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AP College Basketball Rankings: Villanova And Temple Both In Top 25

The AP has released its preseason top 25 ranking and two of our local schools made the list. Villanova just missed out on the top 5 coming in at #6, just behind Big East rival Pittsburgh. They are ahead of last year's Big East regular season champ, Syracuse, who is ranked at #10 and the Big East tournament champs, West Virginia, who did not make the top 25. Nova also came in at #6 in the preseason coaches poll.

Meanwhile, Temple came in at #22 in the poll.They were however, picked as the favorite to win the Atlantic 10 by the conferences' coaches. Coach Fran Dunphy cautioned that it's just a prediction and said he won't allow it to get to his kids' heads.

"It's just a prediction. It's not an end result, and I think you talk to your kids that way and you make them understand that people respect you, but with that respect comes a tremendous amount of responsibility, and we're going to have to play our very best basketball."

Of course, last seasons' champs Duke is atop the list and will try to be the first team since Florida in 2007 to win back to back national titles.

The full preseason AP Poll:

  1. Duke
  2. Michigan State
  3. Kansas State
  4. Ohio State
  5. Pittsburgh
  6. Villanova
  7. Kansas
  8. North Carolina
  9. Florida
  10. Syracuse
  11. Kentucky
  12. Gonzaga
  13. Illinois
  14. Purdue
  15. Missouri
  16. Baylor
  17. Butler
  18. Washington
  19. Memphis
  20. Georgetown
  21. Virginia Tech
  22. Temple
  23. Tennessee
  24. BYU
  25. San Diego State