Even though it’s only November, the Associated Press has already picked itself some Cinderella teams.
Four of them.
In the AP’s first Top 25 Poll, a quartet of teams that failed to reach last year’s NCAA Tournament made the cut: No. 14 Oregon, No. 18 Mississippi State, No. 23 LSU, and No. 25 Washington.
All four of the ranked teams did play in the NIT after not being invited to the Big Dance.
Oregon reached the Final Four in 2017 and LSU last made the NCAA Tournament in 2015, but Mississippi State hasn’t earned a bid since 2009 while Washington hasn’t made it since 2011.
“Last year we were teaching them how to win,” Washington coach Mike Hopkins said. “This year, we’re teaching them how to handle expectations. So it’ll be a new learning curve, but the kids have worked really hard and playing well together.”
In last year’s initial poll, the only team to make the Top 25 Poll that wasn’t coming off an NCAA Tournament berth was No. 25 Texas A&M.
The poll has Kansas ranked at No. 1 followed by No. 2 Kentucky, No. 3 Gonzaga, No. 4 Duke, and No. 5 Virginia.
Tennessee, Nevada, North Carolina, Villanova, and Michigan State round out the top 10.
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