Jayhawks, Gators Among First "Top 25" Poll

If the early polls mean anything, the CBE Classic this year is going to be a great show.

Of the four teams coming to Sprint Center for the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic, two are in the first ESPN/ USA Today Top 25 poll for the year and the other two "received votes".

The defending national champion Kansas Jayhawks come in 23rd, in part because they lost all five of their starters. But Head Coach Bill Self has brought in a fantastic recruiting class, including the Morris twins out of New Jersey. Those freshmen will get a chance how good they can be early on with games against Washington and either Syracuse or Florida in the CBE.

Florida returns a couple of starters, including SEC "Freshman of the Year" Nick Calathes, and are ranked 19th in the first poll. Calathes broke several Freshman records last year and helped the Gators into the NIT. Florida is two years removed from their back-to-back national titles, so it will be interesting to watch Billy Donovan's team this year.

BTW... Syracuse and Washington were both in the "Others Receiving Votes" category, so you will have four of the top 40 teams in the country coming to Kansas City.

Here is the entire list...

1. North Carolina (31) 0-0 775
2. Connecticut 0-0 707
3. Louisville 0-0 694
4. UCLA 0-0 650
5. Duke 0-0 578
6. Pittsburgh 0-0 576
7. Michigan State 0-0 572
8. Texas 0-0 538
9. Notre Dame 0-0 525
10. Purdue 0-0 465
11. Gonzaga 0-0 437
12. Memphis 0-0 425
13. Tennessee 0-0 408
14. Oklahoma 0-0 387
15. Arizona State 0-0 304
16. Miami (FL) 0-0 233
17. Marquette 0-0 219
18. Georgetown 0-0 175
19. Florida 0-0 161
20. Davidson 0-0 158
21. USC 0-0 153
21. Wisconsin 0-0 153
23. Kansas 0-0 130
24. Wake Forest 0-0 129
25. Villanova 0-0 122
Others Receiving VotesUNLV 60, Saint Mary's 59, Ohio State 54, Baylor 47, Xavier 27, Syracuse 23, Texas A&M 19, LSU 19, Arizona 18, Virginia Tech 15, Brigham Young 13, West Virginia 10, Washington 8, Siena 8, Kentucky 7, Vanderbilt 7, Oklahoma State 4, Clemson 2, Washington State 1.

BOEHEIM... A TABLE TENNIS MASTER?

Another great idea by Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim to raise money for the Coaches vs. Cancer program. An NBA exhibition game is being held at the Carrier Dome and during the game fans can take on members of the Syracuse Men's and Women's Basketball teams in table tennis.

For those of you who have never been to the Carrier Dome, the court is on one half of the stadium with a large food court and giant TV screen on the other half.

But the big event will come at halftime right at center court...

At halftime, Coach Boeheim has agreed to take on a member of the crowd in a
one-on-one table-tennis exhibition. For every point Coach Boeheim scores, $75
will be donated to Coaches vs. Cancer. For every point his opponent gets, $150
will be donated to Coaches vs. Cancer.

Boeheim must be pretty good if he is willing to take on someone in front of 15,000 fans. That's like trying to make a putt in the Ryder Cup.