Creighton came in at No. 15 in the preseason USA Today Coaches poll released Wednesday, the only Missouri Valley team to get a spot in the poll.
Indiana took the top spot, receiving 21 of 31 first-place votes. The Big Ten landed two more teams in the top five, with Ohio State and Michigan coming in at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
Louisville earned second, followed by defending national champion Kentucky at third. North Carolina State, Kansas, Duke, Syracuse and Florida rounded out the top 10.
Here’s the poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, final 2011-12 records, points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and previous ranking:
Team, Record, Pts, Pvs
1. Indiana (21), 27-9, 761, 13
2. Louisville (5), 30-10, 738, 4
3. Kentucky (5), 38-2, 718, 1
4. Ohio State, 31-8, 617, 3
5. Michigan, 24-10, 605, 22
6. N.C. State, 24-13, 581, 20
7. Kansas, 32-7, 563, 2
8. Duke, 27-7, 516, 14
9. Syracuse, 34-3, 502, 5
10. Florida, 26-11, 422, 9
11. Arizona, 23-12, 411, —
12. North Carolina, 32-6, 401, 6
13. UCLA, 19-14, 396, —
14. Michigan State, 29-8, 391, 7
15. Creighton, 29-6, 325 21
16. Memphis, 26-9, 307, —
17. Missouri, 30-5, 289, 11
18. Baylor, 30-8, 266, 8
19. UNLV, 26-9, 203, —
20. San Diego State, 26-8, 196, —
21. Wisconsin, 26-10, 191 12
22. Gonzaga, 26-7, 166, —
23. Notre Dame, 22-12, 122, —
24. Florida State, 25-10, 61, 15
24. Texas, 20-14, 61, —
>> Others receiving votes: Saint Louis 58, VCU 40, Cincinnati 33, Murray State 30, Kansas State 13, Saint Mary’s 11, New Mexico 10, Tennessee 10, Minnesota 9, Pittsburgh 9, Marquette 8, Stanford 7, Butler 6, Oklahoma State 6, Colorado State 4, Middle Tennessee 3, Drexel 2, Georgia 2, Miami 2, Saint Joseph’s 2, Marshall 1.



