OMAHA, Neb. -- The Creighton University men's basketball team has earned the No. 23 spot in the preseason USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll, released this morning. The Bluejays are the lone Missouri Valley Conference team represented, though MVC rivals Wichita State and Southern Illinois are also among those schools receiving votes.
Defending national champion Florida was a near-unanimous pick for the top spot in the poll, earning 30-of-31 first-place votes. North Carolina is second, followed by Kansas. Ohio State is fourth and received the remaining first-place vote. Pittsburgh and UCLA are tied for fifth, while LSU, Georgetown, Wisconsin and Arizona round out the rest of the top-10.
Spots 11-21 are held by Duke, Alabama, Texas A&M, Memphis, Boston College, Washington, Marquette, Connecticut, Texas, Syracuse and Georgia Tech.
The Bluejays are sandwiched between a pair of Southeastern Conference schools in the poll. Kentucky is No. 22 with 119 points in the voting, Creighton is No. 23 with 113 points, and Tennessee No. 24 with 106 points. Nevada rounds out the poll with 101 points and a No. 25 ranking.
Creighton last was ranked in the coaches poll the week of January 19, 2004, when it was 24th. It is CU's highest coaches poll ranking since January 12, 2004, when it was 20th. The Bluejays got votes in seven different editions of the poll last year, but never climbed higher than a tie for 33rd place.
A spot in the top 25 of the preseason poll is no guarantee of success. Five of last year's preseason top-25 missed out on the NCAA Tournament. In fact, then-No. 18 UCLA was the only team in last year's preseason top-25 to eventually reach the Final Four. Florida, which on to win it all, received the same number of votes in last year's preseason poll as Northern Iowa (7), which was tied for 39th at the time.
The Associated Press preseason poll is schedule to be released on Nov. 6. Creighton has never been ranked in the preseason AP poll.
Creighton men's basketball will host an Open House on Monday, Oct. 30, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Qwest Center Omaha. Fans can park free in Lot B, will be admitted free and will have the opportunity to purchase unsold season tickets that will be marked.
CU's first exhibition game will be Nov. 2 against EA Sports All-Stars, while the regular-season opens Nov. 13 with Mississippi Valley State.
Creighton has advanced to nine straight postseasons and will return nine lettermen and four starters from last season's 20-10 squad. Last season the team ranked 20th nationally while leading the MVC with an average attendance of 13,901 fans per game. Creighton also set a league record with its eighth straight 20-win season.
For ticket information about Creighton Athletics, call (402) 280-JAYS. CU has already sold 11,781 season tickets for the upcoming season, most in school history.
USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Poll
Preseason Poll ? Released Oct. 27, 2006
Rk School W-L Pts. LW
1. Florida (30) 33-6 772 1
2. North Carolina 23-8 728 14
3. Kansas 25-8 714 22
4. Ohio State (1) 26-6 595 13
T5. Pittsburgh 25-8 583 18
T5. UCLA 32-7 583 2
7. LSU 27-9 556 3
8. Georgetown 23-10 538 16
9. Wisconsin 19-12 530 NR
10. Arizona 20-13 478 NR
11. Duke 32-4 477 7
12. Alabama 18-13 420 NR
13. Texas A&M 22-9 335 NR
14. Memphis 33-4 328 6
15. Boston College 28-8 284 11
16. Washington 26-7 240 12
17. Marquette 20-11 203 NR
18. Connecticut 30-4 200 4
19. Texas 30-7 172 9
20. Syracuse 23-12 138 NR
21. Georgia Tech 11-17 137 NR
22. Kentucky 22-13 119 NR
23. Creighton 20-10 113 NR
24. Tennessee 22-8 106 20
25. Nevada 27-6 101 NR
Others receiving votes: Gonzaga 88, Wichita State 78, Louisville 77, Southern Illinois 70, Illinois 52, Xavier 44, Villanova 39, Air Force 26, San Diego State 24, Hofstra 20, Oklahoma State 19, Michigan 17, Michigan State 15, Maryland 12, DePaul 11, Florida State 9, George Mason 6, Indiana 5, Houston 3, BYU 2, George Washington 2, Winthrop 2, Bucknell 1, New Mexico State 1, Saint Louis 1, Utah 1.
