Wichita State starts 11th in college basketball coaches poll; KU is fifth

Wichita State is ranked 11th in the preseason poll of 32 Division I basketball coaches by USA Today.

The Shockers were 35-1 last season, their only loss coming in a two-point loss to Kentucky in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Starters Fred VanVleet, Ron Baker, Tekele Cotton and Darius Carter return, but only five of 13 scholarship players on the roster have logged Division I minutes.

Kentucky is No. 1 in the poll, followed by Arizona, Duke, Wisconsin and Kansas. Kansas State was third among vote-getters outside the top 25.

One coach in each of the 32 Division I conferences votes in the poll. This season, Northern Iowa’s Ben Jacobson has the Missouri Valley Conference vote and Baylor’s Scott Drew has the Big 12 vote.

Point totals were not given on the USA Today website.

1. Kentucky

2. Arizona

3. Duke

4. Wisconsin

5. Kansas

6. North Carolina

7. Florida

8. Virginia

9. Louisville

10. Texas

11. Wichita State

12. Villanova

13. Gonzaga

14. Iowa State

15. Connecticut

16. Virginia Commonwealth

17. San Diego State

18. Michigan State

19. Oklahoma

20. Ohio State

21. Nebraska

22. SMU

23. Michigan

24. Syracuse

25. Iowa

Others: Harvard, Stanford, Kansas State, Pittsburgh, Utah, Memphis, Minnesota, UCLA, New Mexico, Oregon, Louisiana Tech, Colorado, Arkansas, Dayton, Providence, Notre Dame, Massachusetts, Georgetown, Illinois, UTEP, Florida State, Baylor, George Washington, Miami (Fla.) 1, Toledo 1, Saint Mary’s 1.

4.

This story was originally published October 16, 2014 at 11:42 AM with the headline "Wichita State starts 11th in college basketball coaches poll; KU is fifth."