Gonzaga checks in at No. 7 in preseason USA Today coaches’ poll

Bulldogs will open the season in the top-20 of the coaches’ poll for the 12th straight year

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Concurrent with numerous preseason rankings and polls, the Gonzaga Bulldogs were ranked in the top 10 of the preseason USA Today Sports men’s basketball coaches poll.

The Zags checked in at No. 7 in the poll with 575 total points, marking the 15th straight season that Mark Few and company appeared in the preseason poll. It’s also the 12th straight year entering the season in the top 20. 

Kansas was voted No. 1 in the coaches’ poll for the second straight preseason after receiving 15 of the 31 first-place votes. The Jayhawks, who also debuted at the top spot of the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll last week, are one of five Big 12 schools in the top 10 of the coaches’ poll. Houston received four first-place votes and came in at No. 4, while No. 6 Iowa State, No. 8 Baylor and No. 9 Arizona rounded out the top tier of teams heading into the season. 

The Bulldogs will see at least four teams in the coaches’ top 25 during nonconference play, with the potential to see up to six total. Gonzaga opens the season against No. 8 Baylor at the Spokane Arena on Nov. 4. The Zags also face No. 23 Kentucky in the Battle in Seattle on Dec. 7, No. 3 UConn at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 14 and No. 22 UCLA in Inglewood, California, on Dec. 28.

Two potential Battle 4 Atlantis opponents appeared in the coaches’ poll: No. 9 Arizona and No. 18 Indiana. The Zags could battle the Hoosiers on day two of the tournament, with the possibility of seeing Tommy Lloyd and the Wildcats on the final day.

Saint Mary’s received nine votes from the panel. The Gaels were picked to finish behind the Bulldogs in the West Coast Conference coaches’ poll after losing Aidan Mahaney, Joshua Jefferson and Alex Ducas. Randy Bennett retained WCC Player of the Year Augustas Marciulionis and WCC Defensive Player of the Year, Mitchell Saxen. 

Gonzaga heads down to Moraga, California, on Feb. 1, before Saint Mary’s returns the favor three weeks later on Feb. 22 with a trip to Spokane. San Diego State (Nov. 18) also received votes from the panel. 

Alabama, led by preseason All-American guard Mark Sears, came in at No. 2 ahead of reigning back-to-back national champion UConn at No. 3. Duke and Cooper Flagg rounded out the top five at No. 5.

There weren’t many stark contrasts between the AP Top 25 and USA Today’s Top 25. Both polls featured the same 24 teams, with the only difference being the AP had Rutgers at No. 25, while the coaches voted for Illinois at No. 24 instead.

Gonzaga debuted at No. 6 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll. The Bulldogs were also top 10 on popular advanced metric sites Barttorvik.com (No. 8) and KenPom.com (No. 9). EvanMiya.com had the Zags at No. 2 in its preseason projections, the highest Gonzaga has featured in any notable preseason ranking to this point.

Here’s the complete USA TODAY Sports coaches’ preseason poll (total points): 

1. Kansas (743)
2. Alabama (718)
3. UConn (717)
4. Houston (698)
5. Duke (625)
6. Iowa State (591)
7. Gonzaga (575)
8. Baylor (545)
9. Arizona (510)
10. North Carolina (498)
11. Auburn (465)
12. Tennessee (437)
13. Purdue (390)
14. Creighton (342)
15. Texas A&M (332)
16. Arkansas (272)
17. Marquette (268)
18. Indiana (208)
19. Texas (166)
20. Cincinnati (163)
21. Florida (130)
22. UCLA (123)
23. Kentucky (95)
24. Illinois (87)
25. Ole Miss (66)