Nov. 5, 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Gonzaga University women's basketball was among a handful of schools listed as also receiving votes as the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Preseason Poll was released Wednesday. The Bulldogs, who received six votes, are coming off a 77-43 exhibition win over Whitman College and will play Concordia (Ore.) University on Saturday in their final tune-up before regular season begins.
Gonzaga is coming off a 25-9 season that ended with a second-round setback to the University of Colorado in the WNIT. The Bulldogs went 13-1 for the second-straight second in the West Coast Conference winning the regular-season crown for the fourth-straight time.
After its exhibition against Concordia, which begins at 2 p.m. at the McCarthey Athletic Center, Gonzaga will open regular season hosting Eastern Oregon University on Nov. 14. The Bulldogs will face two teams ranked in the preseason Top 25, including No. 6 University of Tennessee; the two-time defending national champions.
Connecticut is the overwhelming pick as the No. 1 team. The Huskies picked up 30 of 31 first-place votes and 773 total points, easily outdistancing No. 2 Stanford which had 676 points. Rutgers is No. 3, North Carolina No. 4 and Maryland No. 5.
Connecticut lost to Stanford in last year's NCAA tournament semifinals. Rutgers, North Carolina and Maryland were all regional finalists a year ago.
Tennessee, clocking in at No. 6, is followed by Oklahoma, Duke, California and Texas A&M. Oklahoma was 19th in last year's final poll, while Cal was 18th.
Louisville opens the season at No. 11, followed by Vanderbilt, Texas, Notre Dame and a tie between Oklahoma State and Virginia. Texas returns to the preseason poll - the Longhorns were not ranked in the final poll of 2008.
LSU, a national semifinalist a year ago, opens the season ranked at 22nd.
ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Preseason Poll
Preseason Poll: November 5, 2008
Rank | School (07-08 record) | Points | Final 2007-08 Rank | First-Place Votes |
1. | Connecticut (26-2) | 773 | 3 | 30 |
2. | Stanford (35-4) | 676 | 2 | 0 |
3. | Rutgers (27-7) | 639 | 6 | 0 |
4. | North Carolina (33-3) | 629 | 5 | 0 |
5. | Maryland (33-4) | 624 | 7 | 0 |
6. | Tennessee (36-2) | 602 | 1 | 1 |
7. | Oklahoma (22-9) | 600 | 19 | 0 |
8. | Duke (25-10) | 508 | 9 | 0 |
9. | California (27-7) | 495 | 18 | 0 |
10. | Texas A&M (29-8) | 493 | 8 | 0 |
11. | Louisville (26-10) | 481 | 12 | 0 |
12. | Vanderbilt (25-9) | 419 | 15 | 0 |
13. | Texas (22-13) | 315 | NR | 0 |
14. | Notre Dame (25-9) | 294 | 13 | 0 |
t15. | Virginia (24-10) | 279 | 22 | 0 |
t15. | Oklahoma State (27-8) | 279 | 11 | 0 |
17. | Baylor (25-7) | 272 | 17 | 0 |
18. | Arizona State (22-11) | 215 | NR | 0 |
19. | Ohio State (22-9) | 188 | NR | 0 |
20. | Old Dominion (31-5) | 163 | 10 | 0 |
21. | Auburn (20-12) | 154 | NR | 0 |
22. | LSU (31-6) | 133 | 4 | 0 |
23. | Pittsburgh (24-11) | 104 | 16 | 0 |
24. | Florida State (19-14) | 101 | NR | 0 |
25. | Georgia (23-10) | 94 | 24 | 0 |
Top 25 preseason women's basketball coaches' poll, with team's 2007-08 final records in parentheses, total points based on 25 points for first place through one point for 25th, ranking in the final 2007-08 poll and first-place votes received:
Others receiving votes (with 2007-08 record): Xavier (24-9) 87; Purdue (19-15) 85; Kansas State (22-10) 72; Iowa State (21-13) 63; Marist (32-3) 48; Utah (27-5) 46; George Washington (27-7) 24; Syracuse (22-9) 24; Marquette (21-14) 22; Hartford (28-6) 11; Michigan State (23-14) 11; Texas-El Paso (28-4) 9; West Virginia (25-8) 8; Liberty (28-4) 7;
Gonzaga (25-9) 6; Illinois State (26-7) 3; Iowa (21-11) 3; New Mexico (20-13) 3; Minnesota (20-12) 2; Montana (25-7) 2; Southern Methodist (24-9) 2; TCU (23-12) 2; Boise State (24-8) 1; DePaul (20-12) 1; East Carolina (13-17) 1; Georgia Tech (22-10) 1; North Carolina A&T (25-8) 1.
