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The Indiana Hoosiers are the best team in college basketball, according to The Associated Press preseason poll released Friday morning.
It is the third time Indiana has entered the season with the AP's No. 1 ranking and first since the 1979-80 season. The Hoosiers return a wealth of talent from a year ago, when they finished 25-8 in the regular season and earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament before being knocked out in the Sweet 16 by the eventual national champion, the Kentucky Wildcats.
Most notably, the Hoosiers welcome back talented center Cody Zeller, who returned to Indiana despite the potential to be a lottery pick in last year's NBA Draft. Zeller averaged 15.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game last season.
Coming in behind Indiana, which received 43 of the 65 first-place votes, are No. 2 Louisville and No. 3 Kentucky. The Cardinals (20) and Wildcats (two) received the rest of the first-place votes.
Ohio State, Michigan, North Carolina State, Kansas, Duke, Syracuse and Florida round out the top 10.
Here is the complete top 25:
| Team (First-place votes) | 2011-12 Record | Pts |
| 1. Indiana (43) | 27-9 | 1,592 |
| 2. Louisville (20) | 30-10 | 1,568 |
| 3. Kentucky (2) | 38-2 | 1,453 |
| 4. Ohio St. | 31-8 | 1,292 |
| 5. Michigan | 24-10 | 1,290 |
| 6. NC State | 24-13 | 1,270 |
| 7. Kansas | 32-7 | 1,210 |
| 8. Duke | 27-7 | 1,094 |
| 9. Syracuse | 34-3 | 1,062 |
| 10. Florida | 26-11 | 936 |
| 11. North Carolina | 32-6 | 904 |
| 12. Arizona | 23-12 | 902 |
| 13. UCLA | 19-14 | 840 |
| 14. Michigan St. | 29-8 | 789 |
| 15. Missouri | 30-5 | 664 |
| 16. Creighton | 29-6 | 622 |
| 17. Memphis | 26-9 | 539 |
| 18. UNLV | 26-9 | 488 |
| 19. Baylor | 30-8 | 486 |
| 20. San Diego St. | 26-8 | 463 |
| 21. Gonzaga | 26-7 | 384 |
| 22. Notre Dame | 22-12 | 297 |
| 23. Wisconsin | 26-10 | 285 |
| 24. Cincinnati | 26-11 | 120 |
| 25. Florida St. | 25-10 | 101 |
Others receiving votes: Murray St. 59, VCU 58, Saint Louis 46, Texas 46, Minnesota 40, Butler 33, Pittsburgh 32, Saint Joseph’s 25, Marquette 23, Tennessee 15, Oklahoma St. 14, Kansas St. 12, Georgetown 9, New Mexico 9, Ohio 9, Miami 8, Saint Mary’s (Cal) 6, West Virginia 6, Davidson 5, Drexel 5, N. Iowa 5, Valparaiso 3, Lehigh 2, Stanford 2, Colorado St. 1, Oral Roberts 1.