Once again, the 2023-2024 NCAA men's basketball preseason rankings are downright laughable!

It's business as usual with Kansas claiming the throne and Duke securing the second spot. Purdue, Michigan State, and Marquette join the party, making up the top five.

Surprisingly, reigning NCAA champions the UConn Huskies find themselves down in sixth place, however.

Preseason rankings can be as unpredictable as a rollercoaster, and it's quite the head-scratcher to see UConn – with multiple title-run players returning and a top-three recruiting class – land the sixth spot.

The Huskies' sixth-place ranking raises the question: Who are the teams ahead of them in the preseason college basketball poll, and why are they there?

Kansas, Purdue, and Marquette are (respectfully) overrated in the AP rankings.

Kansas had a rough season last year, bowing out in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Arkansas. They also lost Joseph Yesufu and MJ Rice to the transfer portal and saw their top scorers, Jalen Wilson and Gradey Dick, head to the NBA with the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors.

To be fair, Kansas did bring in some promising talent like Hunter Dickinson and Nicolas Timberlake from Michigan and Towson via the transfer portal along with four-star commitments. Still, it's not a complete overhaul for the team.

Purdue is bringing back reigning Naismith Player of the Year Zach Edey as well as most of their squad from last season. Their early NCAA Tournament upset by Fairleigh makes that No. 3 ranking seem overly generous, however.

Ranking Marquette as the fifth-best team in the nation seems optimistic at best. While they do return Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodoro, even adding three new four-star prospects to their team, they still lost one of their best players in Olivier Maxence-Prosper to the NBA.

The 2023-2024 NCAA basketball season is set to tipoff on Monday, November 6.