LAWRENCE — Kansas basketball is entering the season as one of the favorites to win a national championship, and it should come as no surprise then that it’s ranked No. 1 in the USA TODAY Preseason Poll — as voted on by the coaches.

Kansas is coming off of a season in which it finished 23-11 and No. 21 in the final ranking, after an exit in the round of 32 of the NCAA tournament. But the injury and depth issues the Jayhawks dealt with late last season aren’t a factor right now for head coach Bill Self’s squad. And they’ve not just brought back key pieces, as they’ve added a number of high-profile newcomers as well.

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Kansas leads a top five that includes No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 UConn, No. 4 Houston and No. 5 Duke. Outside of Kansas and Houston, the Big 12 Conference also has No. 6 Iowa State, No. 8 Baylor, No. 9 Arizona and No. 20 Cincinnati. The Jayhawks face each of those Big 12 teams at least once this season.

Self’s team is led by returners like graduate center Hunter Dickinson, graduate guard Dajuan Harris Jr. and senior forward KJ Adams Jr. There are newcomers, by way of transfer, such as junior guard AJ Storr, senior guard Zeke Mayo and junior guard Rylan Griffen. The regular season opener is Nov. 4 at home against Howard, and on Nov. 8 at home Kansas will face No. 10 North Carolina.

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Where is Kansas basketball ranked in USA TODAY Preseason Coaches Poll?