:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/57426457/usa_today_9982174.0.jpg)
The TCU Horned Frogs basketball team received more preseason recognition Wednesday morning, placing just outside the Top 25 in the preseason AP Poll. The Frogs ranked #29, receiving 46 votes, 84 short of #25 Texas A&M.
The Big 12 was well represented in the poll, with Kansas (#4), West Virginia (#11), and Baylor (#24) all ranked. Texas and Oklahoma also received votes, with 10 and 7 respectively.
The top teams in the AP Poll are no surprise. Duke is #1 in yet another poll, receiving a majority of the first place votes (33/65). Michigan State, Arizona, and Kansas all follow, receiving the rest of the first place votes. Rounding out the top ten are Kentucky, Wichita State, Florida, North Carolina, and USC. The college basketball season should have an exciting start, with #1 Duke playing #2 Michigan State and #4 Kansas playing #5 Kentucky on November 14.
While they didn’t crack the initial top 25 teams in the AP, just receiving votes adds another accolade into a highly decorated offseason. The Frogs were ranked #30 in the preseason Coaches Poll and recently were in ESPN’s preseason power rankings at #24.
It’s amazing to see how far Jamie Dixon has brought this program in such a short amount of time. Before last season, TCU had never finished higher than 9th in the Big 12 and hadn’t made the postseason since a CBI birth in 2011-2012. Now, the Frogs are in position to be a major force in both the Big 12 and college basketball at large. The Frogs get their first chance to live up to their expectations in their season opener November 10 against Louisiana Monroe.