Vanderbilt basketball’s Mark Byington on increasing student attendance
Here’s what Vanderbilt basketball coach Mark Byington said about the importance of increasing the student attendance at Memorial Gymnasium.
Coming off one of its best college basketball seasons, the Southeastern Conference is ready to make noise again during the 2024-25 men’s college basketball season.
Led by Alabama, a Final Four team in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, the SEC has nine teams ranked in the top 25 of the first Associated Press poll, released Monday afternoon. The Crimson Tide, which received 14 first-place votes, was the highest-ranked team in the conference at No. 2 overall. Auburn (No. 11), Tennessee (No. 12), and Texas A&M (No. 13) were also among the top 15 teams.
REQUIRED READING: Where Tennessee basketball is ranked in preseason Associated Press Poll
John Calipari and his new team, the Arkansas Razorbacks, open the season ranked No. 16. At the same time, newcomer Texas begins at No. 19. Florida is ranked at No. 21, Calipari’s old school Kentucky is ranked at No. 23, and Ole Miss is ranked at No. 24.
In 2023-24, eight SEC teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament, with Tennessee reaching the Elite Eight for the second time in program history and Alabama reaching the Final Four. Texas, a newcomer to the conference this season, reached the second round, where it lost to Rick Barnes and the Vols. Oklahoma, which did not receive any votes in the preseason poll, was among the first four teams out.
Here’s a look at the full AP Top 25 rankings and where SEC teams fell in the rankings:
SEC teams in 2024-25 preseason men’s basketball rankings
SEC teams bolded. First-place votes in parentheses.
- Kansas (30)
- Alabama (14)
- UConn (11)
- Houston (4)
- Iowa State
- Gonzaga (1)
- Duke
- Baylor
- North Carolina
- Arizona
- Auburn
- Tennessee
- Texas A&M
- Purdue
- Creighton
- Arkansas
- Indiana
- Marquette
- Texas
- Cincinnati
- Florida
- UCLA
- Kentucky
- Ole Miss
- Rutgers
Others receiving votes: Illinois 92, St. John’s 91, Xavier 73, Texas Tech 58, Wake Forest 37, Kansas State 30, Michigan State 29, Ohio State 29, Michigan 19, BYU 14, Oregon 12, McNeese State 11, Miami 11, Boise State 9, Saint Louis 9, Clemson 9, Providence 9, Mississippi State 6, VCU 6, Wisconsin 5, Saint Mary’s 5, Louisville 4, UAB 4, Arkansas-Little Rock 3, Grand Canyon 3, Arizona State 2, San Diego State 2, Princeton 2, High Point 1, Maryland 1.
