Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Men's Basketball begins season ranked #29 in Coaches Poll
10/27/2006 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 27, 2006
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Saluki men's basketball team will begin the 2006-07 season on the cusp of a Top 25 national ranking in at least one poll.
The ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, which was released Friday morning, has Southern Illinois at #29, one slot ahead of Illinois, which came in at #30. The Salukis are the highest-ranked team in the state.
"For recruiting purposes, it's great, because it shows recruits how successful our program has been," said head coach Chris Lowery. "But within our team, it means nothing, because we haven't proven anything yet. We can't worry about what other people think, before we've even played our first game."
The Salukis return all five starters, but there are two Missouri Valley Conference teams ranked ahead of them in the poll. Creighton begins the season at #23, while defending champion Wichita State starts at #27.
Since 2002, SIU has spent seven weeks ranked in the Coaches Poll, rising as high as #15 on Mar. 1, 2004.
ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll (Preseason)
1. Florida (30) 0-0
2. North Carolina 0-0
3. Kansas 0-0
4. Ohio State 0-0
5. Pittsburgh 0-0
5. UCLA 0-0
7. LSU 0-0
8. Georgetown 0-0
9. Wisconsin 0-0
10. Arizona 0-0
11. Duke 0-0
12. Alabama 0-0
13. Texas A&M 0-0
14. Memphis 0-0
15. Boston College 0-0
16. Washington 0-0
17. Marquette 0-0
18. Connecticut 0-0
19. Texas 0-0
20. Syracuse 0-0
21. Georgia Tech 0-0
22. Kentucky 0-0
23. Creighton 0-0
24. Tennessee 0-0
25. Nevada 0-0
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
Gonzaga 88, Wichita State 78, Louisville 77, Southern Illinois 70, Illinois 52, Xavier 44, Villanova 39, Air Force 26, San Diego State 24, Hofstra 20, Oklahoma State 19, Michigan 17, Michigan State 15, Maryland 12, DePaul 11, Florida State 9, George Mason 6, Indiana 5, Houston 3, Brigham Young 2, George Washington 2, Winthrop 2, Utah 1, Bucknell 1, New Mexico State 1, Saint Louis 1.
