Louisville Men's Basketball Unranked in 2020-21 Preseason AP Top 25

The Cardinals fail to crack the preseason edition of the AP poll for the first time in two seasons

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Associated Press Top 25 preseason men's college basketball poll for the upcoming 2020-21 season has finally dropped, but the Louisville Cardinals find themselves unranked.

The Cards found themselves in the "Receiving Votes" category, mustering 41 total votes. It's the first time since the 2018-19 season that Louisville has found themselves unranked in the preseason.

Louisville posted a 24-7 record with a 15-5 mark in the ACC last season before COVID-19 halted play. It was their best overall record through 31 games in six years and was the most conference victories during their six year ACC tenure.

The Cardinals head into the new season retaining just three of their top nine scorers and two of their top six (senior forward/center Malik Williams & sophomore guard David Johnson).

Louisville will also be down two of their projected starters to begin the season. Senior forward/center Malik Williams will be out for twelve weeks with a foot injury, and grad transfer guard Charles Minlend will be out six weeks with a knee injury.

Full Associated Press Top 25 Poll (2020-21 Preseason)

*First place votes in parenthesis

1. Gonzaga - 1,541 (28)

2. Baylor - 1,540 (24)

3. Villanova - 1,501 (11)

4. Virginia - 1,364 (1)

5. Iowa - 1,273 

6. Kansas - 1,221 

7. Wisconsin - 1,150

8. Illinois - 1,105

9. Duke - 1,073

10. Kentucky - 1,038

11. Creighton - 922

12. Tennessee - 919

13. Michigan State - 820

14. Texas Tech - 790

15. West Virginia - 651

16. North Carolina - 465

17. Houston - 438

18. Arizona State - 402

19. Texas - 380

20. Oregon - 375

21. Florida State - 351

22. UCLA - 336

23. Ohio State - 270

24. Rutgers - 190

25. Michigan - 160

Others receiving votes:

LSU 146, Memphis 69, Florida 69, Alabama 50, Indiana 48, Louisville 41, Richmond 40, Stanford 14, Providence 9, Saint Louis 8, Auburn 8, San Diego State 6, Connecticut 6, BYU 4, Loyola Chicago 3, Seton Hall 2, UNC Greensboro 1, Northern Iowa 1

(Photo of David Johnson, Chris Mack: Jamie Rhodes/USA TODAY Sports)

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