Associated Press Top 25 college basketball preseason poll: Jerry Carino's ballot

Once again, I have New Jersey’s lone vote in the Associated Press Top 25 poll for college men’s basketball.

Last October, my preseason ballot ruffled more than a few feathers around the country. In fact, it became something of a sensation that I omitted Kentucky and Memphis while including St. Bonaventure and Richmond.

Turns out I was half-correct: Kentucky and St. Bonaventure proved me wrong. Memphis and Richmond were about right.

This year’s preseason ballot is a bit tamer, but the same principals apply. I weight experience, especially teams that have been together, heavily. I trust the best coaches to figure things out. I don’t trust freshmen – at all.

I’m less skeptical of transfers, but I am cautious of the “fit factor.” I prefer a wait-and-see attitude toward new coaches.

Above all, I believe the preseason ballot is the time to be bold, because college basketball is treasured for its unpredictability, and once the results pile up and you see these teams, the ranking tends to sort itself out.

North Carolina is an easy No. 1. Most of the team returns after an appearance in the NCAA Tournament final.

My negative outlier this year is Duke, which will be in the top 10 of just about everyone’s ballot but not mine. Too many freshmen, plus a new coach. And not just any new coach, but one who is following a legend. There’s an enormous weight there, and nobody can say with certainty if it will work out.

My positive outlier is San Diego State. Seven returning seniors, including four starters, from an NCAA Tournament squad in a program on a strong run of success. As always, I try to throw mid-majors a preseason bone. The recipients are Dayton and Wyoming, two programs with recent success and a bunch of returning contributors.

Here is my Top 25 ballot, followed by my five-man preseason All-America ballot. The AP’s preseason poll for 2022-23 will publish Monday.

1. North Carolina

2. Houston

3. Gonzaga

4. Creighton

5. Kentucky

6. Kansas

7. UCLA

8. Baylor

9. TCU

10. Tennessee

11. Indiana

12. San Diego State

13. Virginia

14. Duke

15. Arkansas

16. Auburn

17. Villanova

18. Michigan

19. Arizona

20. Texas A&M

21. Dayton

22. Texas

23. UConn

24. Michigan State

25. Wyoming

Also considered: Saint Louis, Alabama, Oregon.

By conference: SEC (5), Big 12 (4), ACC (3), Big East (3), Big Ten (3), Pac-12 (2), Mountain West (2), American (1), West Coast (1).

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA BALLOT

Marcus Sasser, Houston (Sr., G, 17.7 ppg, 2.6 apg)

Jaime Jaquez, UCLA (Sr., G/F, 13.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg)

Drew Timme, Gonzaga (Sr., F, 18.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg)

Armando Bacot, North Carolina (Sr., F/C, 16.3 ppg, 13.1 rpg)

Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky (Sr., C, 17.4 ppg 15.1 rpg)

Analysis: This is my kind of team – all seniors, proven producers and winners. One of the easiest preseason teams to select that I can remember.

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: AP Top 25 college basketball preseason poll: Jerry Carino's ballot