Virginia, off another ACC regular-season title, is back in the preseason AP Top 25, but barely, at #25.
The ‘Hoos (18-7 in 2020-2021) have to account for the losses of Trey Murphy III, Sam Hauser and Jay Huff, who were responsible for 59.1 percent of the team’s scoring a year ago, along with the transfers of Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Justin McKoy and Casey Morsell.
Coach Tony Bennett still brings back a stacked rotation, led by returning starting guards Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman, and transfers Jayden Gardner and Armaan Franklin.
Duke, with a mix of incoming freshmen and veterans Joey Baker and Wendell Moore, was ranked ninth in the preseason Top 25. North Carolina, with Hubert Baker in his first season as head coach, was ranked 19, and Florida State, reloading under coach Leonard Hamilton, was slotted at #20.
Gonzaga was the runaway #1, with UCLA, which pushed the Bulldogs in the Final Four, at #2, and Kansas, Villanova and Texas rounding out the top five.
Houston, which UVA will face on the road in November, came in at 15.
Story by Chris Graham
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