Aztecs Basketball Ranked #17 in Preseason Top 25 Poll

A year ago San Diego State's men's basketball team played in the NCAA National Championship Game. When you do that people are going to expect you to be pretty good again the next season.

On Monday the preseason AP Top 25 poll was released and SDSU is sitting 17th. It's the second-highest preseason ranking in program history behind the 16th spot they received in 2014 and the 5th time in program history they'll play their first game with a number to the left of their name. The Aztecs are the only Mountain West Conference team to make the Top-25.

24/7 San Diego news stream: Watch NBC 7 free wherever you are

The Aztecs bring back their starting backcourt from a year ago in senior guards Lamont Butler and Darrion Trammell. Senior forwards Jaedon LeDee and Micah Parrish, who both played major roles in the title game run, are expected to step into the starting rotation along with USC transfer Reese Waters, who was voted the Mountain West Newcomer of the Year.

If you're wondering why the team that played for a championship just a year ago is not ranked higher it's because the so-called "blue bloods" of college basketball will always get the benefit of the doubt. Kansas and Duke, ranked 1st and 2nd respectively, are loaded with 5-star recruits and will always start the season with a bulk of the buzz.

Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.

Connecticut, the team that beat San Diego State and defending national champs, are ranked 6th to start the year. Three teams the Aztecs beat in the NCAA Tournament a year ago join them in the Top-25: Creighton (8th), Florida Atlantic (10th), and Alabama (24th).

SDSU opens the 2023-24 season at Viejas Arena on November 6 against CSU-Fullerton. The full preseason Top 25 poll looks like this (1st place votes in parenthesis):