Familiar shades of blue topped the first USA Today basketball coaches poll of the 2015-16 season, which was released Thursday.
Kentucky and North Carolina tied for the top spot, each receiving 749 points. It’s the first time there have been co-No. 1 teams in the initial poll since the coaches poll was instituted in 1991.
It is the third straight year that coaches have voted the Wildcats No. 1, and the honor comes this year despite losing their top seven scorers from last year’s 38-1 Final Four team. Kentucky received 11 first-place votes.
The Tar Heels, meanwhile, received the most first-place votes (12) and return every significant player expect J.