The Big Ten is going to present plenty of challenges for coach Danny Sprinkle and the Washington Huskies. In his first year at the helm, not only is Sprinkle fielding an all-new team, but that team is moving into an all-new conference.
On Wednesday morning, the first installment of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll was released and showed just how tough that new conference is going to be.
Four members of the Big Ten found themselves ranked inside the top 25: No. 13 Purdue, No. 18 Indiana, No. 22 UCLA, and No. 24 Illinois. Six others, Rutgers, Michigan State, Ohio State, Maryland, Oregon, and Wisconsin, were placed in the others receiving votes category and will be on the outside looking in.
It isn’t surprising that even with a talented new roster headlined by Blue Ribbon Yearbook All-American Great Osobor, the Huskies are on the outside looking in. But the poll shows the immense challenge Sprinkle has in front of him, and after going 28-7 in his one season at Utah State, he appears to be more than up to the task at hand.
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2024-25 Preseason Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll
| Rank | School | Last Year’s Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas | 23-11 | 743 (15) |
| 2 | Alabama | 25-12 | 718 (6) |
| 3 | Connecticut | 37-3 | 717 (6) |
| 4 | Houston | 32-5 | 698 (4) |
| 5 | Duke | 27-9 | 625 |
| 6 | Iowa State | 29-8 | 591 |
| 7 | Gonzaga | 27-8 | 575 |
| 8 | Baylor | 24-11 | 545 |
| 9 | Arizona | 27-9 | 510 |
| 10 | North Carolina | 29-8 | 498 |
| 11 | Auburn | 27-8 | 465 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 27-9 | 437 |
| 13 | Purdue | 34-5 | 390 |
| 14 | Creighton | 25-10 | 342 |
| 15 | Texas A&M | 21-15 | 332 |
| 16 | Arkansas | 16-17 | 272 |
| 17 | Marquette | 27-10 | 268 |
| 18 | Indiana | 19-14 | 208 |
| 19 | Texas | 21-13 | 166 |
| 20 | Cincinnati | 22-15 | 163 |
| 21 | Florida | 24-12 | 130 |
| 22 | UCLA | 16-17 | 123 |
| 23 | Kentucky | 23-10 | 95 |
| 24 | Illinois | 29-9 | 87 |
| 25 | Mississippi | 20-12 | 66 |
Dropped Out:
No. 13 North Carolina State (26-15); No. 15 Clemson (24-12); No. 18 San Diego State (26-11); No. 20 Utah State (28-7); No. 22 Saint Mary’s (26-8); No. 23 South Carolina (26-8); No. 24 Washington State (25-10); No. 25 Texas Tech (23-11)
Others Receiving Votes:
Texas Tech (23-11) 60; Rutgers (15-17) 57; St. John’s (20-13) 42; Xavier (16-18) 26; Michigan State (20-15) 25; Brigham Young (23-11) 16; Oregon (24-12) 16; Kansas State (19-15) 11; Boise State (22-11) 9; Saint Mary’s (26-8) 9; Clemson (24-12) 8; Dayton (25-8) 7; Ohio State (22-14) 7; Maryland (16-17) 4; Grand Canyon (30-5) 3; Mississippi State (21-14) 2; Princeton (24-5) 2; San Diego State (26-11) 2; Virginia (23-11) 2; Wake Forest (21-14); Wisconsin (22-14)
The USA TODAY Sports Board of Coaches is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The board for the 2024-25 season: Tobin Anderson, Iona; Adrian Autry, Syracuse; John Becker, Vermont; Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s; Jeff Boals, Ohio; Alvin Brooks, Lamar; Scott Drew, Baylor; Matt Driscoll, North Florida; Dan Earl, Chattanooga; Jonas Hayes, Georgia State; Alan Huss, High Point; Donte’ Jackson, Grambling; Ben Jacobson, Northern Iowa; James Jones, Yale; Greg Kampe, Oakland; Brad Korn, Southeast Missouri State; Greg McDermott, Creighton; Nick McDevitt, Middle Tennessee; Mike McGarvey, Lafayette; Niko Medved, Colorado State; Dan Monson, Eastern Washington; Chris Mooney, Richmond; Nate Oats, Alabama; Eric Olen, UC San Diego; Matt Painter, Purdue; Michael Schwartz, East Carolina; Patrick Sellers, Central Connecticut State; Zach Spiker, Drexel; Brett Tanner, Abilene Christian; Stan Waterman, Delaware State; Jeff Wulbrun, Denver.