COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — For the first time in four years, the Ohio State Buckeyes men’s basketball team will not be ranked to begin a new season.
The Buckeyes were left out of the AP preseason poll, the first time they haven’t been included since the start of the 2017-18 season. North Carolina will start the season at No. 1 while defending national champions Kansas were placed at No. 5 by AP voters.
The only Ohio school to make the poll was Dayton at No. 24 with Indiana (13), Michigan (22), and Illinois (23) as the lone Big Ten schools to crack the top 25.
Head coach Chris Holtmann and his Buckeyes are coming off a 20-12 regular season that included an upset win over No. 1 Duke 71-67 in Columbus. OSU fell in the second round of the Big Ten tournament and received a seven-seed in March Madness.
After a first round victory over Loyola-Chicago 54-41 in Pittsburgh, the Scarlet & Grey fell to two-seed Villanova in the second round. Two of the teams’ top players, Malaki Branham and E.J. Liddell, were drafted into the NBA this past summer.
Ohio State will begin the 2022-23 season at Value City Arena on Nov. 1 against Chaminade in an exhibition. The first regular season game will be on Nov. 7 against Robert Morris in Columbus at 7 p.m. Among the Buckeyes non-conference opponents this season are Duke, North Carolina, and San Diego State.
AP Poll (Preseason)
| 1 | North Carolina (47) |
| 2 | Gonzaga (12) |
| 3 | Houston (1) |
| 4 | Kentucky (2) |
| 5 | Baylor |
| 5 | Kansas |
| 7 | Duke |
| 8 | UCLA |
| 9 | Creighton |
| 10 | Arkansas |
| 11 | Tennessee |
| 12 | Texas |
| 13 | Indiana |
| 14 | TCU |
| 15 | Auburn |
| 16 | Villanova |
| 17 | Arizona |
| 18 | Virginia |
| 19 | San Diego State |
| 20 | Alabama |
| 21 | Oregon |
| 22 | Michigan |
| 23 | Illinois |
| 24 | Dayton |
| 25 | Texas Tech |