With NCAA college basketball just over a week away, we dig into the men’s preseason rankings.

We always point out the triviality of preseason rankings, but that doesn’t mean we can’t discuss leading up to the tipoff of NCAA basketball! The first games of the season begin Tuesday, November 5th. No team has been quite as hyped this season as we saw Duke last year with their star freshman that have since departed for the NBA.

However, there is still plenty of buzz as always ahead of another exciting hoops season. It seems to be anyone’s race, at least for now. Vegas odds-makers like Gonzaga, while the AP and others see Michigan State as the favorite, having retained much of the roster that took them to the Final Four a season ago.

The season starts soon, but we are still a long way from March Madness. In the meantime, here are the AP top-25 rankings before seeing these squads in action:

1 - Michigan State

2 - Kentucky

3 - Kansas

4 - Duke

5 - Louisville

6 - Florida

7 - Maryland

8 - Gonzaga

9 - North Carolina

10 - Villanova

11 - Virginia

12 - Seton Hall

13 - Texas Tech

14 - Memphis

15 - Oregon

16 - Baylor

17 - Utah State

18 - Ohio State

19 - Xavier

20 - Saint Mary's (Cal)

21 - Arizona

22 - LSU

23 - Purdue

24 - Auburn

25 - VCU

Again, there is plenty to look forward to this season, and it begins early. The top four above teams will be meeting each other to open things up. November 6th, Michigan St. plays Kentucky and Duke plays Kansas in back-to-back games of the Champions Classic. The games will be played at Madison Square Garden and will be sure to start the season off with a bang.

Reigning champ Virginia is at number 11, having lost multiple starters. Memphis (number 14) will be an exciting team to keep an eye on if you are looking for the next big squad of talented young players.

Are any of the above teams ranked too high? Too low? Let us know here or start the discussion over on our social media pages as we all get pumped for the return of college hoops!