Kansas Jayhawks start at No. 1 in USA TODAY Sports preseason men's basketball coaches poll

Top-end talent tends to turn over quickly in the modern era of college basketball. As a result, a slew of teams that competed for championships last year look a lot different heading into the 2018-19 campaign. By extension then, the preseason USA TODAY Sports coaches poll bears little resemblance to the final rankings of the previous season.

Kansas will open the year with the No. 1 ranking, though the voting was far from unanimous. The Jayhawks received 14 of 32 first-place votes to edge No. 2 Kentucky by 10 poll points.

It is the first preseason No. 1 ranking for the Jayhawks since the 2009-10 campaign. Built around returning big man Udoka Azubuike and an infusion of talented transfers and recruits, KU is expected to continue its reign in the Big 12.

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Second-ranked Kentucky was voted first on12 ballots, thanks to another in a string of highly rated recruiting classes joining some key holdovers from last year’s haul. Duke, which will be even more freshman oriented, opens at No. 3, claiming four first-place votes. The Blue Devils head a list of seven ACC members in the top 25 that also includes No. 5 Virginia and No. 7 North Carolina. Gonzaga and the Cavaliers round out the top five, picking up a single first-place vote each.

Kansas is the lone member of last season’s Final Four to even be rated in the top five. Defending champion Villanova opens at No. 8, runner-up Michigan starts at No. 18, and Loyola-Chicago will begin outside the top 25 at second among others receiving votes.

The Wildcats are the only Big East team in the rankings. There are four teams each from the Big 12, Big Ten and SEC. The top team from the Big Ten is No. 10 Michigan State.

No. 6 Tennessee and No. 9 Nevada achieved their highest preseason ranking since USA TODAY Sports took over administering the poll in the 1991-92 season.

The complete preseason top 25 (2017-18 record)

 1.           Kansas (31-8)
 2.           Kentucky (26-11)
 3.           Duke (29-8)
 4.           Gonzaga (32-5)
 5.           Virginia (31-3)
 6.           Tennessee (26-9) 
 7.           North Carolina (26-11)
 8.           Villanova (36-4)
 9.           Nevada (29-8) 
10.         Michigan State (30-5)
11.         Kansas State (25-12)
12.         Auburn (26-8)
13.         West Virginia (26-11) 
14.         Syracuse (23-14)
15.         Florida State (23-12)
16.         Oregon (23-13)
17.         Virginia Tech (21-12) 
18.         Michigan (33-8)
19.         Mississippi State (25-12)
20.         UCLA (21-12)
21.         TCU (21-12)
22.         Purdue (30-7)
23.         Clemson (25-10)
24.         Washington (21-13)
25.         Nebraska (22-11)