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Coach Mike Krzyzewski welcomes a quintet of acclaimed freshmento go along with his returning stars. Greg Pauluswas considered the nation's best point guard prospect among lastyear's recruiting class. He's expected to step in and fill thatrole for Duke, enabling senior Sean Dockery to focus on beinga defensive stopper. Forward Josh McRoberts, considered the topplayer in Duke's signing class is expected to make Duke fans forgetabout underperforming Shavlik Randolph, who never lived up tohype.

The second ranked Texas Longhorns,which has four double-figure scorers back from a 20-11 that wasbeaten by Nevada in the NCAA's opening round, was second withsix first-place votes and 1,652 points. It matches the highestranking in school history. The return of F P.J. Tuckerand C LaMarcus Aldridge is encouraging, especially sinceboth were lost around midseason last year and the Longhorns stillreached the NCAA Tournament. Among those who logged a full season,PG Daniel Gibson is the top returnee after taking over as thelead scorer following the loss to Tucker and Aldridge. Gibsonalso ran the show, a load that never unnerved the freshman. GA.J. Abrams could be key if he proves he can handle some obligationsat point guard and relieve pressure on talented returnee DanielGibson. Abrams could also give Texas a solid outside threat. Anotherpotential bomber is G J.D. Lewis, who transferred after playingone season at Midland (Texas) Junior College. Duke and Texas meetDec. 10, in East Rutherford, N.J.

In at third is UConn. Not very many teams enterthe season with as much talent as the Huskies. But there are somesignificant questions that need to be answered. The Huskies arevery strong in the frontcourt. Josh Boone likely would have beena first-round pick in the NBA Draft, and Rudy Gay had a shot atbeing the No. 1 pick overall. Both elected to return to Storrs,giving Jim Calhoun two rocks to lean on and easing the pain ofCharlie Villanueva's early departure to the NBA. Big man HiltonArmstrong also serves as an anchor in the middle. A freshman willlikely get the reins of this Final Four contender when the gamesstart counting in November. Craig Austrie and Rob Garrison willeach get a chance to win the vacated starting slot at the point.Marcus Johnson will be a major contributor as well, if he cancontinue to impress the coaches in practice. Jeff Adrien is arguablythe most physical of the newcomers.

Michigan State starts the season ranked fourth.Tom Izzo's team returns four of five starters and is probablythe best team in the nation this side of Duke when it comes tothe fundamentals of the game. The Spartans are the favorites towin the Big Ten this year and many observers think they have agood chance of getting to the Final Four once again and perhapswin the national championship. Starting guards Maurice Ager andDrew Neitzel are strong fundamental players who bring an edgeand passion to their game. Ager is simply a great athlete whois difficult to guard. He is a fine shooter who averaged 14.1ppg and can also take care of business inside. Center Paul Davishas NBA-type skills, but he hasn't shown it to this point. Heis a fine passer and shooter who averaged 12.3 ppg and shot 54.1percent last season. The Spartans don't have a lot of veterandepth in the backcourt, so they will look to freshmen Travis Waltonand Maurice Joseph to fill in. Walton is tough, smart and readyto sacrifice his body, but shooting could be an issue. Josephhas a solid all-around game and should be able to hit from theoutside.

It's been a long offseason for fifth ranked Villanova,who came closer than anyone expected to a berth in the Final Four.If the officials had called a foul instead of a travel on AllenRay's last shot, the Wildcats would have taken heavily-favoredNorth Carolina into overtime. Jay Wright's crew returns almosteverybody from a team that shined on both ends of the court lastseason. Mike Nardi, Allen Ray and Randy Foye all return to thebackcourt, as does key reserve Kyle Lowry. The frontcourt relieson the recovering Jason Fraser and Curtis Sumpter, with Will Sheridanalso returning. Fraser and Sumpter both spent the offseason rehabbinginjuries, and their health will be critical to the team's hopesfor a national championship. While Sheridan and Chris Charlescontribute off the bench, neither have the type of impact of theseniors. Villanova may have the best backcourt in the countryin terms of both talent and depth. The Wildcats are intense for40 minutes a night, and attack on the defensive end like few otherteams can do. Amazingly enough for a program with little immediateplaying time to offer, the Wildcats brought in four freshmen thisoffseason. Forwards Frank Tchuisi and Dante Cunningham, and swingmenDwayne Anderson and Bilal Benn will compete for playing time.

That sums up the top five teams of the AP poll.The next five are Oklahoma, Louisville, Gonzaga, Kentucky, andArizona. Kansas, the preseason No. 1 last year and another regularin the poll, also was not among those teams ranked Monday. NorthCarolina becomes the first defending national champion not tobe in the preseason poll the next season since Kansas in 1988-89.The Tar Heels lost their top seven scorers from last season, threeto graduation and four underclassmen as NBA lottery draft picks.The Big East leads the conferences with five ranked teams: Connecticut,Villanova, Louisville, West Virginia and Syracuse, the first threein the top seven. The ACC and Big Ten each had four teams in theTop 25. The season starts Tuesday night with No. 16 Syracuse playingBethune-Cookman in the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefitingCoaches vs. Cancer

Be sure to check out Brian James for your NCAABasketball picks this season by visiting him at his website byclicking here .