NCAA basketball preseason AP Poll: Gonzaga and Saint Mary's make the Top 25

The Preseason AP poll is finally out, and Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s are the only two teams from mid-major conferences to make the cut. Seven mid-majors, however, received votes and could crack the poll with a strong start to the season.

Gonzaga comes in as the highest-ranked from a mid-major league at No. 18. This marks the 15th time the Bulldogs have entered the season ranked, all in the Mark Few era.

While Saint Mary’s was picked to finish ahead of Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference, the Gaels came in four spots behind the Bulldogs in the AP Poll at 22. This is only the second time the Gaels have started the season ranked in the Top 25.

The highest of the mid-major programs to just miss the cut was Rhode Island, receiving 49 votes, good for the 29th highest amount. Next was Nevada with seven votes, then Dayton with five votes. Middle Tennessee and Ball State both received with four votes. Oakland and Harvard round off the voting with two votes and one vote, respectively.