Defending national champion Florida was a near-unanimous pick for the top spot in the poll, earning 30-of-31 first-place votes. North Carolina is second, followed by Kansas. Ohio State is fourth and received the remaining first-place vote. Pittsburgh and UCLA are tied for fifth, while LSU, Georgetown, Wisconsin and Arizona round out the rest of the top-10.
Spots 11-21 are held by Duke, Alabama, Texas A&M, Memphis, Boston College, Washington, Marquette, Connecticut, Texas, Syracuse and Georgia Tech.
The Bluejays are sandwiched between a pair of Southeastern Conference schools in the poll. Kentucky is No. 22 with 119 points in the voting, Creighton is No. 23 with 113 points, and Tennessee No. 24 with 106 points. Nevada rounds out the poll with 101 points and a No. 25 ranking.
Creighton last was ranked in the coaches poll the week of January 19, 2004, when it was 24th. It is CU's highest coaches poll ranking since January 12, 2004, when it was 20th. The Bluejays got votes in seven different editions of the poll last year, but never climbed higher than a tie for 33rd place.
A spot in the top 25 of the preseason poll is no guarantee of success. Five of last year's preseason top-25 missed out on the NCAA Tournament. In fact, then-No. 18 UCLA was the only team in last year's preseason top-25 to eventually reach the Final Four. Florida, which on to win it all, received the same number of votes in last year's preseason poll as Northern Iowa (7), which was tied for 39th at the time.
The Associated Press preseason poll is schedule to be released on Nov. 6. Creighton has never been ranked in the preseason AP poll.
Creighton men's basketball will host an Open House on Monday, Oct. 30, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Qwest Center Omaha. Fans can park free in Lot B, will be admitted free and will have the opportunity to purchase unsold season tickets that will be marked.
CU's first exhibition game will be Nov. 2 against EA Sports All-Stars, while the regular-season opens Nov. 13 with Mississippi Valley State.
Creighton has advanced to nine straight postseasons and will return nine lettermen and four starters from last season's 20-10 squad. Last season the team ranked 20th nationally while leading the MVC with an average attendance of 13,901 fans per game. Creighton also set a league record with its eighth straight 20-win season.
For ticket information about Creighton Athletics, call (402) 280-JAYS. CU has already sold 11,781 season tickets for the upcoming season, most in school history.
USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Poll
Preseason Poll ? Released Oct. 27, 2006
Rk School W-L Pts. LW
1. Florida (30) 33-6 772 1
2. North Carolina 23-8 728 14
3. Kansas 25-8 714 22
4. Ohio State (1) 26-6 595 13
T5. Pittsburgh 25-8 583 18
T5. UCLA 32-7 583 2
7. LSU 27-9 556 3
8. Georgetown 23-10 538 16
9. Wisconsin 19-12 530 NR
10. Arizona 20-13 478 NR
11. Duke 32-4 477 7
12. Alabama 18-13 420 NR
13. Texas A&M 22-9 335 NR
14. Memphis 33-4 328 6
15. Boston College 28-8 284 11
16. Washington 26-7 240 12
17. Marquette 20-11 203 NR
18. Connecticut 30-4 200 4
19. Texas 30-7 172 9
20. Syracuse 23-12 138 NR
21. Georgia Tech 11-17 137 NR
22. Kentucky 22-13 119 NR
23. Creighton 20-10 113 NR
24. Tennessee 22-8 106 20
25. Nevada 27-6 101 NR
Others receiving votes: Gonzaga 88, Wichita State 78, Louisville 77, Southern Illinois 70, Illinois 52, Xavier 44, Villanova 39, Air Force 26, San Diego State 24, Hofstra 20, Oklahoma State 19, Michigan 17, Michigan State 15, Maryland 12, DePaul 11, Florida State 9, George Mason 6, Indiana 5, Houston 3, BYU 2, George Washington 2, Winthrop 2, Bucknell 1, New Mexico State 1, Saint Louis 1, Utah 1.
