UNDATED (AP) — Gonzaga spent all of last season atop The Associated Press men’s basketball poll. That’s also where the Bulldogs will begin this season after receiving 55 of 63 first-place votes in the preseason poll released on Monday.
The Zags lost AP All-Americans Corey Kispert and Jalen Suggs to the NBA, but second-team selection Drew Timme and starting guard Andrew Nembhard return.
Second-ranked UCLA picked up the remaining eight first-place votes after being unranked at the end of the season. Third-ranked Kansas is followed by Villanova and Texas.
Michigan, Purdue, Baylor, Duke and Kentucky round out the top 10.
In other college basketball news:
— ESPN analyst Dick Vitale has announced that he has been diagnosed with cancer for the second time this year. The Basketball Hall of Fame announcer said he has undergone tests that show he has lymphoma. Vitale announced in August that he underwent multiple surgeries to remove melanoma. He was declared cancer-free at the time.
