Men's Basketball Tabbed No. 15 In AP Preseason Poll
11/9/2004 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 9, 2004
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland men's basketball squad will begin the 2004-05 season as the No. 15/16 team in the nation, with the release of the Associated Press (AP) Preseason Top 25 on Monday evening. Maryland earned a Top 25 nod for the fourth time in five seasons as the nation's sportswriters picked the Terrapins at No. 15.
On Oct. 29 the Terrapins were tabbed No. 16 in the preseason USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll.
In all, the Terps could play 11 regular-season games against eight opponents ranked in the AP 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 four. The Terps take on preseason No. 2 Wake Forest in Winston-Salem on Jan. 11. The Terps meet preseason No. 3 and 2004 NCAA finalist Georgia Tech at home on Jan. 30.
Maryland faces No. 4 North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Jan. 8 and hosts the Tar Heels on Feb. 27 on Senior Day in College Park. The Terps' annual rivalry with Duke is renewed at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Jan. 26, and the No. 11 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. 24 Memphis in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic in a post-Thanksgiving tilt on Nov. 26, before heading to No. 21 Wisconsin's Kohl Center for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Nov. 30. The Terps hope to meet No. 13 Michigan State in the BB&T Classic championship game on Dec. 5 at MCI Center.
The complete AP Preseason Top 25 follows.
No. School Record Points Prev 1. Kansas 24-9 1,697 16 2. Wake Forest 21-10 1,680 17 3. Georgia Tech 28-10 1,567 14 4. North Carolina 19-11 1,558 18 5. Illinois 26-7 1,457 13 6. Syracuse 23-8 1,452 20 7. Oklahoma State 31-4 1,342 4 8. Connecticut 33-6 1,281 7 9. Kentucky 27-5 1,177 2 10. Arizona 20-10 1,061 22 11. Duke 31-6 981 5 12. Mississippi State 26-4 913 8 13. Michigan State 18-12 910 -- 14. Louisville 20-10 876 -- 15. MARYLAND 20-12 765 19 16. Texas 25-8 671 12 17. Pittsburgh 31-5 596 9 18. Alabama 20-13 510 -- 19. NC State 21-10 490 15 20. Notre Dame 19-13 429 -- 21. Wisconsin 25-7 378 10 22. Washington 19-12 355 -- 23. Florida 20-11 337 -- 24. Memphis 22-8 283 24 25. Gonzaga 28-3 215 3Others Receiving Votes: Stanford 90, Michigan 74, Charlotte 37, Providence 32, S. Illinois 31, Utah 31, Cincinnati 30, Oklahoma 28, Boston College 7, UTEP 7, George Washington 6, UAB 6, Xavier 5, ETSU 4, LSU 4, Tennessee 4, Toledo 4, UCLA 4, UNLV 4, Iowa St. 2, Oregon 2, Rice 2, DePaul 1, Indiana 1, Va. Commonwealth 1, Vanderbilt 1, Vermont 1.
