McLEAN, Va. - Gonzaga University, 25-10 a year ago, is ranked 23rd in the ESPN/USA Today preseason men's basketball coaches' poll released Thursday.
The University of North Carolina was one first-place vote away from being a unanimous preseason No. 1.
The Bulldogs have two teams ranked in the Top 25 on their schedule, with five others knocking on the door in the "others receiving votes" category. Gonzaga will be at No. 15 Xavier University for a New Year's Eve tilt, with No. 16 University of Arizona the foe for the "Battle in Seattle" Dec. 17 at KeyArena.
The five schools receiving votes on the Zags schedule are Michigan State University which comes to the McCarthey Athletic Center Dec. 10, two-time Final Four finalist Butler University which comes to campus Dec. 20, the University of Notre Dame which pays a visit Nov. 30 and West Coast Conference foes Saint Mary's College and BYU, the latter in the first year of WCC membership after joining the conference this past July 1.
The Tar Heels, the heavy favorite to win the 2012 national championship, received 30 of the coaches' 31 first-place votes and outranked No. 2 Kentucky by 53 points (774 to 721).
Gonzaga garnered 125 points, 14 more than the University of California and 16 behind University of Cincinnati.
The Bulldogs host Carroll College of Helena, Mont., Oct. 28 in their lone exhibition contest, then open the regular season Nov. 11 in the McCarthey Athletic Center against Eastern Washington University.
Gonzaga will be bidding for a 14th straight NCAA Tournament appearance and a 12th straight WCC regular-season title this season. The Zags earned a 13th straight berth in the NCAA field last year by winning the WCC Tournament, then upset St. John's University in the second round.
The USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25 college basketball coaches' poll, with number of first-place votes and record in parentheses, total points and previous ranking:
(Records through October 20, 2011)
October 20,
RK TEAM RECORD PTS
1 North Carolina (30) 0-0 774
2 Kentucky (1) 0-0 721
3 Ohio State 0-0 702
4 Connecticut 0-0 655
5 Syracuse 0-0 649
6 Duke 0-0 635
7 Vanderbilt 0-0 567
8 Louisville 0-0 514
9 Memphis 0-0 482
10 Florida 0-0 474
11 Pittsburgh 0-0 471
12 Baylor 0-0 358
13 Kansas 0-0 331
14 Wisconsin 0-0 313
15 Xavier 0-0 277
16 Arizona 0-0 269
17 Alabama 0-0 194
18 Michigan 0-0 187
19 Texas A&M 0-0 161
20 UCLA 0-0 147
21 Marquette 0-0 145
22 Cincinnati 0-0 141
23 GONZAGA 0-0 125
24 California 0-0 111
25 Missouri 0-0 110
Others receiving votes: Florida State 108, Texas 107, Michigan State 73, Temple 59, Washington 29, Butler 25, New Mexico 22, Creighton 19, Villanova 18, Purdue 17, UNLV 16, West Virginia 13, George Mason 12, Mississippi State 11, St. John's 11, Saint Mary's 5, Virginia 5, Virginia Commonwealth 4, Drexel 2, Kansas State 2, Long Beach State 2, Notre Dame 1, Brigham Young 1
