Where Ole Miss, Mississippi State rank in USA TODAY preseason basketball coaches poll

OXFORD − Ole Miss men’s basketball was ranked No. 25 in the USA TODAY Sports preseason coaches poll released Wednesday. Mississippi State was not ranked but was among the 21 other teams that received votes.

The Rebels are coming off a 20-12 season where they finished 7-10 in SEC play. It amounted to a 10th place season that Ole Miss coach Chris Beard is looking to improve on in his second year heading the program.

Senior guard Matthew Murrell returned to Ole Miss for a fifth year after averaging a career-high 16.2 points last season. He’ll lead a talented front court.

Ole Miss was voted No. 24 in the AP poll.

“To me (the preseason rankings) are a direct compliment to our players,” Beard said Tuesday. “It means the people that are writing these articles and making these votes see that we have some talent on our roster.”

Mississippi State is coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance and returns young star Josh Hubbard.

Hubbard, a sophomore guard, is positioned to lead the Bulldogs’ backcourt. He averaged 17.1 points in his freshman season. Hubbard won the 3-point contest in Mississippi State’s “Junction Jam” last week.

USA TODAY Sports preseason Top 25

Kansas (23-11)

Alabama (25-12)

Connecticut (37-3)

Houston (32-5)

Duke (27-9)

Iowa State (29-8)

Gonzaga (27-8)

Baylor (24-11)

Arizona (27-9)

North Carolina (29-8)

Auburn (27-8)

Tennessee (27-9)

Purdue (34-5)

Creighton (25-10)

Texas A&M (21-15)

Arkansas (16-17)

Marquette (27-10)

Indiana (19-14)

Texas (21-13)

Cincinnati (22-15)

Florida (24-12)

UCLA (16-17)

Kentucky (23-10)

Illinois (29-9)

Mississippi (20-12)

Dropped out: No. 13 North Carolina State (26-15); No. 15 Clemson (24-12); No. 18 San Diego State (26-11); No. 20 Utah State (28-7); No. 22 Saint Mary’s (26-8); No. 23 South Carolina (26-8); No. 24 Washington State (25-10); No. 25 Texas Tech (23-11).

Others receiving votes: Texas Tech (23-11) 60; Rutgers (15-17) 57; St. John’s (20-13) 42; Xavier (16-18) 26; Michigan State (20-15) 25; Brigham Young (23-11) 16; Oregon (24-12) 16; Kansas State (19-15) 11; Boise State (22-11)…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/where-ole-miss-mississippi-state-160057876.html

Author : The Clarion Ledger

Publish date : 2024-10-23 16:00:00

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