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My vote in the Examiner.com NCAA Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
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Examiner.com will soon be releasing the results of our first Men's and Women's NCAA Basketball poll. This will be a weekly occurrence during the season, much like the Associated Press or USA Today/ESPN Coaches polls. To be eligible, a writer must be covering college basketball, and meet certain activity criterion.
I was fortunate enough to be one of the writers selected, and here is my first vote for the season:
1. Kansas Jayhawks – When Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich both decided to return to Lawrence for one more season, Bill Self's squad became the clear favorite to win it all. They don't play games on paper, but if they did, the Jayhawks could start cutting down the nets in Indianapolis now.
2. Texas Longhorns – Rick Barnes has his team prepared for a Big 12 battle with Kansas, and when Jai Lucas becomes eligible in December, Texas will have one of the deepest teams in the country.
3. Michigan State Spartans – It's hard to justify MSU so high after losing Goran Suton and Travis Walton, but if Raymar Morgan and Delvon Roe stay healthy this season, Coach Tom Izzo won't miss a beat.
4. Villanova Wildcats – They might have the best perimeter team in the country, and with a lack of returning interior players, going to a four-guard lineup is an option for Coach Jay Wright. Look for Scottie Reynolds to contend for Big East Player of the Year.
5. Purdue Boilermakers – A healthy Robbie Hummel is the best player in the Big Ten, and being teamed with JaJuan Johnson and E'Twuan Moore means Purdue should better its Sweet 16 finish from a year ago.
6. California Golden Bears – They have the PAC-10's best player in Jerome Randle, and return four 
starters from a 22-11 team last year. Their interior is thin, but their guard play should lead them to the PAC-10 title.
7. North Carolina Tar Heels – The core of their National Championship team is gone, but the Heel
s return big men Ed Davis and Deon Thompson, to go with an excellent recruiting class. If guards Marcus Ginyard and Will Graves can stay on the court, UNC will be back in the mix come March.
8. Kentucky Wildcats – Coach John Calipari is hoping the nation's top two recruits, guard John Wall 
and forward DeMarcus Cousins can lead the Wildcats back to the Final Four. Their lack of experience could be all that keeps Kentucky from running away with the SEC East.
9. Butler Bulldogs – The top nine players are back for coach Brad Stevens, and the Bulldogs look to 
build on their 26-6 record from last season. Matt Howard and Gordon Hayward might be the two best players in the entire league.
10. West Virginia Mountaineers – Da'Sean Butler and Devin EBanks gives Bob Huggins two of the top
-10 perimeter players in the country. If the Mountaineers can get solid guard play, and keep their point guards out of trouble, they will fight Villanova for the top of the Big East mountain.
11. Duke Blue Devils
12. Oklahoma Sooners
13. Tennessee Volunteers
14. Georgetown Hoyas
15. Connecticut Huskies
16. Mississippi State Bulldogs
17. Ohio State Buckeyes
18. Dayton Flyers
19. Washington Huskies
20. Northern Iowa Panthers
21. Siena Saints
22. Louisville Cardinals
23. Michigan Wolverines
24. Kansas State Wildcats
25. Texas A&M Aggies
Broken down by conference –
ACC – 2 teams
Atlantic 10 – 1 team
Big East – 5 teams
Big Ten – 4 teams
Big 12 – 5 teams
Horizon League – 1 team
Metro Atlantic Athletic – 1 team
Missouri Valley – 1 team
Pac-10 – 2 teams
SEC – 3 teams
