The official preseason men’s college basketball poll from the Associated Press is out and the Golden Gophers are in at No. 15.
Minnesota is drawing a ton of early respect after going 24-10 last season en route to the NCAA Tournament. The Gophers bring back most of last season’s talented roster, and they got deeper at the guard position with the arrival of freshman point guard Isaiah Washington.
Minnesota is also No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, which came out two weeks ago.
In the AP poll, Duke, Michigan State, Arizona, Kansas and Kentucky are the top five teams, followed by Villanova, Wichita State, Florida, North Carolina and USC.
The only other Big Ten teams in the top 25 of either poll are Northwestern and Purdue.
According to the Gophers, this is the 12th time ever being included in the AP preseason poll, and the first time since 2010 when they were No. 25.
The Gophers start the season with an exhibition game against Concordia-St. Paul this Thursday. On Sunday, Minnesota will play Green Bay in an exhibition with all $10 ticket proceeds benefitting hurricane relief in Puerto Rico.
