Maryland men's basketball ranked No. 7 in AP Preseason Top 25

There are only 15 days until the start of Maryland basketball’s 2019-20 season, and the AP Preseason Top 25 is officially out.

The Terps are ranked as the No. 7 team in the country in the poll released Monday.

This is the highest Maryland has been ranked since 2015, when it entered as the No. 3 team in the nation prior to the start of the season. The team hasn’t made the preseason Top 25 in any of the three years since.

Mark Turgeon’s squad arguably has more depth than that team, returning seven of its eight leading scorers from 2018-19 with at least two freshmen that could contribute right away.

The Terps went 23-11 last season, losing on a buzzer beater to LSU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The group is hungry to make it further in March Madness this season, and the high ranking solidifies already high expectations for Maryland.

Michigan State is the top-ranked team in the nation, while two other Big Ten teams — No. 18 Ohio State and No. 23 Purdue made the poll. Kentucky, Kansas, Duke and Louisville round out the top five.