Nov. 1, 2002
TUCSON, Ariz. - The University of Arizona men's men's basketball team was selected as the nation's top-ranked team in the preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll released Thursday night.
With five starters and 10 letterwinners returning from last season's 24-10 ballclub that captured the 2002 Pacific-10 Conference Tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA West Regional semifinal, Arizona collected the preseason No. 1 ranking from the coaches with a total of 770 points. The Wildcats also received 27 of a possible 31 first place votes. Kansas, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh and Texas round out the top five places.
It is the third time in school history that the Wildcats have earned the coaches poll preseason No. 1 ranking. The 1997-98 and 2000-01 squads also opened the season as the top-ranked team in the nation. Both of those teams were ranked No. 1 in both the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Top 25. All told, Arizona has occupied the top spot in the coaches poll in 16 different polling periods since the 1987-88 campaign.
Arizona opens the 2002-03 campaign in Tucson against No. 23 Western Kentucky on Sat., Nov. 23. Five opponents on Arizona's 2002-03 schedule are ranked in this preseason top 25.
2002-03 Preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll
Rnk Team (first place votes) Points
1. ARIZONA (27) 770
2. Kansas (3) 740
3. Oklahoma (1) 680
4. Pittsburgh 613
5. Texas 583
6. Duke 574
7. Florida 554
8. Alabama 494
9. Oregon 475
10. Michigan State 439
11. Xavier 386
12. UCLA 322
13. Mississippi State 321
14. Connecticut 314
15. Maryland 285
16. Georgia 269
17. Kentucky 262
18. Missouri 221
19. Marquette 215
20. Cincinnati 168
21. Indiana 167
22. Gonzaga 163
23. Western Kentucky 151
24. Minnesota 86
25. Illinois 83
