 87; Iowa 86; Tennessee 73; Georgetown 38; Harvard 28; Pittsburgh 23; California 16; Boise State 11; Saint Louis 8; La Salle 7; Temple 4; Missouri 4; Villanova 4; Kansas State 3; LSU 2; Iowa State 2; Arizona State 2; Illinois 2; Georgia 1; UNLV 1. |