Thursday, October 25, 2007

As much as things change they remain the same.

Gonzaga will open the 2007-08 ranked No. 1 in the Mid-Major Top 25. It's the seventh time in the nine seasons that Gonzaga has been the preseason No. 1.

"That is the program everyone at our level is trying to catch," says Loyola (MD) head coach Jimmy Patsos who is once again serving as the chairman of the voting panel. "Mark [Few] has done an outstanding job. Every year they compete with the elite programs in college basketball. We are all trying to follow Gonzaga's lead."

Gonzaga (23-11) finished last season ranked No. 7. The Bulldogs are one of two schools from the West Coast Conference to be ranked. Saint Mary's (17-15) begins the season at No. 11.

Checking in at No. 2 is Southern Illinois (29-7), which finished last season ranked No. 1 for the first time in school history. The Salukis are one of five Missouri Valley Conference schools ranked, including three among the top ten with No. 8 Missouri State (22-11) and No. 9. Bradley (22-13).

The Colonial Athletic Association also has three teams ranked in the top ten led by VCU (28-7) at No. 5 along with No. 8 George Mason (18-5) and No. 9 Old Dominion (24-9). Including No. 25 Drexel (23-9) the CAA has four teams ranked in the preseason Top 25, which is second-best among all conferences.