Men's Basketball Debuts At No. 25 In Preseason Associated Press Poll
Nov. 8, 1999
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s basketball teamdebuted at No. 25 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 collegebasketball poll released Monday evening. The ranking is the first preseasonAssociated Press ranking in UM history. Defending NCAA Champion Connecticutreceived 21 first-place votes to open the season at No. 1.
Miami, which is ranked No. 24 in the preseason ESPN/USA Todaycoaches poll, returns eight letterwinners, including four starters, fromlast season’s 23-7 squad that advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the secondconsecutive season and ended the season ranked 10th in the season endingAssociated Press poll.
Last season Miami reached as high as No. 9 in the Associated Presspoll. The highest Associated Press ranking in school history came on March1, 1960 when the Hurricanes ranked No. 8 in the nation.
The Hurricanes are one of four BIG EAST teams in the preseasontop-25. Joining Miami and Connecticut in the preseason rankings are Syracuseand St. John’s. Syracuse, which returns all five starters from last season’s21-12 team, checks in at No. 16 while St. John’s, which advanced to theFinal Eight at last season’s NCAA Championship, opens at No. 17.
The Hurricane men’s basketball team will conclude its exhibitionschedule on Nov. 11 against Upstate Basketball at 7 p.m. in the KnightSports Complex on the UM campus. Admission is free.
Miami opens the regular season on Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m. againstCentral Florida in Orlando. The Hurricanes home opener will tip-off at 7:30p.m. on Nov. 23 against Monmouth in the Miami Arena.
For ticket information contact the Hurricane ticket office at305-284-CANES in Dade County or 1-800-GO-CANES.
Associated Preseason Top 25 (First Place Votes)
| Rk | Team | Record | Pts |
| 1. | Connecticut (21) | 34-2 | 1,669 |
| 2. | Cincinnati (19) | 27-6 | 1,630 |
| 3. | Michigan State (20) | 33-5 | 1,607 |
| 4. | Auburn (4) | 29-4 | 1,567 |
| 5. | Ohio State (3) | 27-9 | 1,422 |
| 6. | North Carolina (3) | 24-10 | 1,421 |
| 7. | Temple (2) | 24-11 | 1,381 |
| 8. | Florida | 22-9 | 1,341 |
| 9. | Arizona | 22-7 | 1,241 |
| 10. | Duke | 37-2 | 1,034 |
| 11. | Kansas | 23-10 | 994 |
| 12. | UCLA | 22-9 | 890 |
| 13. | Stanford | 26-7 | 752 |
| 14. | Kentucky | 28-9 | 747 |
| 15. | Utah | 28-5 | 699 |
| 16. | Illinois | 14-18 | 688 |
| 17. | Syracuse | 21-12 | 660 |
| 18. | St. John’s | 28-9 | 657 |
| 19. | Tennessee | 21-9 | 531 |
| 20. | DePaul | 18-13 | 452 |
| 21. | Texas | 19-13 | 348 |
| 22. | Oklahoma State | 23-11 | 257 |
| 23. | Purdue | 21-13 | 252 |
| 24. | Gonzaga | 28-6 | 227 |
| 25. | MIAMI (FL) | 23-7 | 222 |
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Maryland 195, Wake Forest 151, Oklahoma 63,Georgia Tech 38, Indiana 22, New Mexico 21, Fresno St. 19, Louisville 18,Arkansas 17, N. Carolina St. 12, Oregon 12, UNLV 12, Virginia 12, Tulsa 11,Weber St. 11, Murray St. 10, Siena 9, Coll. of Charleston 8, Bradley 7,Rhode Island 7, Detroit 6, Mississippi St. 6, Massachusetts 5, Michigan 5,Delaware 4, New Mexico St. 4, Xavier 4, Akron 3, Memphis 2, Georgetown 2,N.C. Charlotte 2, Iowa 1, Missouri 1, Princeton 1.
