The first preseason poll of the 2015-16 season has been released. USA Today put out their first installment of their in-season weekly Top 25 poll voted on by college basketball coaches. The full list of voters this year can be found at the bottom of this post. Providence makes an appearance in the “Others Receiving Votes” section while Villanova and Butler are in the Top 25. The Friars finished the 2014-15 season in that same “Others Receiving Votes” with 3 votes. They received 5 votes in the preseason poll — and a good bet is that one of the voters that chose them was Creighton’s Greg McDermott.

The Big East

Villanova sits atop the poll in terms of Big East teams. The Wildcats begin the season in the 9th spot in USA Today’s preseason poll. They finished last season in that same slot. The Wildcats were the only Big East team to stay in the Top 25 every single week last season.

Butler fluctuated between being inside the Top 25 to being in the “Others Receiving Votes” section but they begin the 2015-16 season slotted 22nd, after being 23rd in the final poll of the 2014-15 season.

Georgetown is the next highest ranked Big East team but they are outside the Top 25-looking in. The Hoyas are in the 30th slot and got 45 votes. The Hoyas received an identical number of votes in the final poll last season.

Next up is Xavier who finished 22nd in last season’s final poll and made the deepest NCAA Tournament run of any Big East team — Chris Mack’s squad was in the Sweet 16 last season. The Musketeers are 35th and got 25 votes in the preseason poll.

Providence is in a tie for 40th with Davidson and Boise State with each team receiving 5 votes in the preseason poll. The final Big East team that got any votes is Marquette who got 1 vote and is tied for 47th.

Providence’s Non-Conference Opponents

The Friars could potentially play both Arizona and Michigan State in the Wooden Legacy tournament over the Thanksgiving weekend this year. The Wildcats are 10th in this preseason poll, while the Spartans come in at 13th.

The only other Providence non-conference opponent is in the “Others Receiving Votes” section. Boise State is another potential opponent in the Wooden Legacy tournament based on how the brackets shake out and the Broncos got 5 votes — the same number as the Friars — which is good for 40th.

To see the USA Today Preseason Coaches’ Poll, click here.

Voters this year: Randy Bennett, Saint Mary’s; Jim Boeheim, Syracuse; Todd Bozeman, Morgan State; Glenn Braica, St. Francis Brooklyn; Scott Cherry, High Point; Tim Cluess, Iona; Ed Conroy, Tulane; Keith Dambrot, Akron; Cameron Dollar, Seattle; Scott Drew, Baylor; Matt Driscoll, North Florida; Steve Fisher, San Diego State; Bruiser Flint, Drexel; Mark Fox, Georgia; John Gallagher, Hartford; Matthew Graves, South Alabama; Ray Harper, Western Kentucky; George Ivory, Arkansas-Pine Bluff; Ben Jacobson, Northern Iowa; Rob Jeter, Wisconsin-Milwaukee; James Jones, Yale; Mike McConathy, Northwestern State; Greg McDermott, Creighton; Chris Mooney, Richmond; Matt Painter, Purdue; Randy Rahe, Weber State; Heath Schroyer, Tennessee-Martin; Joe Scott, Denver; Zach Spiker, Army; Wayne Tinkle, Oregon State; Bob Williams, UC-Santa Barbara; Mike Young, Wofford.

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