HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The first Associated Press top-25 men’s college basketball poll was released today and the Iron Bowl rivals Auburn and Alabama each were named to the list. Auburn comes in at No. 15 while Alabama is No. 20. Yellowhammer State neighbor Alabama-Birmingham received a vote as well.
This is the second consecutive year both teams were named to the preseason poll. Last year, the Crimson Tide were No. 14 while the Tigers began at No. 22. Auburn has been in the preseason poll in four of the last five years.
Preseason AP Top 25
Rank | Team | Conference | Points (1st place votes)
- North Carolina | Atlantic Coast (ACC) | 1,532 (47)
- Gonzaga | West Coast (WCC) | 1,479 (12)
- Houston | American Athletic (AAC) | 1,404 (1)
- Kentucky | Southeastern (SEC) | 1,364 (2)
- Kansas | Big 12 | 1,200
- Baylor | Big 12 | 1,200
- Duke | ACC | 1,168
- UCLA | Pac-12 | 1,093
- Creighton | Big East | 1,060
- Arkansas | SEC | 1,026
- Tennessee | SEC | 880
- Texas | Big 12 | 844
- Indiana | Big 10 | 745
- Texas Christian | Big 12 | 735
- Auburn | SEC | 623
- Villanova | Big East | 578
- Arizona | Pac-12 | 543
- Virginia | ACC | 462
- San Diego State | Mountain West (MWC) | 394
- Alabama | SEC | 281
- Oregon | Pac-12 | 260
- Michigan | Big 10 | 229
- Illinois | Big 10 | 215
- Dayton | Atlantic 10 (A10) | 170
- Texas Tech | Big 12
Receiving Votes (League, votes)
- Texas A&M (SEC, 112)
- Connecticut (Big East, 101)
- Miami (FL) (ACC, 66)
- Purdue (Big 10, 56)
- Saint Louis (A10, 36)
- Michigan State (Big 10, 35)
- Florida State (ACC, 32)
- Xavier (Big East, 29)
- Wyoming (MWC, 25)
- Ohio State (Big 10, 23)
- Iowa (Big 10, 13)
- Rutgers (Big 10, 4)
- Florida (SEC, 3)
- Southern California (Pac-12, 3)
- Virginia Tech (ACC, 1)
- Memphis (AAC, 1)
- Toledo (Mid-American Athletic Conference [MAC], 1)
- Notre Dame (ACC, 1)
- Alabama-Birmingham (Conference USA [C-USA], 1)
North Carolina enters as the preseason No. 1 after losing in the national championship to Kansas, who begins the year as the No. 5 team. Gonzaga (No. 2, 12 first place votes), Houston (No. 3, 1) and Kentucky (No. 4, 2) round out the top five.
Two other teams from the Southeastern Conference - Nos. 10 Arkansas and 11 Tennessee - join Kentucky, Auburn and Alabama in the top 25.
Auburn went 28-6 last season and 15-3 in the SEC. Their season ended in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32 as a No. 2 seed in a loss to 10th-seeded Miami. They begin the 2022-23 season at home on Nov. 7 against George Mason. The SEC schedule begins Dec. 28 against Florida. Ten teams on their schedule are either in the top-25 poll or received votes. Their full schedule can be found here.
Alabama finished 19-14 overall and 9-9 in league play. They earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament before losing in the first round to Notre Dame. They will look to improve on last year’s finish when they open at home on Nov. 7 against Longwood. They begin conference play Dec. 28 at Mississippi State. They are set to play nine teams named to the top-25 or received votes in the initial poll. Their full schedule can be found here.
