For the first time since 2010, Louisville will begin a college basketball season unranked in either the sport's major polls. The Cards cemented that status by earning just 46 votes (good for 32nd) in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll, which was released Monday afternoon.
U of L had been ranked in the top 10 of the both the coaches' and AP preseason polls in each of the past four seasons.
2015-16 AP Preseason Poll
| RANK | TEAM (FIRST) | POINTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina Tar Heels (35) | 1566 |
| 2 | Kentucky Wildcats (10) | 1520 |
| 3 | Maryland Terrapins (14) | 1487 |
| 4 | Kansas Jayhawks (5) | 1410 |
| 5 | Duke Blue Devils | 1350 |
| 6 | Virginia Cavaliers (1) | 1347 |
| 7 | Iowa State Cyclones | 1185 |
| 8 | Oklahoma Sooners | 1088 |
| 9 | Gonzaga Bulldogs | 1047 |
| 10 | Wichita State Shockers | 1032 |
| 11 | Villanova Wildcats | 1013 |
| 12 | Arizona Wildcats | 917 |
| 13 | Michigan State Spartans | 838 |
| 14 | California Golden Bears | 757 |
| 15 | Indiana Hoosiers | 755 |
| 16 | Utah Utes | 499 |
| 17 | Wisconsin Badgers | 433 |
| 18 | Vanderbilt Commodores | 393 |
| 19 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 360 |
| 20 | Connecticut Huskies | 307 |
| 21 | LSU Tigers | 268 |
| 22 | Baylor Bears | 265 |
| 23 | Purdue Boilermakers | 236 |
| 24 | Butler Bulldogs | 223 |
| 25 | Michigan Wolverines | 126 |
| Others Receiving Votes: Oregon (0-0) 116; SMU (0-0) 112; West Virginia (0-0) 84; Texas A&M (0-0) 72; Cincinnati (0-0) 63; Miami (Fla. | ||