Kansas is the runaway choice for No. 1 in The Associated Press'
preseason college basketball poll.

The Jayhawks return all five starters and welcome one of the
country's top recruiting classes. They are coming off a 27-8 season
that ended in the third round of the NCAA tournament.

Kansas received 55 first-place votes Thursday from the 65-member
national media panel to easily outdistance Michigan State, which
was No. 1 on five ballots. The Spartans return seven of their top
nine scorers from last season's national runner-up squad.

Texas, Kentucky and Villanova round out the top five. North
Carolina, a unanimous preseason No. 1 last season that won the
national title, was sixth. Purdue, West Virginia, Duke and
Tennessee complete the top 10.

The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' preseason 2009-10
college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses,
final 2008-09 records, total points based on 25 points for a
first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last
year's final ranking:
Record Pts Fin
1. Kansas (55) 27-8 1,612 14
2. Michigan St. (5) 31-7 1,515 8
3. Texas (1) 23-12 1,397 --
4. Kentucky (3) 22-14 1,372 --
5. Villanova 30-8 1,347 11
6. North Carolina (1) 34-4 1,320 2
7. Purdue 27-10 1,284 17
8. West Virginia 23-12 1,115 --
9. Duke 30-7 1,064 6
10. Tennessee 21-13 897 --
11. Butler 26-6 864 22
12. Connecticut 31-5 844 5
13. California 22-11 800 --
14. Washington 26-9 776 15
15. Michigan 21-14 578 --
16. Ohio St. 22-11 465 --
17. Oklahoma 30-6 410 7
18. Mississippi St. 23-13 393 --
19. Louisville 31-6 335 1
20. Georgetown 16-15 326 --
21. Dayton 27-8 318 --
22. Georgia Tech 12-19 301 --
23. Illinois 24-10 282 --
24. Clemson 23-9 217 24
25. Minnesota 22-11 172 --
Others receiving votes: Maryland 171, Siena 112, Notre Dame 107,
Florida St. 92, Vanderbilt 90, Syracuse 83, Oklahoma St. 65, UCLA
63, Florida 53, Wake Forest 50, Xavier 42, Gonzaga 37, South
Carolina 28, Kansas St. 24, BYU 21, N. Iowa 16, Tulsa 16,
Mississippi 15, Texas A&M 10, Missouri 8, Boston College 6,
Pittsburgh 4, Utah St. 2, Va. Commonwealth 2, W. Kentucky 2, Holy
Cross 1, Old Dominion 1.