City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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Villanova will start the season just outside the nation’s top 10 in the Associated Press poll.

The Wildcats were No. 11 in the AP’s first set of rankings for the 2015-16 season – the only team in the CoBL coverage area to receive votes in the poll. North Carolina, which opens the season against Temple on Nov. 13, enters the season as the top-ranked team.

Kentucky, Maryland, Kansas and Duke rounded out the top five, and the full poll can be found here.

Villanova, which checked in at No. 9 in the coaches poll, will be led by seniors Ryan Arcidiacono and Daniel Ochefu and add freshman standout Jalen Brunson to a talented roster. Jay Wright’s team is coming off 33-3 season that ended in the third round of the NCAA Tournament against NC State and is the favorite to repeat as Big East champions. The Wildcats open their season next Friday with a home tilt against Farleigh Dickinson.

The 11th spot is almost exactly where Villanova entered the season in last year’s preseason AP poll, as the team was one place behind at No. 12. No. 11 is the highest Villanova has entered a season in the AP poll since 2010-11 when it was the sixth-ranked team in the country before play started.