COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS - The defending national champion Texas A&M women's basketball team will start the 2011-12 season with a No. 6 ranking in the USA TODAY/ESPN Preseason Coaches' Poll that was released Tuesday.
The No. 6 ranking comes days after the Aggies were also tabbed sixth in the Associated Press Preseason Poll. Texas A&M finished the 2010-11 season at No. 1 in the Coaches' Poll.
In its highest-ever preseason ranking in both polls, A&M returns three starters and 10 letterwinners from its 2010-11 squad that finished with a program-best 33-5 overall record and earned its first national championship in program history. The Aggies were selected to the coaches' preseason poll for the sixth straight season.
Baylor claimed the top spot with 17 first-place votes followed by Notre Dame at No. 2, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Connecticut and No. 5 Stanford. Notre Dame had five first-place votes, Tennessee drew three, while Connecticut, Stanford and A&M each claimed two. The Aggies were the only school outside the top 5 to receive first-place votes.
Miami finished seventh, Duke was voted eighth and Louisville and Maryland round out the preseason top 10.
In addition to No. 4 Connecticut and No. 9 Louisville, the Aggies will also take on No. 16 Oklahoma, No. 20 Texas, No. 21 Purdue and No. 23 USC this season.
A&M hosts Oklahoma City for an exhibition game on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. at Reed Arena and begins the season with its home opener against Lamar on Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.
Season tickets are available for as low as $100 by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE or by visiting tickets.12thmanfoundation.com. Tickets for the 2012 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship First and Second Rounds are also on sale now here.
The USA TODAY/ESPN Board of Coaches is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
USA TODAY/ESPN Preseason Coaches' Poll
|
Rank |
School (2010-11 record) |
Points |
Final 10-11 Rank |
First Place Votes |
|
1. |
Baylor (34-3) |
745 |
5 |
17 |
|
2. |
Notre Dame (31-8) |
728 |
2 |
5 |
|
3. |
Tennessee (34-3) |
686 |
6 |
3 |
|
4. |
Connecticut (36-2) |
683 |
3 |
2 |
|
5. |
Stanford (33-3) |
681 |
4 |
2 |
|
6. |
Texas A&M (33-5) |
635 |
1 |
2 |
|
7. |
Miami (Fla.) (28-5) |
557 |
16 |
0 |
|
8. |
Duke (32-4) |
553 |
7 |
0 |
|
9. |
Louisville (22-13) |
482 |
19 |
0 |
|
10. |
Maryland (24-8) |
416 |
23 |
0 |
|
11. |
Georgetown (24-11) |
415 |
14 |
0 |
|
12. |
Georgia (23-11) |
376 |
24 |
0 |
|
13. |
Florida State (24-8) |
332 |
20 |
0 |
|
14. |
Penn State (25-10) |
320 |
not ranked |
0 |
|
15. |
Kentucky (25-9) |
296 |
22 |
0 |
|
16. |
Oklahoma (23-12) |
262 |
15 |
0 |
|
17. |
Rutgers (20-13) |
245 |
not ranked |
0 |
|
18. |
DePaul (29-7) |
182 |
10 |
0 |
|
19. |
North Carolina (28-9) |
172 |
12 |
0 |
|
20. |
Texas (19-14) |
161 |
not ranked |
0 |
|
21. |
Purdue (21-12) |
149 |
not ranked |
0 |
|
22. |
LSU (19-13) |
143 |
not ranked |
0 |
|
23. |
Southern California (24-13) |
129 |
not ranked |
0 |
|
24. |
Wisconsin-Green Bay (34-2) |
127 |
9 |
0 |
|
25. |
Michigan State (27-6) |
88 |
18 |
0 |
Others receiving votes: Gonzaga (31-5) 70; Ohio State (24-10) 61; UCLA (28-5) 59; St. John's (22-11) 57; Marist (31-3) 46; Xavier (29-3) 41; Iowa (22-9) 35; California (18-16) 20; Iowa State (22-11) 20; Vanderbilt (20-12) 19; Georgia Tech (24-11) 18; Dayton (21-12) 16; Middle Tennessee (23-8) 10; Temple (24-9) 10; TCU (22-11) 8; South Dakota State (19-14) 7; Texas Tech (22-11) 7; Marquette (24-9) 3; Syracuse (25-10) 2; Houston (26-6) 1; Memphis (21-13) 1; West Virginia (24-10) 1.