Duke Blue Devils: #1 in the Coaches Basketball Poll

The Duke Blue Devils and two other ACC squads headline the top ten of the college basketball Coaches Poll.

The Duke Blue Devils are the preseason number one in men’s college basketball. That was the announcement now that the Coaches Preseason Poll is out. Twenty-seven of thirty-four first place votes went to the Blue Devils. They firmly have the target on their backs.

Duke will be coming into this season with a mix of players from their last title run and an influx of new freshmen who are all highly rated. Not only do you get the likes of Grayson Allen, but also the return of Amile Jefferson for one more run. Then there are the freshmen with Harry Giles, Jayson Tatum, Frank Jackson, and Marques Bolden.

These all seem like good signs, but it is only fair to mention the 1994 North Carolina Tar Heels. They brought back several pieces from the 1993 Championship team but could not mesh them successfully with a trio of talented freshmen. Duke needs to be aware that talent does not necessarily determine fate, but all signs point to fun in Durham.

More from Duke Blue Devils

• Court alleges Zion’s Stepfather received $400k
• Four North Carolina players selected in first round of MLB Draft
• N.C. State at Duke: Staff Predictions
• N.C. State makes strong case for NCAA Tourney berth with win over Duke
• Duke vs North Carolina Staff Predictions

Further down the list at #6 are the North Carolina Tar Heels. The last second losers of last year’s title game have to replace two big pieces in Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige. They have their own trio of freshmen to try and do that with. That includes guard Seventh Woods and forward Tony Bradley.

The poll suggests there is a bit of a gap between the Tar Heels and the five teams above them. This is because each of those five teams received somebody’s first place vote. The Tar Heels garnered none of those.

Other ACC squads appeared in the poll. That should mark this year as a competitive one at the top of the conference. Virginia is nestled right behind the Heels at number 7. Louisville and Syracuse are in the top 20.

2016 Preseason Coaches Poll:

Duke Blue Devils

(27)

2. Kansas Jayhawks (1)

3. Villanova Wildcats (1)

4. Kentucky Wildcats (2)

5. Oregon Ducks (1)

6.

North Carolina Tar Heels

7. Virginia Cavaliers

8. Xavier Muskateers

9. Michigan State Spartans

10. Wisconsin Badgers

More from Old North Banter

• Carolina Panthers: Secondary battles to watch in training camp 2020
• Carolina Panthers: 2020 training camp kicks off on Tuesday
• NC Colleges Provide Coronavirus Results from Athletic Departments
• Court alleges Zion’s Stepfather received $400k
• UNC Football gets Commitment from Top Cornerback

11. Arizona Wildcats

12. Indiana Hoosiers

13. Gonzaga Bulldogs

14. Louisville Cardinals

15. Purdue Boilermakers

16. UConn Huskies

17. Syracuse Orange

18. West Virginia Mountaineers

19. Saint Mary’s Gaels

20. UCLA Bruins

21. Maryland Terrapins

22. Texas Longhorns

23. Creighton Blue Jays

24. Rhode Island Rams

25. Cincinnati Bearcats

Next: Hill for Duke after Bye Week

Still have some football to play before we get to the season openers in less than a month.