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The Michigan State men’s basketball team opens exhibition play against Grand Valley State University in just about two weeks (Nov. 1). With the season so close to starting, the Associated Press officially released the 2022-2023 preseason poll results on Monday. For the second-straight season, MSU will begin the season unranked.
BREAKING: North Carolina is No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 men's basketball poll, ahead of Gonzaga, Houston and Kentucky and a tie for fifth place.
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) October 17, 2022
See the full poll: https://t.co/ZJG5mgWZhI pic.twitter.com/qMTO5jzL1S
Michigan State does open the season with the sixth-most votes among those sitting on the outside of the AP Top-25 looking in, however. It will be a brutal climb to try and jump into those rankings early on for the Spartans.
MSU will play at least four teams entering the season ranked in the top-25 in its first five games alone. Two of those teams, No. 2 Gonzaga and No. 4 Kentucky will be in the first three games of the season. Michigan State also takes on No. 16 Villanova on Nov. 18.
Michigan State also takes on No. 20 Alabama on Nov. 24 in the first round of the Phil Knight Invitational. Depending on who the Spartans face in the second game of the PK85 tournament in Portland, either Oregon or Connecticut, that could be six ranked foes, though either opponent may be ranked by then with Oregon currently at No. 21 and UConn with the second-most votes being received in the preseason poll.
Also on the schedule is a road trip to Notre Dame (receiving votes) in addition to a potential, though unlikely, matchup against preseason No. 1 North Carolina in the third game of the PK85 event.
That all preludes the Big Ten portion of the schedule, which will bring matchups against three ranked opponents (Indiana, Michigan, Illinois) and four others receiving votes (Purdue, Ohio State, Iowa, Rutgers) per the preseason poll.
The full AP Top 25 preseason poll results are as follows:
1. North Carolina
2. Gonzaga
3. Houston
4. Kentucky
T-5. Kansas
T-5. Baylor
7. Duke
8. UCLA
9. Creighton
10. Arkansas
11. Tennessee
12. Texas
13. Indiana
14. TCU
15. Auburn
16. Villanova
17. Arizona
18. Virginia
19. San Diego State
20. Alabama
21. Oregon
22. Michigan
23. Illinois
24. Dayton
25. Texas Tech
Others receiving votes:
Texas A&M 112, UConn 101, Miami (FL) 66, Purdue 56, Saint Louis 36, Michigan State 35, Florida State 32, Xavier 29, Wyoming 25, Ohio State 23, Iowa 13, Rutgers 4, Florida 3, USC 3, Virginia Tech 1, Memphis 1, Toledo 1, Notre Dame 1, UAB 1
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