Coaches vote University of Florida number one in NCAA basketball ESPN/USA Today poll.

The University of Florida will start the year as not only the defending NCAA basketball champions but as the nations number one ranked team, that according to the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.

The Gators are led by all-everything Joakim Noah who returned to Gainesville for his junior year and fellow juniors Corey Brewer, Al Horford. All three of them are finalists for the Wooden Award, designated for the top player in the country at the end of the season. Florida returns all five starters from last year’s squad that beat UCLA in the title game.

The University of North Carolina was voted the number two team in the country with expectations elevated for sophomore forward Tyler Hansbrough, as well as a group of freshman that could rival the talent of Michigan in the day of Weber, Howard, and Rose.

Taking the number three spot in the coaches poll is Kansas, the Jayhawks look to erase memories of an early exit from the NCAA Tournament last season and will rely heavily on freshman center Greg Oden. Kansas was the only team other than Florida to gain a first place vote.

Florida opens its season on November 10th against Samford and then play another five games before facing off with Kansas on November 25th.

North Carolina starts off on the 14th of November against Sacred Heart and have Gardner Webb five days later. Their showdown with the number four team in the country, Ohio State, is on November 29th.

Kansas kicks off their season on the 11th of November and has five games to prepare for the University of Florida.

 1. Florida (30) 0-0 772
 2. North Carolina 0-0 728
 3. Kansas 0-0 714
 4. Ohio State 0-0 595
 5. Pittsburgh 0-0 583
 5. UCLA 0-0 583
 7. LSU 0-0 556
 8. Georgetown 0-0 538
 9. Wisconsin 0-0 530
10. Arizona 0-0 478
11. Duke 0-0 477
12. Alabama 0-0 420
13. Texas A&M 0-0 335
14. Memphis 0-0 328
15. Boston College 0-0 284
16. Washington 0-0 240
17. Marquette 0-0 203
18. Connecticut 0-0 200
19. Texas 0-0 172
20. Syracuse 0-0 138
21. Georgia Tech 0-0 137
22. Kentucky 0-0 119
23. Creighton 0-0 113
24. Tennessee 0-0 106
25. Nevada 0-0 101