Indiana Gets No. 17 Spot In AP Top 25 Preseason Poll

It’s the second time the Hoosiers have been included in the preseason poll in the Mike Woodson era.

Indiana Hoosiers forward Mackenzie Mgbako (21) dribbles the ball while Purdue Boilermakers guard Fletcher Loyer (2) defends in the first half at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana’s men’s basketball team never made it into the Associated Press Top 25 in the 2023-24 season, but the Hoosiers have had higher expectations placed upon them for the 2024-25 campaign.

The Associated Press preseason poll was released on Monday. Indiana was ranked No. 17 in the poll. Kansas was the No. 1 team in the poll, receiving 30 first-place votes.

 The Hoosiers were ranked by all but two voters in the 60-person voting pool. Indiana received a placing as high as No. 9 in the preseason poll, according to collegepolltracker.com.

Indiana was the second-highest rated Big Ten school. Purdue is ranked No. 14. No. 22 UCLA and No. 25 Rutgers are the other Big Ten teams in the Top 25. Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, Wisconsin and Maryland all received at least one vote.

In addition to Big Ten opponents in the poll, Indiana will play No. 12 Tennessee in an exhibition game on Oct. 27 in Knoxville, Tenn. The Hoosiers could also play No. 6 Gonzaga and No. 10 Arizona in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas in November.

It’s the second time in the Mike Woodson era that the Hoosiers were included in the preseason Top 25. In the 2022-23 season, the Hoosiers were ranked 13th. Indiana reached a peak of No. 10 in the 2023 season and finished 21st in the final Top 25 poll.

Indiana returns starters Trey Galloway, Mackenzie Mgbako and Malik Reneau, along with contributors Gabe Cupps and Anthony Leal.

Where the Hoosiers have raised expectations is in whom they have added from the transfer portal. Transfer guards Myles Rice (Washington State) and Kanaan Carlyle (Stanford) give the Hoosiers backcourt depth. Luke Goode (Illinois) provides a much-needed shooter. Oumar Ballo (Arizona) was one of the top centers available in the offseason.

Indiana opens its season against SIU-Edwardsville on Nov. 6.

Here’s the entire AP Top 25 poll. First-place votes are in paranthesees. The number total is points compiled via voting, not the amount of voters. A total of 25 points are awarded for a first-place vote, one point for a 25th place vote with all values in-between:

1. Kansas (30), 1,449 points.

2. Alabama (14), 1,428.

3. Connecticut (11), 1,345.

4. Houston (4), 1,343.

5. Iowa State, 1,177.

6. Gonzaga (1), 1,157.

7. Duke, 1,154.

8. Baylor, 1,109.

9. North Carolina, 1,037.

10. Arizona, 905.

11. Auburn, 901.

12. Tennessee, 775.

13. Texas A&M, 737.

14. Purdue, 678.

15. Creighton, 631.

16. Arkansas, 625.

17. Indiana, 492.

18. Marquette, 484.

19. Texas, 332.

20. Cincinnati, 271.

21. Florida, 249.

22. UCLA, 210.

23. Kentucky, 191.

24. Ole Miss, 132.

25. Rutgers, 102.

Receiving votes (numbers reflect point totals received for votes, not the number of votes): Illinois 92, St. John’s 91, Xavier 73, Texas Tech 58, Wake Forest 44, Kansas State 30, Michigan State 29, Ohio State 29, Michigan 19, BYU 14, Oregon 12, Miami (Fla.) 11, Boise State 9, Clemson 9, Providence 9, Saint Louis 9, Mississippi State 6, VCU 6, Saint Mary’s 5, Wisconsin 5, Louisville 4, UAB 4, Grand Canyon 3, Princeton 2, San Diego State 2, High Point 1, Maryland 1.

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