SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Utah men's basketball program will start the season with a national ranking as it gears up for play this week.
The Runnin' Utes were slated No. 16 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 Poll Monday. The national ranking comes two and a half weeks after the USA Today Coaches Poll also ranked Utah No. 16.
The preseason ranking is only the third time in 15 years that Utah has been ranked in the AP Top 25. Utah entered last season as the No. 25 team in the country, which was the first time the program had been ranked at the beginning the season since the 2000-01 season where Utah was ranked No.