(Sports Network) - Kansas will start the season as the nation's top-ranked men's college basketball team, as the Associated Press released its preseason poll on Thursday.

Kansas, which also sits atop the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll, received 55 first-place votes and 1,612 points from a nationwide media panel to outdistance Michigan State for the top spot. The only other time Kansas started the season with a No. 1 ranking was 2004-05.

The Jayhawks have center Cole Aldrich and guards Sherron Collins and Tyshawn Taylor back from last year's 27-8 team, which lost to Michigan State in the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans went on to lose to North Carolina in the national championship game.

Michigan State has last year's top player in the Big Ten, Kalin Lucas, back, as well as Raymar Morgan, Chris Allen and Durrell Summers. The Spartans picked up five first-place votes and 1,515 total points.

Texas, Kentucky and Villanova complete the top five, with defending national champion North Carolina sixth. Kentucky, under new head coach John Calipari, garnered three first-place votes, while Texas and North Carolina both earned one.

Purdue, West Virginia, Duke and Tennessee round out the top 10.

The second 10 consists of Butler, Connecticut, California, Washington, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Mississippi State, Louisville and Georgetown.

Dayton, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Clemson and Minnesota are the last five teams ranked.

The Big Ten is the top conference represented in the poll with six teams, while the Big East has five. The ACC has four teams, followed by the Big 12 and SEC with three apiece.



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