College basketball rankings: Arizona opens No. 11 in Coaches Poll
Oct 20, 2016, 4:59 PM
Arizona head coach Sean Miller directs his players during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Utah in Salt Lake City, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016. Utah defeated Arizona 70-64. (AP Photo/George Frey)
(AP Photo/George Frey)
The Arizona Wildcats will open the 2016-17 season as the 11th-ranked team in college basketball, according to the USA Today’ Coaches Poll.
Duke begins the year atop the preseason rankings that were released on Thursday. Kansas, Villanova, Kentucky and Oregon round out the top-5, and they are followed by North Carolina, Virginia, Xavier, Michigan State and Wisconsin, in that order.
Sean Miller’s Wildcats will square off with at least — depending on tournament results — two preseason top-15 teams in the nonconference schedule. They open the season Nov. 11 against the No. 9 Spartans for an ESPN-televised Armed Forces Classic game in Hawaii and also face No. 13 Gonzaga on Dec. 3 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The fifth-ranked Ducks, the Pac-12 favorites, play the Wildcats just once in the regular season, on Feb. 4 in Eugene, Ore.
Additionally, Arizona also has a Jan. 21 matchup at No. 23 UCLA but will get the Bruins again on Feb. 25 in McKale Center.
The Wildcats are bolstered by what ESPN views as a No. 7-ranked recruiting class that includes 5-star prospects in power forward Lauri Markkanen, point guard Kobi Simmons and swingman Rawle Alkins. Arizona will also lean heavily on returning guards Allonzo Trier, Kadeem Allen and Parker Jackson-Cartwright, along with big men Dusan Ristic and Chance Comanche.
Swingman Ray Smith, a former 5-star recruit from the 2015 class, is also set to make his debut after missing his freshman season due to a knee injury.
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