Creighton's AP Poll History
OMAHA, Neb. -- The Creighton men's basketball team has earned a preseason ranking in the Associated Press poll for the first time in school history, The Bluejays were voted to the No. 19 spot and are the lone Missouri Valley Conference team represented.
MVC rivals Wichita State, Southern Illinois and Missouri State are among those schools receiving votes, as are non-conference opponents Xavier, George Mason and potential Rainbow Classic foe Houston.
Defending national champion Florida was a popular pick for the top spot in the poll, earning 63-of-72 first-place votes. North Carolina is second with the nine other first place votes, with Kansas, Pittsburgh, LSU, UCLA, Ohio State, Georgetown, Wisconsin and Arizona rounding out the rest of the top-10.
Spots 11-17 are held by Alabama, Duke, Texas A&M, Memphis, Boston College, Marquette and Washington.
The Bluejays are surrounded by two of the last four national champions. Connecticut is tabbed 18th with 399 points, just ahead of Creighton's No. 19 ranking and 384 votes. Syracuse is 20th with 367 points. Texas, Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Nevada and Tennessee round out the poll.
Creighton last was ranked in the AP poll the week of January 12, 2004, when it was 24th. It is CU's highest AP poll ranking since the week of March 17, 2003, when the Jays were 15th. Creighton's highest AP ranking ever was 10th the week of January 20, 2003. The Bluejays got votes in six different editions of the writers poll last year, but never climbed higher than a tie for 32nd 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. 19 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, was 41st with just six points in last year's preseason voting.
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. Creighton also was recently voted 23rd in the 2006-07 preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
Creighton closes up the exhibition season on Wednesday with a 7:05 pm home game against crosstown rival Nebraska-Omaha. The Bluejays open the 2006-07 regular-season on Nov. 13 with Mississippi Valley State.
For ticket information about Creighton Athletics, call (402) 280-JAYS. CU has already sold 12,106 season tickets for the upcoming season, most in school history. Single game tickets go on sale Thursday at 10 am at all Ticketmaster outlets and the Qwest Center Omaha box office.
For a complete history of rankings in the Associated Press poll, see page 154 of the 2006-07 Creighton Men's Basketball Media Guide.
Associated Press Poll
Preseason Poll ? Released Nov. 6, 2006
Rk School W-L Pts. LW
1. Florida (63) 33-6 1788 11
2. North Carolina (9) 23-8 1704 10
3. Kansas 25-8 1636 12
4. Pittsburgh 25-8 1407 16
5. LSU 27-9 1399 19
6. UCLA 32-7 1394 T7
7. Ohio State 26-6 1391 6
8. Georgia Tech 23-10 1271 23
9. Wisconsin 19-12 1197 NR
10. Arizona 20-13 1157 NR
11. Alabama 18-13 1106 NR
12. Duke 32-4 1051 1
13. Texas A&M 22-9 868 NR
14. Memphis 33-4 811 4
15. Boston College 28-8 772 T7
16. Marquette 20-11 554 NR
17. Washington 26-7 487 17
18. Connecticut 30-4 399 2
19. Creighton 20-10 384 NR
20. Syracuse 23-12 367 21
21. Texas 30-7 366 9
22. Kentucky 22-13 332 NR
23. Georgia Tech 11-17 262 NR
24. Nevada 27-6 212 20
25. Tennessee 22-8 203 18
Others receiving votes: Wichita State 181, Southern Illinois 131, Gonzaga 129, Xavier 99, Florida State 65, Louisville 62, Villanova 37, Illinois 31, Hofstra 24, Arkansas 20, San Diego State 19, DePaul 16, Indiana 16, Oklahoma State 13, Virginia Tech 8, Bucknell 6, Michigan 6, Houston 5, Southern California 5, Kansas State 4, Akron 1, BYU 1, George Mason 1, Missouri State 1, Oregon 1.
OMAHA, Neb. -- The Creighton men's basketball team has earned a preseason ranking in the Associated Press poll for the first time in school history, The Bluejays were voted to the No. 19 spot and are the lone Missouri Valley Conference team represented.
MVC rivals Wichita State, Southern Illinois and Missouri State are among those schools receiving votes, as are non-conference opponents Xavier, George Mason and potential Rainbow Classic foe Houston.
Defending national champion Florida was a popular pick for the top spot in the poll, earning 63-of-72 first-place votes. North Carolina is second with the nine other first place votes, with Kansas, Pittsburgh, LSU, UCLA, Ohio State, Georgetown, Wisconsin and Arizona rounding out the rest of the top-10.
Spots 11-17 are held by Alabama, Duke, Texas A&M, Memphis, Boston College, Marquette and Washington.
The Bluejays are surrounded by two of the last four national champions. Connecticut is tabbed 18th with 399 points, just ahead of Creighton's No. 19 ranking and 384 votes. Syracuse is 20th with 367 points. Texas, Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Nevada and Tennessee round out the poll.
Creighton last was ranked in the AP poll the week of January 12, 2004, when it was 24th. It is CU's highest AP poll ranking since the week of March 17, 2003, when the Jays were 15th. Creighton's highest AP ranking ever was 10th the week of January 20, 2003. The Bluejays got votes in six different editions of the writers poll last year, but never climbed higher than a tie for 32nd 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. 19 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, was 41st with just six points in last year's preseason voting.
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. Creighton also was recently voted 23rd in the 2006-07 preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
Creighton closes up the exhibition season on Wednesday with a 7:05 pm home game against crosstown rival Nebraska-Omaha. The Bluejays open the 2006-07 regular-season on Nov. 13 with Mississippi Valley State.
For ticket information about Creighton Athletics, call (402) 280-JAYS. CU has already sold 12,106 season tickets for the upcoming season, most in school history. Single game tickets go on sale Thursday at 10 am at all Ticketmaster outlets and the Qwest Center Omaha box office.
For a complete history of rankings in the Associated Press poll, see page 154 of the 2006-07 Creighton Men's Basketball Media Guide.
Associated Press Poll
Preseason Poll ? Released Nov. 6, 2006
Rk School W-L Pts. LW
1. Florida (63) 33-6 1788 11
2. North Carolina (9) 23-8 1704 10
3. Kansas 25-8 1636 12
4. Pittsburgh 25-8 1407 16
5. LSU 27-9 1399 19
6. UCLA 32-7 1394 T7
7. Ohio State 26-6 1391 6
8. Georgia Tech 23-10 1271 23
9. Wisconsin 19-12 1197 NR
10. Arizona 20-13 1157 NR
11. Alabama 18-13 1106 NR
12. Duke 32-4 1051 1
13. Texas A&M 22-9 868 NR
14. Memphis 33-4 811 4
15. Boston College 28-8 772 T7
16. Marquette 20-11 554 NR
17. Washington 26-7 487 17
18. Connecticut 30-4 399 2
19. Creighton 20-10 384 NR
20. Syracuse 23-12 367 21
21. Texas 30-7 366 9
22. Kentucky 22-13 332 NR
23. Georgia Tech 11-17 262 NR
24. Nevada 27-6 212 20
25. Tennessee 22-8 203 18
Others receiving votes: Wichita State 181, Southern Illinois 131, Gonzaga 129, Xavier 99, Florida State 65, Louisville 62, Villanova 37, Illinois 31, Hofstra 24, Arkansas 20, San Diego State 19, DePaul 16, Indiana 16, Oklahoma State 13, Virginia Tech 8, Bucknell 6, Michigan 6, Houston 5, Southern California 5, Kansas State 4, Akron 1, BYU 1, George Mason 1, Missouri State 1, Oregon 1.
