Christopher Hanewinckel-US PRESSWIRE - Presswire
The hype is now official.
All summer the Louisville basketball team has heard about how it will likely begin the 2012-13 season ranked first or second in the country. Now, the Cards know that when they take the court for the first time they'll do so with a little No. 2 next to their name.
USA Today released its preseason coaches' poll on Wednesday which has Louisville ranked behind only Indiana. Kentucky, Ohio State and Michigan round out the top five.
U of L snatched five of the 31 first-place votes cast by the coaches, 16 fewer than Indiana received. Kentucky was the only other team to receive a vote for the top spot, also snagging five.
Here's your first official preseason poll of the 2012-13 season.
| Rank | School (first-place votes) | 2011-12 record | Points | Last year's final ranking | |
| 1 | Indiana (21) | 27-9 | 761 | 13 | |
| 2 | Louisville (5) | 30-10 | 738 | 4 | |
| 3 | Kentucky (5) | 38-2 | 718 | 1 | |
| 4 | Ohio State | 31-8 | 617 | 3 | |
| 5 | Michigan | 24-10 | 605 | 22 | |
| 6 |
North Carolina State | 24-13 | 581 | 20 | |
| 7 | Kansas | 32-7 | 563 | 2 | |
| 8 | Duke | 27-7 | 516 | 14 | |
| 9 | Syracuse | 34-3 | 502 | 5 | |
| 10 | Florida | 26-11 | 422 | 9 | |
| 11 | Arizona | 23-12 | 411 | NR | |
| 12 | North Carolina | 32-6 | 401 | 6 | |
| 13 | UCLA | 19-14 | 396 | NR | |
| 14 | Michigan State | 29-8 | 391 | 7 | |
| 15 | Creighton | 29-6 | 325 | 21 | |
| 16 | Memphis | 26-9 | 307 | NR | |
| 17 | Missouri | 30-5 | 289 | 11 | |
| 18 | Baylor | 30-8 | 266 | 8 | |
| 19 |
UNLV | 26-9 | 203 | NR | |
| 20 | San Diego State | 26-8 | 196 | NR | |
| 21 | Wisconsin | 26-10 | 191 | 12 | |
| 22 | Gonzaga | 26-7 | 166 | NR | |
| 23 | Notre Dame | 22-12 | 122 | NR | |
| 24 (tie) | Florida State | 25-10 | 61 | 15 | |
| 24 (tie) | Texas | 20-14 | 61 | NR | |
Others receiving votes: Saint Louis (26-8) 58; Virginia Commonwealth (29-7) 40; Cincinnati (26-11) 33; Murray State (31-2) 30; Kansas State (22-11) 13; Saint Mary's (27-6) 11; New Mexico (28-7) 10; Tennessee (19-15) 10; Minnesota (23-15) 9; Pittsburgh (22-17) 9; Marquette (27-8) 8; Stanford (26-11) 7; Butler (22-15) 6; Oklahoma State (15-18) 6; Colorado State (20-12) 4; Middle Tennessee (27-7) 3; Drexel (29-7) 2; Georgia (15-17) 2; Miami (Fla.) (20-13) 2; St. Joseph's (20-14) 2; Marshall (21-14) 1
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