To absolutely no one's surprise, North Carolina received all 31 first place votes and sit atop the preseason ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.They are the first team since the 1990-1991 UNLV Runnin' Rebels to be a unanimous preseason No. 1. UNLV was also the last team to be atop consecutive preseason poll until Carolina did it today.
The Tar Heels weren't the only news from the poll. The Big East placed a record seven teams in the preseason Top 25. UConn and Louisville follow the Heels as No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Pittsburgh (No. 6), Notre Dame (No. 9), Marquette (No. 17), Georgetown (No. 18) and Villanova (No. 25) also checked in to the rankings. Syracuse and West Virginia didn't receive enough votes.
The ACC doesn't just own the top spot in the rankings. Duke (No. 5), Miami-FL (No. 16) and Wake Forest (No. 24) join the Heels in what should be a much-improved league.
Other notables: Kansas, the defending champions, come in at No. 23; Last year's Cinderella, Davidson, comes in at No. 20; National Runner-Up Memphis is No. 12; Kentucky goes unranked for the first time in the history of the coaches' poll.
