Men's Basketball Debuts At No. 16 In USA Today/ESPN Poll
10/28/2004 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 28, 2004
Maryland fans, be sure to catch the Terps in action on Saturday, Oct. 30, as the team holds an open intrasquad scrimmage at Comcast Center. ADMISSION IS FREE and tip-off is scheduled for noon. Fans without football parking passes will have to pay $8 to park.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - For the eighth straight year, the Maryland men's basketball team will begin the season in the Top 25. The Terrapins, who return 11 letterwinners and four starters from their ACC Championship squad, are ranked No. 16 with the release of the USA Today/ESPN preseason coaches poll on Thursday evening.
The Terrapins have been ranked in every preseason coaches poll since 1997. Maryland finished last season ranked 24th in the coaches poll after posting a 20-12 record and reaching the NCAA Second Round.
In all, the Terps could play 11 regular-season games against eight opponents ranked in the preseason Top 25. In the ACC alone, six teams are ranked among the nation's Top 19, and three teams are ranked in the Top 5.
The Terps take on preseason No. 2 Wake Forest in Winston-Salem on Jan. 11. Maryland faces No. 3 North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Jan. 8 and hosts the Tar Heels on Feb. 27 on Senior Day in College Park. The Terps meet preseason No. 4 and 2004 NCAA finalist Georgia Tech at home on Jan. 30. The Terps' annual rivalry with Duke is renewed at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Jan. 26, and the Blue Devils visit Comcast Center on Feb. 12. Maryland plays host No. 19 NC State on Jan. 23, and heads to the Wolfpack's RBC arena on Feb. 16.
The Terps could face three Top 25 opponents in their first six regular-season games. Maryland takes on No. 23 Memphis in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic in a post-Thanksgiving tilt on Nov. 26, before heading to No. 20 Wisconsin's Kohl Center for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Nov. 30. The Terps hope to meet No. 10 Michigan State in the BB&T Classic championship game on Dec. 5 at MCI Center.
The complete USA Today/ESPN coaches poll follows.
Rank School 03-04 Record Points Final 03-04 ranking 1. Kansas (8) 24-9 741 9 2. Wake Forest (12) 21-10 724 15 3. North Carolina (6) 19-11 697 22 4. Georgia Tech (1) 28-10 604 3 5. Illinois (1) 26-7 598 11 6. Syracuse 23-8 557 19 7. Connecticut 33-6 541 1 8. Oklahoma State (1) 31-4 511 4 9. Kentucky 27-5 480 8 10. Michigan State 18-12 476 NR 11. Arizona 20-10 475 NR 12. Duke 31-6 403 2 13. Louisville (1) 20-10 374 NR 14. Mississippi State 26-4 365 13 15. Texas 25-8 334 10 16. MARYLAND 20-12 316 24 17. Pittsburgh 31-5 247 7 18. Alabama 20-13 224 17 19. NC State 21-10 218 20 20. Wisconsin 25-7 216 16 21. Notre Dame 19-13 214 NR 22. Florida 20-11 160 NR 23. Memphis 22-8 131 NR 24. Washington 19-12 108 NR 25. Stanford 30-2 64 6Others receiving votes (with 2003-04 records): Gonzaga (28-3) 58; Cincinnati (25-7) 44; Michigan (23-11) 38; Providence (20-9) 37; Oklahoma (20-11) 34; Charlotte (21-9) 31; UAB (22-10) 11; UNLV (18-13) 9; Utah (24-9) 6; Pacific (25-8) 5; Southern Illinois (25-5) 4; DePaul (22-10) 3; Purdue (17-14) 3; Texas Tech (23-11) 3; Pepperdine (15-16) 2; Saint Joseph's (30-2) 2; Texas-El Paso (23-8) 2; Toledo (20-11) 2; Florida State (19-14) 1; Princeton (20-8) 1; Vanderbilt (23-10) 1.
