The Mountaineers received 139 votes to earn their first ranking in a
major Top 25 poll since finishing the 1991-92 season at No. 14 in the AP
poll.
“We’re happy to be ranked and get some national recognition,”
Head Coach Mike Carey said. “It represents all the hard work that
we’ve put in over the past few years. However, being ranked won’t
win us any games. We have to work that much harder now knowing that
we’ll be taking everyone’s best shot.”
WVU returns all five starters from last year’s 21-11 NCAA second
round squad that finished fourth in the Big East with an 11-5 record.
The Mountaineers boast seven seniors, the largest senior class in school
history, and return 364 combined career starts, tops in the nation. West Virginia was picked No. 3 last week in the Big East Preseason Coaches’
Poll.
Four other Big East teams were selected in the preseason coaches’ Top
25: No. 2 Connecticut (714 votes), No. 3 Rutgers (683 votes), No. 21
Pitt (142 votes) and No. 23 Louisville (126 votes). Defending national
champion Tennessee, WVU’s opponent in Charleston, W.Va., on Nov. 21,
was picked No. 1 with 767 votes and 26 of 31 first place votes.
WVU plays host to Concord on Sunday, Nov. 4, at 2 p.m., at the WVU
Coliseum in its lone preseason exhibition game. The Mountaineers open
the 2007-08 season on Friday, Nov. 9, against Canisius at the WVU
Coliseum.