University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Men's Basketball Ranked Fourth in Preseason Associated Press Poll
11/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 6, 2006
The No. 4 ranking matches Pitt's highest preseason AP poll ranking ever. The Panthers were also ranked No. 4 to begin the 1987-88 season.
With its 1,407 poll points, Pitt ranked fourth behind No. 1 Florida (1,788 points), No. 2.
For the eighth time in school history, Pitt will enter a season ranked among the nation's Top 25. Pitt begins its season ranked No. 5 in the USA Today/ESPN preseason coaches' poll.
Pitt returns eight of its top 10 players from a squad that finished 25-8 overall and 10-6 in Big East play, advanced to the Big East Championship final for the fifth time in the last six seasons and appeared in a school record fifth straight NCAA Tournament.
Pitt opens its regular season in the Maggie Dixon Classic on Sunday, Nov. 12 against Western Michigan at
ASSOCIATED PRESS PRESEASON TOP-25 POLL
|
Rk. |
Team |
Record |
Points |
Pvs. |
|
1 |
|
33-6 |
1,788 |
11 |
|
2. |
|
23-8 |
1,708 |
10 |
|
3. |
|
25-8 |
1,636 |
12 |
|
4. |
|
25-8 |
1,407 |
16 |
|
5. |
LSU |
27-9 |
1,399 |
19 |
|
6. |
UCLA |
32-7 |
1,394 |
T-7 |
|
7. |
|
26-6 |
1,391 |
6 |
|
8. |
|
23-10 |
1,271 |
23 |
|
9. |
|
19-12 |
1,197 |
­-- |
|
10. |
|
20-13 |
1,157 |
-- |
|
11. |
|
18-13 |
1,106 |
-- |
|
12. |
Duke |
32-4 |
1,051 |
1 |
|
13. |
|
22-9 |
868 |
-- |
|
14. |
|
33-4 |
811 |
4 |
|
15. |
|
28-8 |
772 |
T-7 |
|
16. |
|
20-11 |
554 |
-- |
|
17. |
|
26-7 |
487 |
17 |
|
18. |
|
30-4 |
399 |
2 |
|
19. |
Creighton |
20-10 |
384 |
-- |
|
20. |
|
23-12 |
367 |
21 |
|
21. |
|
30-7 |
366 |
9 |
|
22. |
|
22-13 |
332 |
-- |
|
23. |
Georgia Tech |
11-17 |
262 |
-- |
|
24. |
|
27-6 |
212 |
20 |
|
25. |
|
22-8 |
203 |
18 |
GAMES VS. TOP-20 PROGRAMS
Pitt will play eight games against preseason top-20 programs. Here is the breakdown between the nation's top-10 schools:
|
Top-10 School |
Total Games |
|
|
8 games vs. top-20 |
|
LSU |
6 games vs. top-20 |
|
|
6 games vs. top-20 |
|
|
6 games vs. top-20 |
|
|
5 games vs. top-20 |
|
UCLA |
5 games vs. top-20 |
|
|
4 |
|
|
4 |
|
|
4 |
|
|
4 |
PITT BASKETBALL IN THE PRESEASON NATIONAL POLLS
|
Year |
Preseason National Rankings |
|
1986-87 |
16-AP, 9-UPI, 7-USA Today/CNN |
|
1987-88 |
4-AP, 5-UPI, 3-USA Today/CNN |
|
1989-90 |
18-AP |
|
1990-91 |
12-AP, 15-UPI |
|
2002-03 |
5-AP, 4-USA Today |
|
2003-04 |
22-AP, 22-USA Today |
|
2004-05 |
17-AP, 17-USA Today |
|
2006-07 |
4-AP, 5-USA Today |
--30--
