Cornell Athletics Press Release on Top 25 Coaches' Poll

Men's Basketball Receives Votes In Coaches Preseason Top 25 Poll

CornellBigRed.com

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's basketball team received three votes in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Top 25 poll that was released today. The Big Red was the lone Ivy League school to capture votes in the preseason poll and finished up tied for 48th. In all, just 55 Division I teams received top 25 votes.

Two two-time defending Ivy League champion and preseason Ancient Eight favorite Big Red, directed by head coach Steve Donahue, will be looking to become the fourth team in Ivy League history to capture three consecutive outright Ancient Eight titles when it begins the upcoming campaign.The 2008-09 Big Red posted a 21-10 mark, claimed its second straight Ivy League title with an 11-3 record and became the first Ivy League school other than Penn or Princeton to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in consecutive years. Cornell set team records for points (2,281), 3-pointers (241) and blocked shots (121) this past season. The Big Red will return all five starters, including two-time first-team all-league selections Louis Dale and Ryan Wittman and reigning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year Jeff Foote, as well as eight of the team's top nine scorers for the 2009-10 campaign.

The USA TODAY/ESPN Board of Coaches is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. The board for the 2009-10 season include Ivy League representative Tommy Amaker of Harvard and future opposing coaches Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, Bob McKillop of Davidson, Phil Martelli of Saint Joseph's and Tom Pecora of Hofstra (possible opponent).

Cornell opens its 2009-10 season on Saturday, Nov. 14, when it visits Alabama of the SEC in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Top 25 Preseason Coaches Poll Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Kansas (27) 0-0 770
2. Michigan State (3) 0-0 732
3. Texas 0-0 676
4. North Carolina (1) 0-0 653
5. Kentucky 0-0 635
6. Villanova 0-0 620
7. Purdue 0-0 586
8. Duke 0-0 528
9. West Virginia 0-0 501
10. Butler 0-0 408
11. Tennessee 0-0 406
12. California 0-0 370
13. Washington 0-0 364
14. Connecticut 0-0 361
15. Michigan 0-0 279
16. Oklahoma 0-0 244
17. Ohio State 0-0 241
18. Minnesota 0-0 151
19. Mississippi State 0-0 149
20. Georgia Tech 0-0 136
21. Georgetown 0-0 134
22. Dayton 0-0 130
23. Louisville 0-0 123
24. Clemson 0-0 114
25. Syracuse 0-0 111

Others Receiving Votes
Maryland 100, Illinois 83, Siena 72, UCLA 59, Vanderbilt 38, Oklahoma State 29, Missouri 28, Xavier 25, Gonzaga 24, Notre Dame 22, USC 22, Pittsburgh 19, Tulsa 17, Kansas State 16, Brigham Young 16, Florida State 15, Florida 13, Wake Forest 13, San Diego State 8, Creighton 7, Boston College 4, Texas A&M 4, Southern Illinois 3, Utah State 3, Cornell 3, Memphis 3, Mississippi 3, UNLV 2, South Carolina 1, Northern Iowa 1.