Maryland basketball ranks No. 21 in preseason Coaches Poll

The Maryland men’s basketball team comes in at No. 21 in the preseason Coaches Poll, released Thursday.

The Terps are one of five Big Ten teams in the poll, the highest-ranked of which is Michigan State. The Spartans come in at No. 9, with Wisconsin right on their heels at No. 10. Indiana isn’t far behind either at No. 12. Purdue’s No. 15, and Maryland rounds out the group.

Maryland was ranked No. 3 in last year’s preseason Coaches Poll, but the hype surrounding this year’s team isn’t nearly on that level.

After four of the Terps’ five starters left for the NBA, CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander has Maryland No. 42 in his power ranking of all 351 Division I teams.

Duke is on top of this first Coaches Poll, with Kansas at No. 2 and defending national champion Villanova at No. 3.

Maryland plays Catawba in an exhibition game on Nov. 5, and starts its season against American on Nov. 11.