In the first ESPN/USA Today Men’s Basketball Coaches poll released this morning it was announced that both schools participating in this year’s Comcast Battle in Seattle are ranked in the Top 15. The Connecticut Huskies received a #2 ranking and the Gonzaga Bulldogs sit just outside the top ten at #11.
North Carolina received all 31 first-place votes as the unanimous No. 1 in the preseason ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll, which was released Thursday.
With a crowd of 15,141, the 2007 Comcast Battle in Seattle set the attendance record for a college basketball game in the State of Washington. This season’s matchup is expected to break that record as both participants have also been chosen as preseason favorites in their respective conferences. The game is set for Saturday, December 20th at Seattle’s KeyArena.
The Big East coaches picked the Huskies as the preseason favorite in the conference most consider the deepest and best in college basketball. A record seven Big East teams are among the preseason Top 25.
Connecticut, which returns its nucleus of center Hasheem Thabeet, guard A.J. Price and forward Jeff Adrien, received 707 points in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll, less than 70 points behind unanimous No. 1 North Carolina. Thabeet, Price and Adrien were named to the Preseason All-Big East Team.
Gonzaga, chosen as the top team in the 2008-09 WCC men’s basketball preseason poll as selected by the league coaches, just missed a Top 10 National ranking. The Bulldogs led by preseason All-WCC selections Matt Bouldin, Jeremy Pargo and Austin Daye, were a mere 28 points behind tenth place Purdue.
With both the 2nd ranked Huskies and the 11th ranked Bulldogs, the 2008 Comcast Battle in Seattle could feature teams with the highest rankings since the inaugural game in 2002 pitted the 3rd ranked Missouri Tigers against the 17th ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs.
After winning the first three years of the Comcast Battle in Seattle, Gonzaga has run into some tough luck losing the last two contests at Seattle’s KeyArena. Last season the Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Bulldogs 82-72 behind 18 points from guard JuJuan Smith. Matt Bouldin led Gonzaga with 21 points in an exciting game where the outcome was uncertain until the final seconds. The Bulldog’s three victories in the history of the Comcast Battle in Seattle have come over Missouri (2003), UMass (2004), and Oklahoma State (2005).
The Bulldogs and the Huskies last met on December 1, 2007 in Boston with the Zags escaping the East Coast battle with an 85-82 win. Connecticut holds a 2-1 all-time series lead over Gonzaga.
For more information on one of the most anticipated college basketball game of the year visit the official Comcast Battle in Seattle website, www.battleinseattle.com.
WHAT: Men’s NCAA Division 1 basketball, 2008 Comcast Battle in Seattle
WHO: Gonzaga University Bulldogs vs. University of Connecticut Huskies
WHEN: December 20th, 2008 @ 1:00 PM, CBS National
WHERE: KeyArena – 305 Harrison Street – Seattle, WA 98109
CONTACT: Adam Baker, Northwest Sports 480-635-8720
E-MAIL: adam@northwestsports.org
TICKETS: Tickets available at www.ticketmaster.com
WEBSITE: www.battleinseattle.com