Gonzaga at No. 3 in the Blue Ribbon preseason Top 25

With the season drawing nearer, preseason Top 25 rankings continue to trickle out. One preseason ranking that is always eagerly anticipated by college basketball pundits and fans comes from Blue Ribbon Yearbook, and its newly released list ahead of this year’s edition of the yearbook places Gonzaga at No. 3 in the rankings behind only Kentucky and Kansas.

The lofty position affirms the excitement felt around these parts, and the national expectations around the program following another Sweet 16 appearance, Rui Hachimura’s continued ascendance (Rui earned a coveted place on the Blue Ribbon cover this season, by the way), and the additions of Brandon Clarke and Geno Crandall to an already talented team.

Blue Ribbon’s preseason ranking also features teams we’ll see this season in Tennessee (No. 5), North Carolina (No. 12), and potential Maui Invitational opponents in Duke (No. 4) or Auburn (No. 8).

This is how the entire Top 25 shakes out:

1. Kentucky Wildcats
2. Kansas Jayhawks
3. Gonzaga Bulldogs
4. Duke Blue Devils
5. Tennessee Volunteers
6. Nevada Wolf Pack
7. Virginia Cavaliers
8. Auburn Tigers
9. Oregon Ducks
10. Michigan State Spartans
11. Mississippi State Bulldogs
12. North Carolina Tar Heels
13. Kansas State Wildcats
14. UCLA Bruins
15. Florida State Seminoles
16. West Virginia Mountaineers
17. Clemson Tigers
18. LSU Tigers
19. Purdue Boilermakers
20. Florida Gators
21. Villanova Wildcats
22. Syracuse Orange
23. Michigan Wolverines
24. Virginia Tech Hokies
25. TCU Horned Frogs

Are there any surprises in this preseason ranking? Sound off in the comments below.