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ACC reigns atop preseason Top 25

© St. Petersburg Times,
published November 6, 2001

Duke and Maryland were 1-2 Monday in the Associated Press' preseason poll, just the second time two teams from the same conference have held the top spots.

The other time also involved two schools from the Atlantic Coast Conference, when Georgia Tech and North Carolina were 1-2 before the 1985-86 season.

Duke, the defending national champion, was the runaway No. 1 choice by the national media panel. The Blue Devils, who return three starters from the team that went 35-4 last season, received 61 first-place votes and 1,787 points.

Maryland, which lost to Duke in its first Final Four appearance, had six first-place votes and 1,634 points to match the school's highest AP ranking.

Florida was ranked sixth.

Duke and Maryland are scheduled to play twice: at Duke on Jan. 17, and a month later at Maryland.

The preseason No. 1 ranking is the fifth for Duke and first since before the 1998-99 season.

"It's always an honor and very nice to be ranked No. 1," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Experience means so much. Fortunately, this group has that."

Illinois, which received two first-place votes, was third and was followed by Kentucky, which was No. 1 on three ballots. The rest of the Top 10 was UCLA, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Saint Joseph's.

GATOR MAY REDSHIRT: Florida freshman Adrian Moss likely will redshirt this season, coach Billy Donovan said.

"I think he wants to redshirt," Donovan said. "That's his decision. He wants to play, but obviously he wants to do what's best for him. And I think that's the right decision."

Moss, a 6-foot-9 forward from Houston, attended Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia last year. He signed a letter-of-intent with Southwest Texas State in November 1999 but was granted a release from the NCAA after a coaching change at the school.

Donovan said he posed the option to Moss last week and did not play him during the Gators' exhibition game Thursday.

Florida opens its regular season Thursday against Temple in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in New York.

TCU'S TUBBS TO RESIGN: Billy Tubbs said this will be his last season at Texas Christian, and possibly his last in the sport.

Hours before beginning his 28th season as a coach and eighth with the Horned Frogs, Tubbs said he was making the announcement to end speculation that he felt was distracting to the program.

"This is a good time for me to move on and for TCU," Tubbs said before an exhibition game. "The question of my tenure hasn't allowed us to produce as I think we should."

TCU athletic director Eric Hyman did not attend Tubbs' news conference. In a statement, he said: "Billy Tubbs has been a major force in college basketball and a master teacher."

Hyman said the new affiliation in Conference USA should help in finding a replacement.

Tubbs declined to reveal terms of his contract or his age but said he will reach the retirement requirement in April. He said he will coach again only if the right opportunity arises.

"If you look at what happened to Bobby Knight, it can happen to anybody," Tubbs said.

"Somebody may be desperate."

FRESNO STATE: Point guard Chris Sandy was declared academically ineligible until the spring semester unless the NCAA issues a waiver allowing him to play.

TENNESSEE WOMEN: Forward Gwen Jackson had left knee surgery and will be sidelined at least two weeks.

-- Times correspondent Debi Jones contributed to this report.

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