The Associated Press released the first Top 25 preseason rankings Monday morning and for the first time since 2012, the Arizona Wildcats are placed outside of the top 10.
The No. 12 ranked Arizona basketball team lost four key starters from last season’s Elite Eight squad and returns senior center Kaleb Tarczewski.
North Carolina took the top spot with Kentucky, Maryland, Kansas, Duke, Virginia, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Gonzaga and Wichita State, rounding out the rest of the top 10. The Wildcats travel to Gonzaga for an afternoon matchup the first week of December that will for sure bring a heated Gonzaga rematch from last season.
Despite Arizona favored to win the Pac-12 Conference regular season for the third consecutive season, the Wildcats have a trio of fellow conference teams breathing down their necks in No. 14 California and No. 16 Utah with Oregon receiving 116 votes for a ranking.
Arizona’s first game will be an exhibition game with Chico State on Sunday for a 6 p.m. tipoff.
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