1. UConn
2. Duke
3. Michigan State
4. Arizona
5. Kansas
6. Missouri
7. Syracuse
8. Florida
9. Kentucky
10. North Carolina
11. Texas
12. Gonzaga
13. Illinois
14. Wisconsin
15. Oklahoma
16. Louisville
17. Stanford
18. St. Joseph's-PA
T19. Cincinnati
T19. Notre Dame
21. Wake Forest
22. Pittsburgh
23. Marquette
24. Oklahoma State
25. Maryland

Hard to tell much until the season actually starts, but it won't be long now!

Um hello, when will the include Creighton on the top 25? They are better than some of the teams listed.

Creighton was one of about 30 teams listed in the "also receiving votes" category, and it wouldn't surprise me to see Creighton or a couple of other mid-majors make a showing in future polls this season. This was pretty meaningless, I just wanted to post it because I'm looking forward to the start of the season.

I thought they only played soccer at Creighton!

Just kidding -- they have a great program. Is kutie Kyle Korver back this year?

I can't believe they put UNC in the top 25, after the year that they had last year. Sorry, but even if John Wooden came to coach you can't turn it around that fast.

And DCBucky is right, Creighton has a good program and other good reasons to watch their games. Can't wait to see them play again this year.

The problem with the preseason polls, especially since most teams these days loses players to the pros every year, is that noone really knows who are the top programs in a given year. The preseason polls are usually worthless.

That applies to both the mens' and the womens' teams!

GO UConn!

We here in Zag-land are quite happy the Zags are #12. By the way, their new Kennel is taking shape very nicely.

I personally don't think Kyle is cute, but i do beleive he is gone. My team are the Duke Blue devils, they aren't the most attractive team, but they can play some b-ball.

Does anyone have the privilege of a gay mens b-ball team?

Ducks sitting at the edge at number 26. Ducks lost Ridnour to the Sonics, but freshman Aaron Brooks should fill in quite nicely. It's Luke Jackson's show now. Ducks may not win the Pac, but they should give Arizona & Stanford a run for their money.

as a Bradley student, I saw the MVC preseason poll. Creighton wasn't even picked to win the conference as Wichita State was. But without Korver I don't see Creighton doing much this year but I'm sure they'll still beat us twice lol. GO BRAVES!

Well this is just silly -- ESPN already has their first "Bracketology" projection of the March Madness tourney. Link.

I hear where the Zags are now #10. Woo Hoo!!! wink

Hey, puckman. I'll be there December 20th in Oakland to see if my lower ranked Stanford Cardinal can give 'Zaga some payback for that early exit from the NCAA tournament a few years ago. )

MDB, you know who scares me? Cal. If their 3 frosh (or even 1 or 2 of their 3 frosh) are as good as advertised, Cal may make some waves in the Pac-10 THIS year (let alone the next few years).

That said, if Chris Hernandez can stay healthy at the point, I like the Trees chances. If not, it could be a loooong season.

bballrob, with their starting center last year, UNC won the Preseason NIT and cracked the Top 15. Without him, they struggled and were around a .500 team, but even then they beat this year's preseason #1, UConn at home as well as preseason #2 Duke, and beat Maryland in the ACC tournament.

With typical freshman-sophomore improvement, the return of May, and the replacement of the emotionally unstable and inexperienced Doherty with one of the biggest winners in college basketball, ranking UNC in the Top 25 seems pretty reasonable to me. Apparently to most others as well, since they've made every Top 25 I've seen.

[ November 12, 2003, 01:07 PM: Message edited by: NeilatUNC ]

Neil,

I hope and pray you are right, that they will be back this year, esp. with Williams leading the charge. But it is funny that the preseason polls, which I put very little stock in, would pick Carolina above several teams that made the NCAAs last year instead of a team that imploded mid-season. Maybe they think the collapse was from coaching and injuries, instead of failure to play team ball and attitudes of the non-injured players, which I fear was the case.

Oh, and if you ever have tics to the Dean Dome that you need to dispose of....

Rob, I think the attitude/team ball problem will disappear with Williams in charge, and the talent of the starting five is undeniable. Depth issues are the only thing that will keep UNC from having a fantastic season.

This may be a naive and/or stupid question, but who decides the rankings for these preseason polls, and what factors go into determining the rankings?


Also, why do the rankings fluctuate so dramatically from one week to the next?

Keep in mind, I'm not as "sports-literate" as some of you guys, so please keep answers relatively jargon-free if you don't mind.

P.S. Although I'm no fan of Missouri, Oklahoma or Oklahoma State, I'm pleased to see that they've all made the Top 25 list. Go Big 12!

[ November 13, 2003, 04:05 PM: Message edited by: Eric Swanson ]

Eric, The polls are compiled by votes from either sports writers or coaches, depending on which poll it is. Each ranks 1 through 25, and then they assign points (more for the higher ranked team, then progressively less) and the teams are ranked overall based on those points. As for the fluctuation, the oversimplified answer is that when a team wins, they either move up or stay put, and a losing team drops. Not always (some other factors play into it), but anyway, there's always more movement early on in the season than later. Hope that helps a little.

this is one to print out and compare with the real brackets in March

Thanks for the post, homr33. I have a better understanding of the preseason poll system now, although I'm curious to find out what factors go into deciding how many points each team receives.

Go Jayhawks!

"I'm curious to find out what factors go into deciding how many points each team receives."
Go Jayhawks!

25 pts. for a first place vote all the way down to 1 vote for a 25th place vote. Then you add those all up, and voil`a, you have the total.
GO DUKE.