Skybox teams in bold. ESPN/USA Today Poll 1. North Carolina (10) 0-0 739 2. UCLA (12) 0-0 734 3. Memphis (8 ) 0-0 731 4. Kansas (1) 0-0 669 5. Georgetown 0-0 625 6. Louisville 0-0 620 7. Tennessee 0-0 598 8. Michigan State 0-0 503 9. Indiana 0-0 479 10. Washington State 0-0 464 11. Duke 0-0 390 12. Marquette 0-0 381 13. Oregon 0-0 360 14. Gonzaga 0-0 252 14. Texas A&M 0-0 252 16. Texas 0-0 216 17. Arizona 0-0 205 18. USC 0-0 189 19. Arkansas 0-0 173 20. Pittsburgh 0-0 160 21. Stanford 0-0 158 22. Kentucky 0-0 155 23. Southern Illinois 0-0 137 24. North Carolina State 0-0 119 25. Villanova 0-0 111 Others Recieving Votes: Kansas State 94, Syracuse 69, Ohio State 65, Clemson 56, Connecticut 55, Butler 42, Davidson 39, Xavier 38, Alabama 31, Mississippi State 30, Florida 26, Wisconsin 21, Illinois 16, Washington 12, Brigham Young 12, Nevada 8, Bradley 7, Virginia 7, Virginia Commonwealth 5, Utah 4, Baylor 3, Old Dominion 3, Saint Joseph's 3, Fresno State 2, George Mason 2, Utah State 2, Notre Dame 1, California 1, Maryland 1.
Gators and Bucks are obviously starting all over. I think Donovan has recruited some talent at UF but the chemistry of the departed class that just went back-to-back is probably impossible to duplicate.
I'm really jacked to see what we put on the floor this year. We have a mountain of talent, but quite a bit of it is very young. I hope the new staff can whip them into shape for another run like last year...
December 2nd, Scott. I'm looking forward to it. We might not have a true point guard starting, but I have high hopes for this season now that our recent crop of me-first players and headcases have passed through the program like so many kidney stones. And when you see the new Nike unis - no, we didn't lose a bet. 8)
I forgot about that game Rick! Looking forward to it too - it should be a good barometer of how much work we have to do. I'm just wondering when we get a game back in Texas? We had to come out to the PAC last year as well...
I think you get a Pac-10 team at home next season. Your game last year wasn't a regular season game, rather the Wooden Classic. I remember that game, despite being a loss for you, opened a lot of people's eyes out here to the Aggies. In addition to playing A&M at home, Arizona has two Big 12 road games this season - Missouri (in KC) and KU.
I have no idea how good or bad we may be this season. We have more depth this year than usual. We entertain NC here in Columbus in the ACC Challenge. Should be an interesting season. Don
Right again Rick! I forgot that game had already been set up before the PAC10/Big12 deal was made. Either way it's great experience for my young guys. I know that game with UCLA helped them down the road, even though we couldn't pull out a win. Mizzou was OK last year, but I don't know what they have coming back. No need to talk about what beating KU would mean to ya... :wink:
A win over Kansas would be huge. If Arizona's PG situation is settled by then there's a chance the 'Cats could beat them by playing smaller. They're not going to bang away with the Jayhawks. Don - the Buckeyes will continue to be competitive as long as Matta is your coach. Don't you have some big greek stepping in behind Oden?
Bear Down Rick, Yes, a 7 footer that will take up a lot of room in the paint and not as great as Oden, but a diamond in the rough. We will miss Conley at point gurard the most this year. Don
I hope Tennessee lives up to the lofty ranking. Bruce Pearl was a great hire. Hamilton... find us a football version of Bruce!
Article in USA Today about Matta & the Buckeyes: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/bigten/2007-10-28-matta_N.htm
Purdue looks to have a boatload of freshman talent. Hopefully they will develope fast and be a factor of some kind late in the season.
I look for these Buckeyes to be very, very competitive. The new 7 footer Koufous has a game completely opposite of Oden's. He prefers playing facing the basket, can put the ball on the floor and shoot from behind the arc......I think he'll probably play more on the wing and allow Hunter play in the middle. Koufos will be a great player to go along with a proven Butler, a very underappreciated Lighty and the solid defense and rebounding Hunter...these kids just might surprise.
Buckeye Terry, Buckeyes picked to finish third in Big Ten behind MSU and Indiana! Butler is only returning starter along with Lighty and Hunter as subs. Lighty should be ready for a great season if he can pick up where he left off last season, coming off the bench. Koufas will be interesting to watch as the season progresses. He has the ability to shoot from outside as well. Don
what <r>no highlite on the Bruins?<br/> <br/> tsk tsk.<br/> <br/> You can hide from your rivals Rick, but they will still find you <E></E></r>
You know, that's right. I hadn't considered your UCLA/UCR "connection" (I still have that e-mail) and so edited the post to bold UCLA. While I was at it I did the same for USC given Diane's lineage.