Kentucky’s rough finish to the 2012-13 season apparently did not impact its status among coaches heading into the new campaign.
On Thursday, the coaches poll was released – and the Wildcats were ranked No. 1.
Just seven months ago, John Calipari’s troops missed out on the NCAA tournament and then were unceremoniously bounced in the first round of the NIT by Robert Morris. However, after Calipari brought in arguably the best recruiting class in the history of the sports, Kentucky is back atop the rankings.
The only other time Kentucky was the preseason No. 1 in the coaches poll was 1995-96 – when the Wildcats won a national championship.
Michigan State, Louisville and Duke all received first-place votes.
Here are the rankings and for complete details click here:
1. Kentucky
3. Louisville
4. Duke
5. Arizona
6. Kansas
7. Syracuse
8. Florida
9. Michigan
10. Ohio State
11. North Carolina
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13. Memphis
14. Gonzaga
15. VCU
16. Wichita State
17. Marquette
18. Oregon
19. Connecticut
20. New Mexico
21. Wisconsin
22. Notre Dame
23. UCLA
24. Indiana
25. Virginia