The top 25 teams in the preseason USA Today-ESPN men's college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, final 2001-02 records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and final ranking:
| Record | Pts | Pvs |
| 1. Arizona (27) | 24-10 | 770 | 10 |
| 2. Kansas (3) | 33-4 | 740 | 2 |
| 3. Oklahoma (1) | 31-5 | 680 | 4 |
| 4. Pittsburgh | 29-6 | 613 | 9 |
| 5. Texas | 22-12 | 583 | 18t |
| 6. Duke | 31-4 | 574 | 5 |
| 7. Florida | 22-9 | 554 | 23 |
| 8. Alabama | 27-8 | 494 | 14 |
| 9. Oregon | 26-9 | 475 | 6t |
| 10. Michigan State | 19-12 | 439 | NR |
| 11. Xavier | 26-6 | 386 | 24 |
| 12. UCLA | 21-12 | 322 | 20 |
| 13. Mississippi State | 27-8 | 321 | 21 |
| 14. Connecticut | 27-7 | 314 | 6t |
| 15. Maryland | 32-4 | 285 | 1 |
| 16. Georgia | 22-10 | 269 | NR |
| 17. Kentucky | 22-10 | 262 | 13 |
| 18. Missouri | 24-12 | 221 | 15 |
| 19. Marquette | 26-7 | 215 | 18t |
| 20. Cincinnati | 31-4 | 168 | 8 |
| 21. Indiana | 25-12 | 167 | 3 |
| 22. Gonzaga | 29-4 | 163 | 16 |
| 23. Western Kentucky | 28-4 | 151 | NR |
| 24. Minnesota | 18-13 | 86 | NR |
| 25. Illinois | 26-9 | 83 | 11 |
Others receiving votes: North Carolina State 82; Virginia 76; Tulsa 67; Wisconsin 58; Wyoming 42; Syracuse 40; Villanova 40; Oklahoma State 37; Ohio State 37; Notre Dame 31; Creighton 30; Texas Tech 29; Boston College 17; Wake Forest 17; Georgia Tech 16; UNLV 13; California 11; Iowa State 11; Ball State 10; Hawaii 10; Louisville 10; Mississippi 10; Southern California 9; Pepperdine 7; Southern Illinois 7; Georgetown 6; Pennsylvania 3; UC-Santa Barbara 3; Dayton 2; Stanford 2; Temple 2; Hampton 1; Kent State 1; LSU 1; Miami (Fla.) 1; Utah State 1.
