KU basketball ranks 1st in Big 12 preseason coaches poll. Here are the full rankings
Kansas’ men’s basketball team has been voted first by league coaches in the 2023-24 Big 12 Conference preseason poll.
It was announced by the conference Friday that the Jayhawks, who won the regular-season league title in 2022-23 after finishing behind Baylor in the preseason poll, were the choice of the coaches for the 11th time in the last 13 seasons and 20th time in the 28-year history of the league.
The league had no coaches poll in the Big 12’s first season (1996-97).
KU collected 12 first-place votes and finished with a total of 168 points. Houston placed second with two first-place votes and 153 points. The full rankings are as follows:
- Kansas (12 first-place votes) — 168 points
- Houston (2 first-place votes) — 153 points
- Texas — 143 points
- Baylor — 137 points
- TCU — 113 points
- Kansas State — 106 points
- Iowa State — 95 points
- Texas Tech — 80 points
- West Virginia — 70 points
- Oklahoma State — 57 points
- Cincinnati — 55 points
- Oklahoma — 54 points
- BYU — 29 points
- UCF — 14 points
KU, a popular choice of many organizations to win the 2024 NCAA title, returns starters Dajuan Harris, Kevin McCullar and KJ Adams off last year’s team that went 28-8 overall and 13-5 in the conference.
KU also adds Big 12 preseason player of the year Hunter Dickinson, a 7-foot-2 transfer from Michigan. Texas placed second in the league a year ago at 12-6, while K-State and Baylor tied for third at 11-7.
KU has won outright or tied for the conference regular-season championship 21 times.
The Big 12 placed seven of 10 teams in the 2023 NCAA Tournament and won consecutive national championships in 2021 (Baylor) and 2022 (KU). Conference teams played in four straight Final Fours from 2018-2022, including three straight national title games (2019, 2021, 2022).
