Misplaced Priorities: Could Kentucky Fall Out of Final AP Poll 3rd Year in Row?

November 2nd, 2014 - 8:45

Which will be the next touted team failing to live up to enormous preseason hype? There has been an average of one such squad fall in that dubious category each year thus far this century. It doesn't seem possible, but could Kentucky under John Calipari dramatically disappoint for the third consecutive campaign if the Wildcats' flaunted freshmen flop? Or could Arizona, Duke, Kansas and Wisconsin be knocked off their preseason pedestals?

The last 21 squads in this great-expectations category incurred at least double digits in defeats. Following is a chronological list of the first 25 teams that were preseason Top 5 selections since 1968-69 but finished out of the AP's final Top 20 poll:

Preseason Top 5 Team Season Preseason AP Ranking Coach Record Top Players For Disappointing Squad
Notre Dame 1968-69 4th Johnny Dee 20-7 Austin Carr, Bob Arnzen, Bob Whitmore, Dwight Murphy, Collis Jones and Sid Catlett
Purdue 1969-70 3rd George King 18-6 Rick Mount, Larry Weatherford, George Faerber, Bob Ford, William Franklin and Tyrone Bedford
Southern California 1971-72 3rd Bob Boyd 16-10 Paul Westphal, Joe Mackey, Ron Riley, Dan Anderson and Mike Westra
Florida State 1972-73 2nd Hugh Durham 18-8 Reggie Royals, Lawrence McCray, Otis Cole, Benny Clyde and Otis Johnson
Indiana 1976-77 5th Bob Knight 14-13 Kent Benson, Mike Woodson, Wayne Radford and Derek Holcomb
Kansas 1978-79 5th Ted Owens 18-11 Darnell Valentine, Paul Mokeski, John Crawford, Wilmore Fowler and Tony Guy
DePaul 1984-85 3rd Joey Meyer 19-10 Tyrone Corbin, Kenny Patterson, Dallas Comegys, Marty Embry, Tony Jackson and Kevin Holmes
Indiana 1984-85 4th Bob Knight 19-14 Steve Alford, Uwe Blab, Stew Robinson, Dan Dakich, Delray Brooks and Daryl Thomas
Louisville 1986-87 2nd Denny Crum 18-14 Herbert Crook, Pervis Ellison, Tony Kimbro, Mark McSwain, Keith Williams, Kenny Payne and Felton Spencer
Michigan State 1990-91 4th Jud Heathcote 19-11 Steve Smith, Matt Steigenga, Mike Peplowski and Mark Montgomery
Clemson 1997-98 5th Rick Barnes 18-14 Greg Buckner, Terrell McIntyre, Harold Jamison and Tony Christie
Auburn 1999-00 4th Cliff Ellis 24-10 Chris Porter, Doc Robinson, Scott Pohlman, Daymeon Fishback, Mamadou N'diaye and Mack McGadney
UCLA 2001-02 5th Steve Lavin 21-12 Jason Kapono, Billy Knight, Matt Barnes, Dan Gadzuric and T.J. Cummings
Arizona 2003-04 4th Lute Olson 20-10 Hassan Adams, Salim Stoudamire, Channing Frye, Andre Iguodala and Mustafa Shakur
Michigan State 2003-04 3rd Tom Izzo 18-12 Paul Davis, Chris Hill, Kelvin Torbert, Maurice Ager and Alan Anderson
Missouri 2003-04 5th Quin Snyder 16-14 Arthur Johnson, Rickey Paulding, Linas Kleiza, Jimmy McKinney, Travon Bryant and Jason Conley
Georgia Tech 2004-05 3rd Paul Hewitt 20-12 Jarrett Jack, B.J. Elder, Will Bynum, Luke Schenscher and Isma'll Muhammad
Michigan State 2005-06 4th Tom Izzo 22-12 Maurice Ager, Paul Davis, Shannon Brown and Drew Neitzel
Louisiana State 2006-07 5th John Brady 17-15 Glen Davis, Tasmin Mitchell, Terry Martin, Garrett Temple and Darnell Lazare
Texas 2009-10 3rd Rick Barnes 24-10 Damion James, Avery Bradley, Dexter Pittman, J'Covan Brown, Gary Johnson and Dogus Balbay
Kansas State 2010-11 3rd Frank Martin 23-11 Jacob Pullen, Rodney McGruder, Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels
Michigan State 2010-11 2nd Tom Izzo 19-15 Kalin Lucas, Draymond Green, Durrell Summers, Delvon Roe and Keith Appling
Connecticut 2011-12 4th Jim Calhoun 20-14 Andre Drummond, Jeremy Lamb, Ryan Boatright, Alex Oriakhi, Shabazz Napier, Roscoe Smith and Tony Olander
Kentucky 2012-13 3rd John Calipari 21-12 Willie Cauley-Stein, Archie Goodwin, Ryan Harrow, Julius Mays, Nerlens Noel, Alex Poythress and Kyle Wiltjer
Kentucky 2013-14 1st John Calipari 29-11 Willie Cauley-Stein, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Dakari Johnson, Marcus Lee, Alex Poythress, Julius Randle and James Young