See where Kentucky basketball is ranked in the Associated Press preseason poll

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky men's basketball team will start the 2022-23 season in a familiar place: in the top five of the Associated Press' preseason poll.

The poll, released Monday, has the Wildcats ranked No. 4. It's the 13th time in John Calipari's 14-year tenure as coach that UK earned a spot in the top 10 of the AP preseason poll. It's also the 11th time under Calipari's watch that Kentucky is a preseason top-five selection. The Wildcats received two first-place votes in this season's poll.

But it's North Carolina that starts atop the rankings, followed by Gonzaga and Houston. Kansas and Baylor, which finished with the same number of votes, round out the top five.

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Eight of Kentucky's opponents in the coming season boast preseason rankings, including four non-conference teams: Gonzaga (No. 2), Kansas (No. 5), UCLA (No. 8) and Michigan (No. 22). Other SEC schools in the poll include Arkansas (No. 10), Tennessee (No. 11), Auburn (No. 15) and Alabama (No. 20).

Kentucky brings back one of the country's top players in Oscar Tshiebwe, the reigning National Player of the Year. Tshiebwe led Division I in rebounds per game (15.1) last season and also had the top scoring mark on the team at 17.4 points per outing. Other returnees include guard Sahvir Wheeler (SEC-best 6.9 assists per game in 2021-22) and forwards Daimion Collins, Jacob Toppin and Lance Ware.

As per usual under Calipari, the Wildcats welcome a highly touted freshman class that features top-10 prospects Chris Livingston and Cason Wallace. Both players were the Gatorade Players of the Year in their state as well as McDonald’s All Americans. UK added Adou Thiero and Ugonna Onyenso during the late signing period, while the Wildcats plucked Antonio Reeves from the transfer portal. Reeves averaged 20.1 points per game last season at Illinois State.

Kentucky will host its annual Blue-White Game intrasquad scrimmage at 6 p.m. Saturday, holding the event at Appalachian Wireless Arena in Pikeville. All ticket revenue from Saturday's scrimmage will be donated to Team Eastern Kentucky Flood Relief.

UK has a pair of preseason exhibitions (vs. Missouri Western State on Oct. 30 and against Kentucky State on Nov. 3) before opening the season at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 7, hosting Howard at Rupp Arena.

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Here is the full AP preseason poll:

AP Preseason Poll

(First-place votes in parentheses)

1. North Carolina (47)

2. Gonzaga (12)

3. Houston (1)

4. Kentucky (2)

5. Kansas

6. Baylor

7. Duke

8. UCLA

9. Creighton

10. Arkansas

11. Tennessee

12. Texas

13. Indiana

14. TCU

15. Auburn

16. Villanova

17. Arizona

18. Virginia

19. San Diego St.

20. Alabama

21. Oregon

22. Michigan

23. Illinois

24. Dayton

25. Texas Tech

Others receiving votes: Texas A&M 112, UConn 101, Miami (FL) 66, Purdue 56, Saint Louis 36, Michigan State 35, Florida State 32, Xavier 29, Wyoming 25, Ohio State 23, Iowa 13, Rutgers 4, Florida 3, USC 3, Virginia Tech 1, Memphis 1, Toledo 1, Notre Dame 1, UAB 1

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Where is Kentucky basketball ranked in the AP preseason poll?