Aggies Ranked No. 14 in Preseason Coaches Poll

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October 26, 2007

Texas A&M is ranked No. 14 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' college basketball poll, the second straight year the Aggies have appeared in the preseason rankings.

Last season, A&M was ranked No. 13 in the preseason coaches poll, its first ranking since 1980-81. The Aggies went on to a 27-7 season and were ranked No. 9 in the final poll.

A&M has appeared in a school-record 21 straight USA Today/ESPN polls dating back to the start of last season.

North Carolina is the preseason No. 1 pick, followed by UCLA, Memphis, Kansas and Georgetown. The only other Big 12 team receiving votes was Texas at No. 16, although Kansas State and Baylor also received votes.

Arizona, ranked No. 17 in the poll, plays host to A&M on Dec. 2 in Tucson, Ariz., as part of the Big 12 / Pac 10 Hardwood Series. Other non-conference opponents receiving votes (including possible opponents in the NIT Season Tip-Off) are Syracuse, Ohio State, Alabama, Washington, Utah and St. Joseph's.

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USA TODAY/ESPN COACHES POLL

October 26, 2007

Rank School (first place votes) Last Season's Record Points Previous Rank

1 North Carolina (10) 31-7 739 5

2 UCLA (12) 30-6 734 3

3 Memphis (8) 33-4 731 7

4 Kansas (1) 33-5 669 5

5 Georgetown 30-7 625 4

6 Louisville 24-10 620 20

7 Tennessee 24-11 598 18

8 Michigan State 23-12 503 NR

9 Indiana 21-11 479 NR

10 Washington State 26-8 464 17

11 Duke 22-11 464 17

12 Marquette 24-10 381 NR

13 Oregon 29-8 360 8

14 Texas A&M 27-7 252 9

Gonzaga 23-11 252 NR

16 Texas 25-10 216 16

17 Arizona 20-11 205 NR

18 Southern California 25-12 189 15

19 Arkansas 21-14 173 NR

20 Pittsburgh 29-8 160 10

21 Stanford 18-13 158 NR

22 Kentucky 22-12 155 NR

23 Southern Illinois 29-7 137 11

24 North Carolina State 20-16 119 NR

25 Villanova 22-11 111 NR

Others receiving votes: Kansas State (23-12) 94; Syracuse (24-11) 69; Ohio State (35-4) 65; Clemson (25-11) 56; Connecticut (17-14) 55; Butler (29-7) 42; Davidson (29-5) 39; Xavier (25-9) 38; Alabama (20-12) 31; Mississippi State (21-14) 30; Florida (35-5) 26; Wisconsin (30-6) 21; Illinois (23-12) 16; Brigham Young (25-9) 12; Washington (19-13) 12; Nevada (29-5) 8; Bradley (22-13) 7; Virginia (21-11) 7; Virginia Commonwealth (28-7) 5; Utah (11-19) 4; Baylor (15-16) 3; Old Dominion (24-9) 3; Saint Joseph’s (18-14) 3; Fresno State (22-10) 2; George Mason (18-15) 2; Utah State (23-12) 2; California (16-17) 1; Maryland (25-9) 1; Notre Dame (24-8) 1.

The USA TODAY/ESPN Board of Coaches is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The board for the 2007-08 season: Mike Adras, Northern Arizona; Dana Altman, Creighton; Tommy Amaker, Harvard; Tevester Anderson, Jackson State; Eddie Biedenbach, North Carolina-Asheville; Jim Boeheim, Syracuse; Matt Brady, Marist; Rick Byrd, Belmont; Charles Coles, Miami (Ohio); Jessie Evans, San Francisco; Steve Fisher, San Diego State; Pat Flannery, Bucknell; Tim Floyd, Southern California; Greg Graham, Boise State; Tom Green, Fairleigh Dickinson; Johnny Jones, North Texas; Mike Lonergan, Vermont; Mike McConathy, Northwestern State; Bob McKillop, Davidson; Phil Martelli, Saint Joseph's; Ron Fang Mitchell, Coppin State; Dave Odom, South Carolina; Matt Painter, Purdue; Tom Pecora, Hofstra; Doc Sadler, Nebraska; Scott Sutton, Oral Roberts; Jimmy Tillette, Samford; Bob Thomason, Pacific; Perry Watson, Detroit Mercy; Gary Williams, Maryland; Doug Wojcik, Tulsa.


 

 

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