Today, the Associated Press released its preseason Top 25 poll, and the Oregon Ducks check in at No. 5 overall in the nation.
This is Oregon’s highest ever preseason ranking in the AP Top 25. According to this archive, Oregon’s previous best preseason ranking was No. 11.
The Duke Blue Devils, who Oregon defeated in the Sweet 16 last year, opens the year as the No. 1 team in the nation, in large part due to their loaded freshmen class that includes four 5-star recruits.
Other Pac-12 schools in the rankings include Arizona (No.