Kansas University’s men’s basketball team will begin the 2003-04 season as the sixth-ranked team in the country.

The Jayhawks, who received one first place vote in the Associated Press’ preseason poll announced Monday, totaled 1,396 points, trailing Connecticut (1,793), Duke (1,667), Michigan State (1,607), Arizona (1,476) and Missouri (1,436).

“The (ESPN) coaches poll had us fifth and the AP sixth. There are high expectations, but we’ve got good players,” KU coach Bill Self said Monday.

“Sixth … I don’t know if we’ve practiced like that team. I certainly think we can get there. I believe we can get there, but we’ve got some work to do.”

Self, who welcomes four scholarship newcomers to a Final Four team that lost NBA lottery picks Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison, said he was not sure if KU was picked on potential alone.

“One thing I’ve always wondered about those polls,” Self said, “is that where they project you to be today or at the end of the season? I think since we are relying on so many young guys, I naturally think we are going to be better as we go.”

Connecticut received 67 first-place votes.

“The No. 1 ranking matters because it does put some highlights on your program and helps some of the kids get recognized,” coach Jim Calhoun told the Associated Press. “I don’t find it being pressurized. It’s how you handle it because we all aspire to be No. 1 at the end.”

Duke received three first-place votes, while Michigan State, which visits KU Nov. 25, had one first-place vote.

KU was followed by defending national champion Syracuse, Florida, North Carolina and Gonzaga. Kentucky was 11th and was followed by Texas, Illinois, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Louisville, Saint Joseph’s, Cincinnati, Stanford and Wake Forest. The final five teams in the preseason poll were Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Marquette, North Carolina State and Oklahoma State.

The Big 12 Conference had five teams represented, while the Big East and Atlantic Coast each had four and the Big Ten and Conference USA each had three.