The preseason AP Poll has officially released for men's college basketball, and there's already a severe anomaly that fans are not letting slide without argument.
Preseason rankings are an odd data point. Think about it: these are a bunch of voters making official declarations about basketball teams and programs that have yet to play a single minute -- a single possession -- yet the objective is to make a definitive statement about which teams are great, and which teams don't even warrant mentioning.
In the top 25 are a handful of teams that won't surprise anybody. Blue bloods, new bloods, and a handful of surging programs populate the list. Kansas, Duke, UConn, and even UNC are present, but taking a look at some of the new faces in the crowd could have anyone who had just woken up from a five-year coma.
Houston and St. John's in the top five? BYU at 8? Yeah, that would be shocking to see without knowledge of recent happenings across the basketball world.
Despite a bit of variance, most of the voters generally agreed on the makeup of the preseason rankings. Notice the operative word 'most'?
In the face of all logic, reason, or community, one voter shot the Kansas State Wildcats up to the 13th slot on their bracket. Voters are at liberty to make a hot take or two, and without any tangible evidence, no one could outright say this individual was wrong for going against the grain. But explaining the argument for the Wildcats being so high is, well, a challenge considering that not one other voter had K-State posted anywhere on their ballots.
Kansas State finished below .500 last season with a final record of 16-17, and a 9-11 record in the Big 12 schedule. A severe disappointment, and until the team proves differently, it's hard to imagine much of a different result.
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