Friday, October 18, 2002

Johnson City, Tenn. (Oct. 18, 2002) - The East Tennessee State men's basketball team was ranked 14th in the recently released CollegeInsider.com Preseason Mid-Major Top-25. The poll is in its fourth year of existence and is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Continent, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Sun Belt and West Coast. The Bucs ranked higher in the poll than 2002 NCAA Tournament participants UNC Wilmington and Kent State. ETSU comes into the 2002-03 season as favorites by conference media, coaches and many national publications to win their third consecutive Southern Conference North Division title. They begin their quest on Nov. 22 at 7:30 p.m. against Guilford College from Memorial Center in Johnson City.