Kansas State is ranked No. 3 and Kansas is ranked No. 7 in The Associated Press preseason basketball poll, which was released Thursday.
It matches the highest ranking for Kansas State in a preseason poll, equaling their No. 3 selection in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches poll on Oct. 21.
It’s their highest ranking by The AP since they selected K-State No. 8 in the preseason polls in both the 1961-62 and 1964-65 seasons. 
Kansas State has been ranked in the coaches’ Top 10 for eight consecutive polls dating to last season, including a No. 7 ranking to conclude the 2009-10 season. 
Overall, the school has appeared in 15 consecutive coaches’ polls, dating back to Dec. 14, 2009.
K-State has been ranked in the Top 10 in nearly every available preseason poll, including No. 4 by Lindy’s Sports, No. 5 by Athlon Sports, ESPN.com and FOXSports.com, No. 6 by The Sporting News, No. 7 by Slam magazine, No. 8 by Dick Vitale and No. 10 by Blue Ribbon Yearbook.  
The Wildcats will face a total of seven teams in the preseason poll during the 2009-10 season, including non-conference opponents No. 11 Florida, No. 12 Gonzaga and No. 23 Virginia Tech. 
The team was preceded in the poll by defending champion Duke and Final Four participant Michigan State, while Pittsburgh and Ohio State rounded out the Top 5.
A perennial powerhouse,  Kansas is No. 7 in The AP poll, marking the ninth time in the last 11 seasons the Jayhawks have been ranked seventh or higher in the wires services preseason rankings.
Last week, Kansas entered the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Preseason Poll No. 7 as well.
The Jayhawks are the six-time defending Big 12 basketball champion entering the 2010-11 season.    
The Jayhawks have won or tied for 10 of the 14 Big 12 regular-season titles and seven postseason titles.
KU returns two starters and 12 letterwinners from last season’s 33-3 team, which went 15-1 in the conference season and won the Big 12 regular-season title and the conference postseason championship.
Last season, KU entered the year No. 1 nationally and held the spot for all but three of the AP polls. The Jayhawks ended the year No. 1 for the second time in school history, joining the 1996-97 squad. Note that the final AP poll is released prior to the NCAA Tournament).
Since 1993, this is the 16th time KU enters the AP preseason poll ranked ninth or higher.