OU No. 6 in ESPN/USA Today Poll

NORMAN, Okla. The Oklahoma men's basketball team is ranked No. 6 in the initial 2005-06 ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll released Friday. The Sooners received 617 poll points and trail No. 1 Duke (767), No. 2 Connecticut (692), No. 3 Texas (683), No. 4 Villanova (644) and No. 5 Michigan State (632).

The No. 6 ranking is OU's second highest standing in the preseason coaches' poll under 12th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson. The Sooners were ranked No. 3 in the 2002-03 version. That squad finished with a 27-7 record, earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Elite Eight.

Rounding out the poll's top 10 are No. 7 Gonzaga, No. 8 Louisville, No. 9 Arizona and No. 10 Kentucky. Iowa State (No. 23) joins OU and Texas as the only Big 12 schools in the top 25.

2005-06 Media Guide | Ticket Information

In addition to Texas, Villanova and Iowa State, top-25 teams on OU's 2005-06 schedule include No. 14 Alabama and No. 15 West Virginia. Sampson's Sooners host the Crimson Tide on New Year's Eve at 3:30 p.m. CST and face the Mountaineers Dec. 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Oklahoma City as part of the All-College Classic.

The Sooners return seven players from last year's Big 12 regular season championship squad (25-8 overall, 12-4 Big 12), including their top three scorers and rebounders in forwards Kevin Bookout and Taj Gray and guard Terrell Everett. All three are seniors and Gray is the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year. Bookout and Everett garnered votes for the Preseason All-Big 12 Team.

OU also welcomes five newcomers to the squad. Among them are junior guard/forward Nate Carter, a 2004 second-team All-Big West honoree, junior guard Michael Neal, the Big 12 Preseason Co-Freshman of the Year, and freshman forward Taylor Griffin, the 2005 Gatorade Oklahoma Player of the Year.

The Sooners start the 2005-06 campaign with home exhibition games Nov. 5 (versus Northeastern State) and Nov. 12 (UNC Pembroke). The regular season begins Nov. 19 with a home game against Samford.

A limited number of season tickets are still available here at SoonerSports.com and at the OU Athletics Ticket Office (405-325-2424 or 800-456-4668).

Additionally, the Ticket Office is selling Family Packs to each of the team's seven home non-conference games. For $10, fans get a game ticket, hot dog, soda and a T-shirt. A minimum of four tickets is required for each Family Pack purchase. Call the Ticket Office for details.

PRESEASON ESPN/USA TODAY
MEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES' POLL

Team (Points)
1. Duke (767)
2. Connecticut (692)
3. Texas (683)
4. Villanova (644)
5. Michigan State (632)
6. Oklahoma (617)
7. Gonzaga (540)
8. Louisville (536)
9. Arizona (532)
10. Kentucky (511)
11. Boston College (484)
12. Memphis (354)
13. Stanford (331)
14. Alabama (295)
15. West Virginia (265)
16. Syracuse (210)
17. Illinois (201)
18. UCLA (190)
18. Wake Forest (190)
20. Iowa (176)
21. Maryland (167)
22. Indiana (153)
23. Iowa State (118)
24. George Washington (109)
25. Nevada (88)

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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