Purdue men's basketball learns Wednesday if it add preseason No. 1 in the USA Today coaches poll to its No. 1 AP poll ranking.

Only once in the last 16 years has the preseason No. 1 gone on to win the national championship.

Purdue men’s basketball, already No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25, could hold the same ranking in Wednesday's USA Today preseason coaches poll .

If the Boilermakers turn that preseason expectation into the program’s first national championship, they will have deviated from the sport’s recent trend with the coaches poll.

Last year's preseason favorite, Kansas, went into the tournament as a 7 seed and lost in the opening round. One year earlier, the Jayhawks again were the preseason No. 1, but fell in the second round. So did preseason No. 1 North Carolina

See Full Page