Louisville basketball No. 5 in preseason AP poll

The Louisville basketball team will begin the 2019-20 season as the No. 5 team in the country. The Cards sit behind only Michigan State, Kentucky, Kansas and Duke in the Associated Press preseason top 25 poll, which was released Monday afternoon.

The No. 5 spot is Louisville’s highest preseason ranking since being No. 3 before the start of the 2013-14 season. The Cards were No. 2 the year before, when they wound up winning the national championship.

Duke and Louisville were joined in the preseason top 10 by ACC brethren North Carolina, which will start the year at No. 9. Reigning national champion Virginia is No. 11. U of L non-conference opponent Texas Tech (No. 13) also received a preseason national ranking.

Here’s the first poll of the season, which gets going in just 15 days.

1. Michigan St. (60)

2. Kentucky (2)

3. Kansas (3)

4. Duke

5. Louisville

6. Florida

7. Maryland

8. Gonzaga

9. North Carolina

10. Villanova

11. Virginia

12. Seton Hall

13. Texas Tech

14. Memphis

15. Oregon

16. Baylor

17. Utah St.

18. Ohio St.

19. Xavier

20. Saint Mary’s (Cal.)

21. Arizona

22. LSU

23. Purdue

24. Auburn

25. VCU

Others receiving votes: Washington 164, Colorado 152, Tennessee 78, Marquette 68, Florida St. 36, Davidson 34, Harvard 24, Illinois 14, Missouri 13, Mississippi St. 12, Georgetown 11, Houston 11, Cincinnati 8, Notre Dame 7, Creighton 4, N.C. State 3, Syracuse 3, Alabama 2, Liberty 2, Michigan 2, Southern Cal 2, Vermont 2, Colgate 1, Dayton 1, Providence 1.