Posted November 2 2001, 02:59 pm
Posted by: Ryan Maurer
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg University men’s basketball team has been given some preseason respect, checking in at No. 13 in the first 2001-02 d3hoops.com poll, a weekly ranking of teams as voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, sports information directors and writers from across the country.
Preseason d3hoops.com men’s poll
# Team (No. 1 votes) W-L Pts. 2001 final ranking1 Carthage (13) 24-5 600 5
2 Illinois Wesleyan (4) 24-7 527 3
3 Chicago 24-4 502 6
4 Christopher Newport (1) 25-4 493 8
5 Catholic (7) 28-5 484 1
6 Wooster 24-4 415 11
7 Lewis & Clark 21-7 405 16
8 Hampden-Sydney 24-5 399 20
9 St. John's 22-6 367 14
10 Wilkes 23-3 350 15
11 Washington U. 23-4 323 10
12 Franklin & Marshall 18-7 303 ---
13 Wittenberg 24-4 278 7
14 Ohio Northern 27-4 267 4
15 William Paterson 26-5 260 2
16 Calvin 23-5 187 12
17 Clark 24-5 178 18
18 UW-Stevens Point 18-7 164 ---
19 Widener 21-6 161 19
20 Gustavus Adolphus 22-6 157 ---
21 Brockport State 21-9 115 ---
22 DePauw 19-6 107 ---
T23 Amherst 22-6 72 ---
T23 Augustana 17-8 72 ---
25 Mass-Dartmouth 25-3 61 22
The Tigers are coming off one of their best seasons ever in 2000-01, in which Wittenberg finished with a 24-4 overall record. The Tigers won the North Coast Athletic Conference regular season championship with a 15-1 record, were the runner-up in the NCAC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Division III regional semifinals before losing to eventual Final Four participant Ohio Northern. Wittenberg ranked No. 7 in the final 2000-01 d3hoops.com poll.