Purdue Ranked Seventh In AP Poll

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue men’s basketball team will open the 2009-10 season ranked in the top 10 of both major polls, garnering the No. 7 spot in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today preseason rankings on Thursday.

 

The No. 7 ranking marks the Boilermakers’ first preseason top-10 nod from the AP since the organization listed them ninth prior to the 1997-98, a span of 11 seasons. Purdue, which narrowly missed the AP preseason top 10 last year with a No. 11 ranking to start the campaign, is also ranked the highest by the AP that it’s been since receiving No. 2 billing prior to the 1987-88 season.

 

With their No. 7 ranking, the Boilers are included in the AP preseason top 10 for the sixth time in program history. The Old Gold and Black has been ranked in the last 26 AP polls, nearing the program record of 34-straight weeks that has been achieved twice.

 

Purdue is one of two Big Ten teams in the top 10 of both polls, while the AP poll features six league teams and the ESPN/USA Today ledger boasts five squads from the conference.

 

Purdue returns six of its top seven scorers, and more than 80 percent of its points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals, from last year’s squad that won the program’s first-ever Big Ten Tournament title and earned its first Sweet 16 berth in nearly a decade. The Boilers put together an overall record of 27-10, including an 11-7 mark in the Big Ten that was good for a second-place tie in the league.

 

The Boilermakers kick off the exhibition season on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET when they welcome California of Pennsylvania to Mackey Arena. Purdue opens the 2009-10 regular season at home against Cal State Northridge at 7 p.m. ET on Nov. 13.

The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' preseason 2009-10 college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, final 2008-09 records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last year's final ranking:
Record Pts Fin
1. Kansas (55) 27-8 1,612 14
2. Michigan St. (5) 31-7 1,515 8
3. Texas (1) 23-12 1,397 --
4. Kentucky (3) 22-14 1,372 --
5. Villanova 30-8 1,347 11
6. North Carolina (1) 34-4 1,320 2
7. Purdue 27-10 1,284 17
8. West Virginia 23-12 1,115 --
9. Duke 30-7 1,064 6
10. Tennessee 21-13 897 --
11. Butler 26-6 864 22
12. Connecticut 31-5 844 5
13. California 22-11 800 --
14. Washington 26-9 776 15
15. Michigan 21-14 578 --
16. Ohio St. 22-11 465 --
17. Oklahoma 30-6 410 7
18. Mississippi St. 23-13 393 --
19. Louisville 31-6 335 1
20. Georgetown 16-15 326 --
21. Dayton 27-8 318 --
22. Georgia Tech 12-19 301 --
23. Illinois 24-10 282 --
24. Clemson 23-9 217 24
25. Minnesota 22-11 172 --
Others receiving votes: Maryland 171, Siena 112, Notre Dame 107, Florida St. 92, Vanderbilt 90, Syracuse 83, Oklahoma St. 65, UCLA 63, Florida 53, Wake Forest 50, Xavier 42, Gonzaga 37, South Carolina 28, Kansas St. 24, BYU 21, N. Iowa 16, Tulsa 16, Mississippi 15, Texas A&M 10, Missouri 8, Boston College 6, Pittsburgh 4, Utah St. 2, Va. Commonwealth 2, W. Kentucky 2, Holy Cross 1, Old Dominion 1.

Returning all five starters from a team that advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 a year ago, defending Big Ten Tournament champion Purdue has been picked to finish second in the league this season in a vote by a 24-member media panel.

 

The league also announced on Thursday that junior forward Robbie Hummel has been chosen as part of the five-man Big Ten Preseason All-Conference Team. The selection is the second in as many years for Hummel, who ranked fourth in the league in rebounding and 15th in scoring last season with averages of 7.0 and 12.5, respectively.

 

Purdue returns six of its top seven scorers, and more than 80 percent of its points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals, from last year’s squad that won the program’s first-ever Big Ten Tournament title and earned its first Sweet 16 berth in nearly a decade. The Boilers put together an overall record of 27-10, including an 11-7 mark in the Big Ten that was good for a second-place tie in the league.

 

Michigan State, the league’s 2009 regular-season champion and national runner-up, was the media’s pick to win the league, while Ohio State was slotted third, one spot behind the Boilermakers.

 

The MVP of the 2009 Big Ten Tournament after driving Purdue to the title with averages of 16.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, Hummel was a third-team All-Big Ten selection a year ago and picked up first-team honors as a freshman in 2008. The 2008-09 season also saw the Valparaiso, Ind., native garner U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-District V honors for the second year in a row and earn his first appearance on the Academic All-Big Ten team.

 

Hummel represented the United States in the World University Games following his sophomore season, leading Team USA to a bronze medal in Belgrade, Serbia. He enters the 2009-10 season with career averages of 11.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

 

He is joined on the Big Ten Preseason All-Conference