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College roundup: Kentucky preseason No. 1, again
Alan is an expert gambling writer who works as one of the chief editors for Basketball Insiders. He has been covering online gambling and sports betting for over 8 years, having written for the likes of Sportlens, Compare.bet, The Sports Daily, 90min, and TopRatedCasinos.co.uk. His particular specialisms include US online casinos and gambling regulations, and soccer and basketball betting. Based in London, Alan holds an MA in English Literature and is a passionate supporter of Chelsea FC.
All posts by Alan DraperUpdated8 hours ago on April 19, 2024
The Kentucky Wildcats are in familiar territory.
For the second consecutive season, the Wildcats sit atop the first preseason USA TODAY Coaches Poll, which was released Thursday.
Kentucky garnered 24 of the 32 first-place votes. No. 2 Arizona earned three, No. 3 Duke received two first-place votes and No. 4 Wisconsin received No. 1 consideration with three votes.
Kansas, North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Louisville and Texas rounded out the top 10.
Kentucky was voted preseason No. 1 last year based on an influx of high school All-Americans. The team jelled midseason and caught fire on its way to the national championship game where the Connecticut Huskies beat the Wildcats, 60-54.
Head coach John Calipari welcomes back most of that team. Willie Cauley-Stein, Alex Poythress, Dakari Johnson, Marcus Lee, Andrew Harrison and Aaron Harrison will be joined by another group of highly sought recruits including centers Karl Towns and Trey Lyles.
–Wisconsin might be a unanimous pick to win the Big Ten basketball title but other usual suspects can’t be overlooked.
The Badgers, who reached the Final Four in Dallas but lost to Kentucky in a thriller last season, were the top choice in a poll released Thursday at Big Ten media day.
Michigan State, the 2014 Big Ten tournament champion, and Ohio State were second and third, respectively, in Thursday’s media survey.
