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The burn of demoralizing March Madness losses will never cease, but at least you have another season of college hoops to help temporarily curb that anguish, that is until it hits you again next March. With 300-plus teams set to open their 2014-15 seasons with exhibition games in the next two weeks, USA Today has released their preseason coaches poll and although the results are far from shocking (with three national powers at the top), there are certainly a handful of interesting selections, including Wichita State at No. 11 and the suddenly dangerous Virginia Cavaliers inside the top 10.

Rank Team 2013-14 Record Points 1st Place Votes
1 Kentucky 29-11 785 24
2 Arizona 33-5 746 3
3 Duke 26-9 715 2
4 Wisconsin 30-8 706 3
5 Kansas 25-10 654 0
6 North Carolina 24-10 598 0
7 Florida 36-3 568 0
8 Virginia 30-7 519 0
9 Louisville 31-6 507 0
10 Texas 24-11 479 0
11 Wichita State 35-1 471 0
12 Villanova 29-5 439 0
13 Gonzaga 29-7 423 0
14 Iowa State 28-8 323 0
15 Connecticut 32-8 292 0
16 Virginia Commonwealth 26-9 259 0
17 San Diego State 31-5 251 0
18 Michigan State 29-9 241 0
19 Oklahoma 23-10 237 0
20 Ohio State 25-10 223 0
21 Nebraska 19-13 156 0
22 Southern Methodist 27-10 149 0
23 Michigan 28-9 139 0
24 Syracuse 28-6 128 0
25 Iowa 20-13 56 0

Others receiving votes: Harvard 47, Stanford 47, Kansas State 37, Pittsburgh 36, Utah 26, Memphis 25, Minnesota 18, UCLA 15, New Mexico 11, Oregon 9, Louisiana Tech 8, Colorado 8, Arkansas 8, Dayton 6, Providence 5, Notre Dame 5, Massachusetts 4, Georgetown 4, Illinois 4, Texas-El Paso 4, Florida State 3, Baylor 2, George Washington 1, Miami (FL) 1, Toledo 1, Saint Mary’s 1

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