Let the high expectations officially begin. The Indiana Hoosiers are back in the AP Top-25.
Mike Woodson’s fourth IU squad will open the season in the No. 17 spot according to the preseason AP poll released on Monday afternoon.
This is the first time Indiana has been ranked since the final poll in March of 2023. The Hoosiers spent 16 weeks ranked during that 2022-23 season. And that campaign was the first time the program had been ranked since the early portion of the 2018-19 season.
No. 17 is Indiana’s best ranking since February of 2023.
The AP began compiling a ranking of the top 20 college men’s basketball teams during the 1948–1949 season. It has issued a poll continuously since the 1950–1951 season. Beginning with the 1989-1990 season, the poll expanded to 25 teams.
Overall IU has now been ranked in the AP top-25 for 577 weeks, the eighth most in college basketball history. This is the 32nd time IU has been ranked in the preseason AP poll.
Joining IU in the preseason poll from the Big Ten are Purdue (14), UCLA (22) and Rutgers (25).
Indiana opens the 2024-25 season on Nov. 6 against SIU Edwardsville in Bloomington.
Here is the full preseason AP top-25:
1. Kansas
2. Alabama
3. UConn
4. Houston
5. Iowa State
6. Gonzaga
7. Duke
8. Baylor
9. UNC
10. Arizona
11. Auburn
12. Tennessee
13. Texas A&M
14. Purdue
15. Creighton
16. Arkansas
17. Indiana
18. Marquette
19. Texas
20. Cincinnati
21. Florida
22. UCLA
23. Kentucky
24. Ole Miss
25. Rutgers