I had to post this article from Peegs.com. It is Eric's favorite website and this year is no doubt going to be exciting. IU has finally made there way back into contention of the National Title!! It's been YEARS since they have been this good. I am so excited for college hoops to begin. For those of you that know my husband... it will be a blast to watch not only the games... but him too.
For the first time in two decades, Indiana is ranked
No. 1.
The Hoosiers are preseason No. 1 in the USA Today coaches college
basketball poll announced today, receiving 21 of the 31 first-place
votes.
Fourth-year coach Tom Crean, who endured a major rebuilding effort
after inheriting a program devastated by sanctions, embraces the
expectations.
"I think it'd be crazy to try to shy away from it," he told
USA Today. "If we were, our kids would look at us and roll their eyes. We don't
talk about it much. We talk about living up to the standards that we need to
live up to on a daily basis to have it that way at the end of the year
 |
 |
| AP: Don Ryan |
|
| Preseason Player of the Year Cody Zeller wasn't
two months old the the last time IU was a preseason top-five team. The Hoosiers
were fourth in November of 1992. |
"I
think it says a lot about our fan base and how they've stuck with
us."
Indiana is ranked No. 1 for the first time since the final
regular-season college basketball poll in 1992-93.
The Hoosiers are
preseason No. 1 for just the third time in program history.
IU was No. 1
in 1975 and went on to an undefeated national title and in 1979, a season that
ended with a second-round NCAA Tournament loss to Purdue and a 21-8
record.
The following season, IU was ranked No. 5 in the preseason, ended
up unranked at the end of the year - home losses to unranked Clemson and Pan
American didn't help - but ended up winning the 1981 national title with an NCAA
Tournament run that included five wins all by 13 points or more.
The
Associated Press preseason poll comes out Oct. 13.
Last year, IU was
unranked to begin the year, climbed as high as No. 7 and finished the year 16th
in the Associated Press poll.
Prior to that season, the 2012 recruiting
class was projected by some as the group to return IU to national prominence.
While the group nicknamed 'The Movement' is a key part of the program, it is
more of a meaningful addition to a program that returned five starters from a
Sweet Sixteen team including preseason Player of the Year
Cody Zeller.
"It's not 'The
Movement' anymore," McDonald's All-American freshman point guard
Yogi Ferrell said. "We're all Hoosiers
... and our goal is a national championship."
Indiana's five national
titles came in 1943, 1950, 1976, 1981 and 1987.
The Hoosiers have been
ranked 512 times in the Associated Press poll, seventh most all-time. IU has
been No. 1 in 44 polls, also the seventh most.
Here is the full poll,
first place votes in parenthesis:
1. Indiana (21)
2. Louisville
(5)
3. Kentucky (5)
4. Ohio Sate
5. Michigan
6. N.C. State
7.
Kansas
8. Duke
9. Syracuse
10. Florida
11. Arizona
12. North
Carolina
13. UCLA
14. Michigan State
15. Creighton
16.
Memphis
17. Missouri
18. Baylor
19. UNLV
20. San Diego State
21.
Wisconsin
22. Gonzaga
23. Notre Dame
24 (tie) Florida State,
Texas
