Purdue was No. 7 in both preseason college basketball polls released Thursday.

No surprise there. The Boilermakers belong to the Big Ten and return key components of a team that reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

But the Butler Bulldogs? Not only are they ranked in the preseason for the first time, they have come close to Butler’s highest ranking.

Butler is 10th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll and 11th in The Associated Press poll. The Bulldogs’ highest ranking was No. 8 on Feb. 18, 2008 — and they promptly lost a home game to No. 16 Drake.

“It’s always an honor and privilege to be recognized, especially in the coaches’ poll,” Butler coach Brad Stevens said in a statement. “But beyond the positive recognition it brings to Butler University, we recognize that it’s just a preseason poll.”

Kansas is No. 1 in both polls, followed by Michigan State and Texas. The Nos. 4 are Kentucky (AP) and North Carolina (coaches).

Publicly, the Bulldogs have expressed indifference to the unprecedented hype.

“I don’t really pay attention to the expectations,” senior forward Avery Jukes said. "I think a lot of people on our team don’t either.

“Especially when we haven’t done anything yet.”

Another senior forward, Willie Veasley, observed that the experts missed on Butler last season. Butler was projected to finish fifth in the Horizon League and instead won a third consecutive regular-season title.

“Expectations mean nothing,” Veasley said.

Butler plays the first of two exhibitions at 7 p.m. Sunday against DePauw at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

An early challenge comes in the 76 Classic at Anaheim, Calif., where the Bulldogs open against No. 25 Minnesota on Nov. 26. Also in the tournament are No. 8 West Virginia, No. 24 Clemson, UCLA and Texas A&M.