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SALT LAKE CITY — Expectations have been set for the first year of the 16-team Big 12, at least by the league's panel of coaches.
BYU will look at the middle of the pack in the newly expanded league that lost Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC, while adding Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah from the Pac-12; the Utes are a bit lower.
The Cougars will enter the first year of Kevin Young's tenure as the No. 9 ranked team in the Big 12 by league coaches, while Craig Smith's Utes were slotted 16th in the conference.
Kansas received nine first-place votes for 215 total points, making the Jayhawks the preseason favorites for the 20th time in 28 seasons. KU's Hunter Dickinson was named preseason player of the year for the second consecutive year.
Houston received the second-most first-place votes with five for a total of 211 votes, while Iowa State and Arizona received the remaining first-place votes to go third and fifth, respectively.
Baylor rounded out the top five, receiving 185 points, or good for the fourth most overall.
The Cougars are behind Cincinnati, Texas Tech and Kansas State, and just ahead of TCU, with 116 points to the Horned Frogs' 90.
The OFFICIAL 2024-25 #Big12MBB Preseason Coaches Poll 📊 pic.twitter.com/wdbPnhNPNh
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UCF, Arizona State, West Virginia, Oklahoma State and Colorado round out the league ahead of last-place Utah.
The only unanimous all-Big 12 preseason selection, Dickinson was joined on the all-Big 12 preseason first team by Houston's LJ Cryer and J'Wan Roberts; Arizona's Caleb Love; and Iowa State's Tamin Lipsey.
Baylor's Norchad Omier and Jeremy Roach, Iowa State's Keshon Gilbert, Kansas' Dajuan Harris Jr., and K-State's Coleman Hawkins all received All-Big 12 preseason second-team honors.
Roach and Hawkins shared the preseason newcomer of the year award, and Baylor five-star shooting guard VJ Edgecombe was tabbed preseason freshman of the year.
