Arizona basketball starts at No. 5 in USA Today preseason coaches poll

The Arizona Wildcats won the Pac-12 last season and will start the 2017-18 season as the No. 5 team in the country in USA Today's preseason coaches poll.

BY JOE JACQUEZ

Oct 19, 2017, 9:38 AM Updated: 11:29 am

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Arizona coach Sean Miller holds up the trophy after Arizona defeated Oregon 83-80 in an NCAA college basketball game for the championship of the Pac-12 men's tournament Saturday, March 11, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

(AP Photo/John Locher)

With the new season set to tip-off in November, USA Today released its men’s college basketball coaches poll for Week 1 on Thursday, and the Arizona Wildcats are ranked fifth.

The Wildcats won the Pac-12 tournament last season, but head coach Sean Miller’s team has dealt with a scandal this offseason. Regardless, the majority of coaches apparently still believe the Wildcats are the team to beat in the Pac-12 this season.

The Duke Blue Devils will start the season as the top team in the country. The Michigan State Spartans are second. The Kansas Jayhawks, Kentucky Wildcats and Arizona round out the top five.

USC (No. 11), UCLA (No. 18) are the only other Pac-12 teams represented in the poll. Oregon received votes, but ASU did not collect any support.

The season will get underway on Nov. 10 with a full slate of games, including Northern Arizona at Arizona and Idaho State at Arizona State.