SPOKANE, Wash. – The Gonzaga men's basketball team was ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll Monday.
This marks the 19th straight season Gonzaga has been ranked in the AP poll. It's the 10th consecutive year the Zags have appeared in the preseason poll, starting in the top-20 for the seventh straight season. This year's ranking matches the program's second-best preseason AP ranking, as the 2005-06 team also opened at No. 8. It's the sixth time GU has been ranked in the Top-10 in the preseason AP ranking. The Zags earned their highest-ever preseason ranking in last year's AP Top 25 preseason poll at No. 3, before ending the season at No. 4.
Gonzaga won 33 games last season, and made its fifth straight appearance in the Sweet 16, the longest active streak in the nation. The Zags advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 21st straight season after claiming their 22nd West Coast Conference title. GU won the WCC regular season title for the seventh straight season, after going 16-0 in league play.
Michigan State topped this year's preseason poll for the first time in its program history with 60 first-place votes. Kentucky followed at No. 2 with two first-place votes. Kansas received three first-place votes at No. 3. Duke and Louisville rounded out the top-five.
Gonzaga had 1,096 points in this year's preseason poll. The Zags host North Carolina on Dec. 18. The Tarheels open the season at No. 9. The Bulldogs will play Seton Hall or Oregon in the second game of the Battle 4 Atlantis on Nov. 28. Seton Hall is No. 12 in the preseason poll and Oregon is No. 15. Six of the eight teams in this year's Battle 4 Atlantis field appear in the preseason AP poll.
West Coast Conference foe, Saint Mary's, starts the season at No. 20. GU is at Arizona on Dec. 14. The Wildcats were ranked No. 21 in the preseason AP poll. Washington and Gonzaga play in Seattle on Dec. 8, and the Huskies were one spot out of the Top 25, receiving 164 votes.
The Zags open their 2019-20 season with an exhibition against Lewis-Clark State on Nov. 1. The first regular season game is on Nov. 5, against Alabama State.
2019-20 Associated Press Preseason Poll
| Rank |
Team |
Points |
2018-19 Record |
| 1 |
Michigan State (60) |
1,619 |
32-7 |
|
| 2 |
Kentucky (2) |
1,497 |
30-7 |
|
| 3 |
Kansas (3) |
1,457 |
26-10 |
|
| 4 |
Duke |
1,399 |
32-6 |
|
| 5 |
Louisville |
1,386 |
20-14 |
|
| 6 |
Florida |
1,313 |
20-16 |
|
| 7 |
Maryland |
1,134 |
23-11 |
|
| 8 |
Gonzaga |
1,096 |
33-4 |
|
| 9 |
North Carolina |
1,060 |
29-7 |
|
| 10 |
Villanova |
1,048 |
26-10 |
|
| 11 |
Virginia |
1,007 |
35-3 |
|
| 12 |
Seton Hall |
863 |
20-14 |
|
| 13 |
Texas Tech |
837 |
31-7 |
|
| 14 |
Memphis |
773 |
22-14 |
|
| 15 |
Oregon |
742 |
25-13 |
|
| 16 |
Baylor |
523 |
20-14 |
|
| 17 |
Utah State |
491 |
28-7 |
|
| 18 |
Ohio State |
407 |
20-15 |
|
| 19 |
Xavier |
356 |
19-16 |
|
| 20 |
Saint Mary's (Cal) |
330 |
22-12 |
|
| 21 |
Arizona |
265 |
17-15 |
|
| 22 |
LSU |
234 |
28-7 |
|
| 23 |
Purdue |
230 |
26-10 |
|
| 24 |
Auburn |
210 |
30-10 |
|
| 25 |
VCU |
193 |
25-8 |
|
Others receiving votes: Washington 164, Colorado 152, Tennessee 78, Marquette 68, Florida St. 36, Davidson 34, Harvard 24, Illinois 14, Missouri 13, Mississippi St. 12, Houston 11, Georgetown 11, Cincinnati 8, Notre Dame 7, Creighton 4, Syracuse 3, NC State 3, Vermont 2, Alabama 2, Southern Cal 2, Liberty 2, Michigan 2, Dayton 1, Colgate 1, Providence 1.
