Arizona and Michigan State rank 1-2 and the ACC leads all leagues with six teams listed among Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook’s preseason Top 25 rankings, including three among the top 10.
Arizona returns Allonzo Trier, Rawle Alkins and Parker Jackson-Cartwright, while bringing in a recruiting class highlighted by 7-footer DeAndre Ayton.
Michigan State returns sophomores Miles Bridges, Josh Langford, Nick Ward and Cassius Winston and adds highly touted forward Jaren Jackson Jr.
Defending conference champion Duke, which features potential No. 1 pick Marvin Bagley III, leads ACC teams in the rankings at No. 3, followed by Louisville at No. 6 and defending NCAA champion North Carolina at No. 10. Miami is ranked No. 16, while Notre Dame is No. 19 and Virginia Tech is No. 25.
All six preseason ranked teams were among the league-record nine from the ACC that received NCAA Tournament bids last March.
In addition, the publication has tabbed Notre Dame senior forward Bonzie Colson as the preseason national player of the year. Colson finished strong at the end of the 2016-17 season, scoring at least 20 points in eight of his final 12 games. He finished the season averaging a double-double with 17.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.
Colson is joined on the Blue Ribbon preseason All-America first team by Duke senior Grayson Allen. The second team includes North Carolina senior guard Joel Berry II and Bagley III.
The complete Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook Preseason Top 25:
1. Arizona
2. Michigan State
3. Duke
4. Kansas
5. Kentucky
6. Louisville
7. Wichita State
8. Florida
9. West Virginia
10. North Carolina
11. USC
12. Villanova
13. Cincinnati
14. Purdue
15. Seton Hall
16. Miami
17. Saint Mary’s
18. Minnesota
19. Notre Dame
20. Gonzaga
21. Xavier
22. UCLA
23. Northwestern
24. Alabama
25. Virginia Tech
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