College Basketball | WSU, Gonzaga make AP top 15

SPOKANE — Tobacco Road in North Carolina is better known for powerhouse basketball. But Washington might be forming a Wheat Way, as Washington State is ranked No. 10 and Gonzaga No. 14 in The Associated Press preseason Top 25 released Friday.

It is the first time both teams made the media poll at the same time. They will play Dec. 5 at Gonzaga.

"That'll be a live one," Washington State coach Tony Bennett said. "It'll be a hot ticket to get."

Washington State returns nearly all the players from last season's team, which tied a school record for wins with a 26-8 record. The Cougars were ranked 13th at the end of last season; they were picked to finish last in the Pac-10 a year ago.

"I hope the predictions are more accurate this season than last," said Bennett, last season's AP coach of the year.

Washington State is led by guards Kyle Weaver and Derrick Low and forward Robbie Cowgill. All three are seniors.

WSU broke into the rankings on Jan. 8 last season, its first appearance since 1983, and rose to No. 9, the highest ranking in its history. Starting a season in the Top 10 is uncharted territory.

"We acknowledge the fact that expectations are there, but we're not going to dwell on them," Bennett said.

Five other Pac-10 teams appear in the poll, with UCLA at No. 2, Oregon at No. 12, Arizona at No. 17, USC at No. 18 and Stanford at No. 23.

Gonzaga, a perennial Top 25 team in recent years, fell out of the poll Dec. 25 and was unranked at the end of last season. But the Zags have three returning starters from a team that went 23-11 and qualified for a ninth consecutive NCAA tournament.

Gonzaga's schedule also includes games against No. 3 Memphis and No. 7 Tennessee.

The top five teams in the poll, in order, are North Carolina, UCLA, Memphis, Kansas and Georgetown.

North Carolina of the Atlantic Coast Conference leads the preseason poll for the sixth time since it started in 1961. Three starters, including junior center Tyler Hansbrough, return for the Tar Heels, who ended last season with a 96-84 overtime loss to Georgetown in an NCAA regional final.

"In the game today, a veteran team is sophomores and juniors instead of juniors and seniors like in the old days," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said.

Notes

• No conference other than the Pac-10 has more than four teams in the poll. The Big 12 and Big East each have four ranked teams.

• Highly touted freshman Kevin Love had 15 points and 12 rebounds to help UCLA rout Azusa Pacific 111-61 in an exhibition game.

• No. 8 Michigan State, the highest-ranked Big Ten Conference team, lost to Division II Grand Valley State 85-82 in a double-overtime exhibition game.

Jason Jamerson scored 19 points for Grand Valley State.

• Texas women's coach Gail Goestenkors dismissed senior center Mariana Mergerson for the season for an undisclosed violation of program standards.

• College teams dropped to 0-2 against the U.S. women's national team when Connecticut lost 90-74 at home. Anne Donovan, coach of the WNBA Storm, guides the national team, which has six games left on its college tour. The Storm's Sue Bird, a former UConn standout, scored eight points for the U.S. team.