Marquette Is Not In The Preseason AP Top 25

Did you expect Marquette men’s basketball to be in the preseason Associated Press top 25 poll? If you did, 1) you’re very optimistic so good for you, and 2) you have been let down.

The preseason poll of record came out on Monday with official games just over two weeks away, and no, Marquette is not in the top 25. They are, however, receiving votes in the first poll of the year. The Golden Eagles are the unofficial #29 team in the country, missing out on the top 25 by just a few spots but an awful lot of points.

Marquette earned 68 points in the polling, slipping them between Tennessee at 78 points and Florida State at 36 points. However, VCU is #25 with 193 points, not that far off from three times as many as MU.

Chris Basnett (Lincoln Journal Star) and Jesse Newell (Kansas City Star) are Marquette’s biggest proponents heading into the season. Both have MU ranked #17. The Golden Eagles appears on 19 ballots, while 46 voters left them out.

The top 25 has three Big East squads in the top 20 to start the year. Villanova is #10, followed by Seton Hall at #12, and then Xavier at #20. Three more Big East squads earned points but finished lower than Marquette: Georgetown (11 points), Creighton (4 points), and Providence (1 point).

Purdue is the only non-conference opponent in the top 25, coming in at #23. More accurately, they’re the only guaranteed opponent. There’s a chance that Marquette sees preseason #7 Maryland in the Orlando Invitational, but it would only be possible in the third of MU’s three games in the event.

Two more Orlando Invitational foes are earning votes in the poll. Davidson, the team that Marquette will play in the first round, picked up 34 points. If MU beats the Wildcats, their probable opponent in the next round is USC, and the Trojans snared two points in the preseason polling.

You can check out the full top 25 here and see each of MU’s votes here.