ARIZONA STATE BASKETBALL

ASU basketball picked 2nd in 2020-21 Pac-12 preseason media poll

Nov 12, 2020, 9:44 AM | Updated: 11:38 am

Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley gestures to his team during the first half of an NCAA college bask...

Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley gestures to his team during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Oregon on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Chris Pietsch)

(AP Photo/Chris Pietsch)

Media members picked the Arizona State Sun Devils to finish behind the favorite UCLA Bruins in the Pac-12 basketball preseason media poll for 2020-21.

The top-two doesn’t reflect the national perception of the two programs, as the Associated Press top-25 rankings had ASU slotted 18th in the country, two spots ahead of No. 20 UCLA.

The Sun Devils earned 246 total points and five first-place votes.

UCLA earned nine first-place votes and 251 points, while the No. 22 Oregon Ducks earned seven first-place nods and 241 points in third place.

The 10 points separating the top three teams makes for the closest vote for that grouping in the 37-year history of the conference’s preseason media voting.

The Arizona Wildcats came in fifth in the poll with 173 points but had no first-place votes.

Stanford and USC each earned a single first-place nod from voters.

2020-21 Pac-12 men’s basketball preseason media poll

Team (First Place Votes) Points
1. UCLA (9) 251
2. ARIZONA STATE (5) 246
3. OREGON (7) 241
4. STANFORD (1) 209
5. ARIZONA 173
6. USC (1) 154
7. COLORADO 149
8. UTAH 131
9. WASHINGTON 85
10. CALIFORNIA 65
11. WASHINGTON STATE 54
12. OREGON STATE 36

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