Preseason Acc Basketball Ranking

Terps Tabbed #11 in Sporting News Poll Maryland one of five ACC teams in ...

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland women's basketball team is slotted at the No. 11 spot in the Sporting News 2011-12 preseason poll. The Terps return four of five starters from last year's team that finished the season 24-8 overall and fourth in the ACC regular season.

Maryland is one of five ACC teams in the Sporting News preseason top 25 rankings. Duke came in at No. 6, with Miami slotted at No. 10. Florida State came in at No. 14 and North Carolina was slotted at No. 17.

Eighty percent of the Terps' offensive scoring punch returns to the roster. Maryland, who was one of the nation's leading rebounding teams, returns 81 percent of its rebounding.

The Terrapins will look to sophomore Alyssa Thomas and senior Lynetta Kizer to lead them in both scoring and rebounding. They led the Terps in both categories last season and were both named to the All-ACC Second Team.

Thomas was named the ACC's Rookie of the Year in March and Kizer earned a gold medal over the summer at the World University Games in China with USA Basketball.

Redshirt freshman forward Whitney Bays and freshman guard Brene Moseley are two new additions to the team that will look to contribute.

Kizer, Anjale Barrett and Kim Rodgers comprise the Terps' senior class. Both Barrett and Rodgers are fifth-year seniors and all three were members of Maryland's 2009 ACC regular season and tournament championship team.

SPORTING NEWS PRESEASON TOP 25
1. Notre Dame
2. Baylor
3. UConn
4. Tennessee
5. Stanford
6. Duke
7. Texas A&M
8. Georgetown
9. Louisville
10. Miami
11. MARYLAND
12. Penn State
13. Purdue
14. Florida State
15. Georgia
16. Oklahoma
17. North Carolina
18. Kentucky
19. St. John's
20. Texas
21. USC
22. UCLA
23. Michigan State
24. LSU
25.

Preseason ACC Rankings | Wake Forest Women's Basketball

* For the 9th-straight year, the ACC was represented by at least six teams in the NCAA Field of 64, while two ACC teams in the WNIT gave the league eight postseason teams for the 8th time overall, 7th-consecutive, and 8th time in the last 12 years.

* The ACC was one of only 2 leagues (Big East) to place six or more teams in the 2011 NCAA Big Dance.

* Six ACC programs are ranked among the Top 25 teams in the coun- try, according to the Associated Press, while six league teams also rank in the Top 21 of the RPI rankings, including four in the Top 15.

* Boston College’s Carolyn Swords

Remains the No. 1 leader in FG% in the country. The veteran has ranked atop the national charts in FG% for the past two seasons.

* The Blue Devils won their 7th ACC Championship with an 81-66 victory over 19th-ranked UNC. Duke has now won ACC titles from 2000-04 (5-straight) and 2010-11 (2-straight).

* Duke’s Joanne P. McCallie has guided the Blue Devils to a 58-4 overall record in Cameron Indoor, including an active 25-win streak.

* A season after setting the school record by earning the highest seed in school history at No. 3 for the NCAA Tourney, FSU tied that mark this year.

* Georgia Tech earned a school record 5th consecutive berth in the NCAA Tournament. Of Tech’s six previous appearances, four have come under head coach MaChelle Joseph.

* The WBCA selected Georgia Tech’s Deja Foster as the 2011 recipient of the Charles T. Stoner Law Scholar- ship, given annually to a player who intends to pursue a career in law.

* The Terps have made seven NCAA Tournament appearances in Brenda Frese’s nine years in College Park. In fact, she owns an impressive 18-7 mark as a head coach in the NCAA.

* Miami’s No. 3 seed was the second- best seed in program history behind the No. 2 seed earned by the 1992 Hurricanes, who reached the Sweet 16 that season. The NCAA appear- ance was the 7th in school history.

Basketball, its origin and development

Basketball, steps to success

Coaching basketball successfully

Basketball, How It Works

Basketball