Indiana Basketball: Poll-Setters

By Ryan Bramwell

The very first USA Today Coaches Poll of the 2012-2013 season was released this afternoon and Hoosier basketball topped the list.  Indiana received 21 of 31 first-place votes while Louisville and Kentucky split the remaining ten, winding up with second and third rankings respectively.  The poll also includes 'points' which are tallied from votes by a panel of coaches.  There have been plenty of pre-season polls, 'way-too-early polls,' and other various poll predictions from an array of sources that each had Indiana as the top team in the land.  However, this one is a bit more aesthetically pleasing since it came from one of the highest-regarded polls (AP Top 25 being the other) and it will officially count toward the teams' season rankings.  Let's take a look:

USA Today Coaches Poll (Preseason - Nov.7)

1. Indiana (761)
2. Louisville (738)
3. Kentucky (718)
4. Ohio State (617)
5. Michigan (605)
6. North Carolina State (581)
7. Kansas (563)
8. Duke (516)
9. Syracuse (502)
10. Florida (422)
11. Arizona (411)
12. North Carolina (401)
13. UCLA (396)
14. Michigan State (391)
15. Creighton (325)
16. Memphis (307)
17. Missouri (289)
18. Baylor (266)
19. UNLV (203)
20. San Diego State (196)
21. Wisconsin (191)
22. Gonzaga (166)
23. Notre Dame (122)
24. Florida State (61)
24. Texas (61)

Other vote-getters:
Saint Louis (58), Virginia Commonwealth (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), Oklahoma State (6), Butler (6), Colorado State (4), Middle Tennessee (3), Saint Joseph's (2), Drexel (2), Georgia (2), Miami (FL) (2), Marshall (1)

Notes:

• You'll notice there are two #24's, but that is due to the points as the Longhorns and Seminoles both came out with a total of 61. 
• It is the first time in history that the initial rankings listed three Big Ten schools in its top five.
• The Big Ten has five teams in the initial top 25 (Indiana [1], Ohio State [4], Michigan [5], Michigan State [14] and Wisconsin [21])
• Indiana is number 1. 

Indiana #1 rankings by source (via Inside The Hall)  <-- Check them out!

• Athlon Sports
• Basketball Times
• Blue Ribbon College Basketall Yearbook
• ESPN
• The Sporting News
• USA Today