OMAHA, Neb. --Â The Creighton University men's basketball team received six votes in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll, released on Thursday morning. Three BIG EAST Conference teams are in the Top 25, No. 6 Villanova, No. 17 Xavier and No. 23 Seton Hall.
Two other BIG EAST opponents were represented, as Providence and Butler both received votes.
Five potential Creighton non-conference opponents are ranked, No. 18 UCLA, No. 19 Gonzaga, No. 20 Northwestern, No. 24 Baylor and vote-getter Wisconsin.
Duke claimed the top spot in the poll for the second straight season, earning 20-of-32 first-place votes. Michigan State is second, with Kansas, Kentucky, Arizona, Villanova and Florida rounding out the rest of the top-eight.
Creighton earned six points in the poll to rank tied for 41st with SMU.
The Associated Press preseason poll is scheduled to be released on November 1.
CU's first exhibition game will be next Thursday (Oct. 26) at CenturyLink Center Omaha when the Bluejays meet Nebraska-Omaha at 7 p.m. in a game
that was added on Wednesday to aid the American Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund. Tickets for that charity exhibition go on sale to the general public at 10 am on Friday.
Picked to finish fifth in the BIG EAST preseason poll on Wednesday, Creighton has advanced to the postseason in 19 of the last 20 years and returns nine lettermen and two starters from last season's 25-10 squad that reached the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last six seasons.
For ticket information about Creighton Athletics, call (402) 280-JAYS.
USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll
Preseason Poll • Oct. 19, 2017
Rk   School   Points     W-L   LW
1 Â Â Â Duke (20)Â Â Â 774Â Â Â 28-9Â Â Â 13
2Â Â Â Michigan State (9)Â Â Â 747Â Â Â 20-15Â Â Â NR
3   Kansas   723   21-5   4
4   Kentucky   678   32-6   5
5Â Â Â Arizona (2)Â Â Â 654Â Â Â 32-5Â Â Â 7
6   Villanova   623   32-4   8
7Â Â Â Florida (1)Â Â Â 549Â Â Â 27-9Â Â Â 10
8   Wichita State   543   31-5   21
9   North Carolina   515   33-7   1
10   West Virginia   458   28-9   11
11   Southern California   396   26-10   NR
12Â Â Â Miami (Fla.)Â Â Â 383Â Â Â 21-12Â Â Â NR
13   Cincinnati   349   30-6   22
14   Notre Dame   305   26-10   20
15   Minnesota   303   24-10   NR
16   Louisville   295   25-9   14
17   Xavier   284   24-14   18
18Â Â Â UCLAÂ Â Â 275Â Â Â 31-5Â Â Â 9
19   Gonzaga   242   37-2   2
20   Northwestern   208   24-12   NR
21   Purdue   167   27-8   15
22   Saint Mary's   152   29-5   NR
23   Seton Hall   139   21-12   NR
24   Baylor   107   27-8   12
25   Alabama   82   19-15   NR
Others Receiving Votes: Texas A&M 76; Virginia 57; Butler 43; Missouri 35; TCU 32; Rhode Island 31; Providence 21; Wisconsin 21; Maryland 20; Oakland 19; Oklahoma 19; Michigan 13; Texas 13; Oregon 12; Virginia Tech 12; Creighton 6; Southern Methodist 6; Georgia 3; Georgia Tech 3; Arkansas 2; Harvard 2; Florida State 1; Nevada 1; South Carolina.
