TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State is officially on top of the college basketball world when it comes to the Sunshine State.
The Seminoles, fresh off their highest final ranking in school history, enter an uncertain 2020-21 season as the only ranked Florida team in the preseason Associated Press top 25 poll released Monday.
Florida State is ranked No. 21 behind three other Atlantic Coast Conference teams -- No. 4 Virginia, No. 9 Duke and No. 16 North Carolina.
Gonzaga took the top spot in the preseason rankings for the first time ever, besting No. 2 Baylor by a single point. The Bulldogs earned 28 first-place votes.
Baylor (24), Villanova (11) and Virginia (1) were the only other schools to receive first-place votes.
The Big Ten Conference has the most representation in the preseason poll with seven ranked teams -- No. 5 Iowa, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 8 Illinois, No. 13 Michigan State, No. 23 Ohio State, No. 24 Rutgers and No. 25 Michigan.
Florida was the only other Sunshine State school to sniff the rankings, falling into the "others receiving votes" category.
The Seminoles were 26-5 and 16-4 in ACC play last season. They have finished with a top-10 ranking in each of the last two final AP polls, which are determined prior to the NCAA tournament.
Last year's No. 4 finish was Florida State's highest ranking since December 1972, when the Seminoles started the 1972-73 season No. 2 in the country.
FSU was in the midst of an historic run last season until the coronavirus pandemic brought it to a screeching halt. The Seminoles won the ACC regular-season title for the first time in program history and claimed the official ACC championship after the conference tournament was abruptly canceled in March.
The Seminoles lose several key players from a season ago, including Trent Forrest, Devin Vassell and Patrick Williams. However, head coach Leonard Hamilton, entering his 19th season in Tallahassee, returns players like fourth-year juniors RaiQuan Gray from Fort Lauderdale and Anthony Polite from Switzerland.
FSU is also expecting an immediate contribution from coveted recruit and former Cardinal Newman High School star Scottie Barnes, who spent last season at Montverde Academy in central Florida.
Click here to see the complete AP poll.
