tar ... wait for it ... heels: blog 
tar ... wait for it ... heels' blog
heels group: unc preseason #1, duke #5
by allison842Published October 30, 2008
Views: 295
Eventual champion Kansas knocked off North Carolina in the semifinals of last year's NCAA tournament. But the Tar Heels are the big favorite heading into this season.
North Carolina received all 31 first-place votes as the unanimous No. 1 in the preseason ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll, which was released Thursday. After losing a big chunk of its roster, Kansas debuts at No. 23.
Since ESPN began participating in the coaches' poll in 1997-98, the Tar Heels are the first unanimous preseason No. 1.
So we can look back as the season progresses at how wrong some of these choices were (not UNC of course!), here's the full list.
1. North Carolina (31)
2. Connecticut
3. Louisville
4. UCLA
5. Duke
6. Pittsburgh
8. Texas
9. Notre Dame
10. Purdue
11. Gonzaga
12. Memphis
13. Tennessee
14. Oklahoma
15. Arizona State
16. Miami (FL)
17. Marquette
18. Georgetown
19. Florida
20. Davidson
21. USC
21. Wisconsin
23. Kansas
24. Wake Forest
25. Villanova
Others Receiving VotesUNLV 60, Saint Mary's 59, Ohio State 54, Baylor 47, Xavier 27, Syracuse 23, Texas A&M 19, LSU 19, Arizona 18, Virginia Tech 15, Brigham Young 13, West Virginia 10, Washington 8, Siena 8, Kentucky 7, Vanderbilt 7, Oklahoma State 4, Clemson 2, Washington State 1.
Filed under: College Sports
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TBK - if Hansbrough misses much time with the leg injury, State may not get to play UNC early enough to be the first to beat them. But not to worry for the Heels. There's no way State or anyone else is going to keep them out of the big dance this year.
GOLO member since January 25, 2008
October 31, 2008 11:25 a.m.
GOLO member since April 25, 2008
October 31, 2008 12:11 a.m.
GOLO member since September 20, 2007
October 30, 2008 5:40 p.m.
GOLO member since December 11, 2007
October 30, 2008 3:20 p.m.
GOLO member since April 9, 2008
October 30, 2008 12:30 p.m.
GOLO member since January 2, 2008
October 30, 2008 11:45 a.m.
GOLO member since September 20, 2007
October 30, 2008 11:38 a.m.
Thanks for the backhanded, condescending compliment. But I guess I'll take it! ;)
Yes, we can only go up. I hope.
At the risk of sounding like the typical State fan, I think we'll be better this year. State was doing pretty good when we lost our only decent point guard last year, and had beaten some decent teams. When Degand went down, it was like a football team losing their only good quarterback. Throw in a healthy dose of chemistry problems and the wheels just came off. Hopefully those key issues have been addressed and State can at least be competitive this year.
GOLO member since January 2, 2008
October 30, 2008 11:30 a.m.
GOLO member since July 3, 2008
October 30, 2008 11:29 a.m.
Anybody feeling like the Duke ranking is characteristically overly optimistic? Looks like it could be another fast start for the Devils and an increasingly typical collapse in March. The UNC-Duke games should still be epic again this year though!
GOLO member since September 20, 2007
October 30, 2008 11:25 a.m.
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