AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Augusta State men’s basketball program is ranked No. 10 in the nation, according to the NABC Coaches preseason national poll.

The national ranking is the second of the preseason for the Jaguars, who landed at No. 8 in the Division II Bulletin national poll last month.

The Jags, who were ranked as high as No. 3 in 2008-09 and finished the season ranked No. 4 in the country, return three starters and nine lettermen from a squad that racked up a school-record 30 wins and made its second consecutive trip to the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass., last March.

Two of ASU’s regular-season opponents earned a preseason national ranking as well. Valdosta State, whom the Jaguars face on Jan. 16, 2010 in Valdosta, Ga., is ranked No. 7, while Tusclum is ranked No. 14. ASU travels to Greeneville, Tenn., to take on the Pioneers on Dec. 12.

The Jags tip off their 2009-10 schedule with an exhibition vs. Aiken Tech on Wednesday, Nov. 4 in Christenberry Fieldhouse. ASU opens its regular-season slate at home on Sunday, Nov. 15 vs. West Georgia at 2:00 p.m.

NABC Preseason Coaches Poll
(as of Oct. 28, 2009)
1.  BYU-Hawaii (6) 		27-2 	198 	3
2.  Bellarmine (Ky.) (1) 	26-7 	189 	18
3.  Southwest Baptist (Mo.) 	26-5 	162 	7
4.  Findlay (Ohio) 		36-0 	161 	1
5.  Central Missouri 		30-5 	156 	6
6.  Cal Poly Pomona 		25-8 	143 	NR
7.  Valdosta State (Ga.) 	24-7 	140 	NR
8.  Florida Southern 		29-7 	117 	11
9.  Bentley (Mass.) 		26-7 	115 	24
10. AUGUSTA STATE 		30-5 	109 	4
11. St. Cloud State (Minn.) 	22-9 	102 	22
12. Metropolitan State (Colo.) 	27-4 	101 	8
13. Grand Valley State (Mich.) 	21-10 	99 	NR
14. Tusculum (Tenn.) 		20-11 	84 	NR
15. Merrimack (Mass.) 		21-9 	83 	NR
16. Kutztown (Pa.) 		28-5 	79 	20
17. Central Oklahoma 		24-6 	61 	13
18. Indiana (Pa.) 		22-8 	52 	NR
19. Johnson C. Smith (N.C.) 	23-8 	51 	NR
20. Winona State (Minn.) 	24-9 	50 	NR
21. Humboldt State (Calif.) 	20-12 	46 	NR
22. Southwest Minnesota State 	28-7 	45 	12
23. Delta State (Miss.) 	21-9 	31 	NR
24. Rollins (Fla.) 		20-10 	30 	NR
25. Philadelphia (Pa.) 		25-6 	29 	NR
Others receiving votes: Northern Kentucky 26, Benedict (S.C.) 19, Catawba (N.C.) 17, Barton (N.C.) 15, Virginia
Union 15, West Virginia State 14, LIU-C.W. Post (N.Y.) 13, Georgia College & State 10, Incarnate Word (Texas) 10,
Seattle Pacific (Wash.) 7, Massachusetts-Lowell 6, Gannon (Pa.) 4, Arkansas Tech 3, South Carolina Aiken 3,
Anderson (S.C.) 2, Fort Hays State 1, Western Washington 1.
*Records are from 2008-09 season
*Previous ranking is from last year’s final poll