Men's Basketball Debuts At No. 25 In USA Today/ESPN Poll
10/31/2003 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 31, 2003
Maryland fans, be sure to catch the Terps in action on Saturday, Nov. 1, as the team holds an open intrasquad scrimmage at Comcast Center. ADMISSION IS FREE and tip-off is scheduled for 10 a.m. as part of the University's homecoming celebration. Comcast Center doors will open at 9 a.m.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - For the seventh straight season, the Maryland men's basketball team will begin the year in the Top 25. The Terrapins, who begin 2003-04 with a squad that features one senior, three juniors and a combined nine freshmen and sophomores, are ranked 25th with the release of the USA Today/ESPN preseason coaches poll on Thursday evening.
"We're proud to continue our streak in the preseason Top 25," said Terrapin head coach Gary Williams. "We lost four starters from each of our last two teams. We'll be a young team this year, but we look forward to being competitive."
Including their current No. 25-ranking, the Terrapins have been ranked in the coaches poll for the last 68 straight votes, dating to Jan. 17, 2000. Maryland finished last season ranked 10th in the nation after reaching the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the seventh time in 10 years. The Terps' all-time highest ranking in the coaches poll, No. 1, came on April 2, 2002, after the Terps captured the national championship in Atlanta.
In all, the Terps are slated to play nine teams ranked in the coaches preseason Top 25. No. 14 Wisconsin visits Comcast Center on Dec. 2 (9:30 p.m., ESPN2) as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Terrapins face No. 12 Gonzaga to open the BB&T Classic on Dec. 6 at MCI Center (3:30 p.m., Raycom) and head to Florida on Dec. 10 for a non-conference tilt with the No. 8 Gators.
Maryland is one of four ACC teams to crack the preseason Top 25. The Terps take on No. 2 Duke at home on Jan. 21 (9 p.m., ESPN) and head to Cameron Indoor Stadium on Feb. 22 (4 p.m., CBS). The Terps meet No. 10 North Carolina in Comcast Center on Jan. 14 (9 p.m., ESPN) and visit Chapel Hill on Feb. 15 (3:30 p.m., ABC). Maryland travels to Winston-Salem, N.C. to meet No. 21 Wake Forest on Jan. 29 (7 p.m., ESPN2), and plays host to the Demon Deacons on Feb. 28 (1 p.m., ABC). ACC-foe NC State also received votes in the preseason poll.
The complete USA Today/ESPN coaches poll follows.
2003-04 USA TODAY/ESPN PRESEASON POLL - OCT. 30, 2003Others receiving votes (2002-03 record): Oregon (23-10) 33; North Carolina State (18-13) 30; Xavier (26-6) 30; Utah (25-8) 29; Colorado (20-12) 25; Auburn (22-12) 23; Brigham Young (23-9) 20; California (22-9) 19; Purdue (19-11) 16; Texas Tech (22-13) 12; Arizona State (20-12) 10; Memphis (23-7) 10; Ohio State (17-15) 10; Dayton (25-6) 8; Charlotte (13-16) 6; Providence (18-14) 5; Creighton (29-5) 4; LSU (21-11) 4; Akron (14-14) 3; Colorado State (19-14) 3; Louisiana-Lafayette (20-10) 3; Seton Hall (17-13) 3; Bowling Green (13-16) 2; Temple (18-16) 2; Tennessee (17-12) 2; Utah State (24-9) 2; Wichita State (18-12) 2; Illinois-Chicago (21-9) 1; Indiana (21-13) 1; Manhattan (23-7) 1; Minnesota (19-14) 1; UNLV (21-11) 1.Rank School (record) Points (FPV) Final Rank 1. Connecticut (23-10) 762 (25) 11 2. Duke (26-7) 697 (3) 9 3. Michigan State (22-13) 677 (1) 18 4. Arizona (28-4) 638 5 5. Kansas (30-8) 589 2 6. Missouri (22-11) 560 22 7. Syracuse (30-5) 533 (1) 1 8. Florida (25-8) 507 16 9. Kentucky (32-4) 498 4 10. North Carolina (19-13) 493 (1) NR 11. Texas (26-7) 461 3 12. Gonzaga (24-9) 403 NR 13. Illinois (25-7) 399 T13 14. Wisconsin (24-8) 392 T13 15. Oklahoma (27-7) 353 7 16. Louisville (25-7) 291 19 17. Stanford (24-9) 258 20 18. St. Joseph's (23-7) 244 NR T19. Cincinnati (17-12) 225 NR Notre Dame (24-10) 225 15 21. Wake Forest (25-6) 216 12 22. Pittsburgh (28-5) 148 8 23. Marquette (27-6) 78 6 24. Oklahoma State (22-10) 61 24 25. Maryland (21-10) 46 10
