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Xavier 7th in the preseason AP Poll

The Musketeers are in the top 10 again, but the question that haunts the start of this season still looms.

A quick reminder that this guy isn't always a member of the loathsome Cubs fanbase.
A quick reminder that this guy isn't always a member of the loathsome Cubs fanbase.
Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The preseason AP poll is out and the best team in Ohio is nestled in the top 10 yet again. Fresh off a season in which they set records for highest position in both polls, duration of time near the tops of the polls, and spent significant time in the top 10, Xavier is ranked seventh by the members of the Associated Press to start this year. After last season ended with me crying in an empty parking lot with Xavier ranked ninth, their highest ever end of season rank, the Musketeers start this one with their highest ever preseason rank.

At this point it has become fair to assume that these rankings are for a team deprived of the services of Myles Davis. Short of the quick blurb about Myles needing to fix things before he rejoined the team, Coach Mack isn't talking about him, the players aren't talking about him, and Myles himself has remained silent on the situation. It would stand to reason that members of the national media would recognize that and not factor his play into their ranking of the Musketeers. Of course, someone voted for Ohio U, so maybe reason isn't the standard to which the voters should be held.

Here is the first poll of the year, with all the caveats that come with staking any hopes and or dreams to projections made before a ball has bounced in anger. The AP has three Big East teams ranked, with Villanova at fourth, Xavier at seventh, and Creighton holding down 22nd.

RK TEAM RECORD PTS
1 Duke (58) 0-0 1,612
2 Kentucky (2) 0-0 1,479
3 Kansas 0-0 1,476
4 Villanova (4) 0-0 1,465
5 Oregon (1) 0-0 1,343
6 North Carolina 0-0 1,314
7 Xavier 0-0 1,167
8 Virginia 0-0 1,149
9 Wisconsin 0-0 1,135
10 Arizona 0-0 1,004
11 Indiana 0-0 917
12 Michigan State 0-0 903
13 Louisville 0-0 755
14 Gonzaga 0-0 699
15 Purdue 0-0 672
16 UCLA 0-0 540
17 Saint Mary's 0-0 512
18 Connecticut 0-0 504
19 Syracuse 0-0 464
20 West Virginia 0-0 360
21 Texas 0-0 250
22 Creighton 0-0 231
23 Rhode Island 0-0 199
24 Iowa State 0-0 168
25 Maryland 0-0 144
Others receiving votes: Cincinnati 110, Dayton 98, Florida State 88, California 74, San Diego State 48, Miami 35, NC State 29, Butler 21, Wichita St 21, Ohio State 18, Virginia Tech 18, Florida 18, Texas A&M 14, Mississippi State 14, Oklahoma 11, Colorado 10, Michigan 8, Monmouth 7, Notre Dame 6, Washington 5, Seton Hall 5, Princeton 2, Ohio 1, Vanderbilt 1, Harvard 1