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.
