Preseason poll ranks women’s basketball No. 9 in nation
Guard Jordin Canada will be one of the main pieces to UCLA’s strategy. Voted team captain last season,the now-junior will look to lead her team deep into the NCAA Tournament. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Grant Sugimura
Oct. 27, 2016 12:29 p.m.
UCLA women’s basketball has just been ranked as the No. 9 team in the country by the USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll.
This is a vast improvement over last year’s preseason rankings in which UCLA received votes but did not crack the top 25. The Bruins finished the year at No. 13 with a record of 26-9.
The USA Today Sports Board of Coaches consists of 32 NCAA Division I institutions and the voting system not only incorporates points, but also takes into account the number of first-place votes a team has received.
At No.1, Connecticut finished last season 38-0 and was awarded with 755 points and 18 first-place votes.
The Bruins notched 481 total points but did not receive any first-place nods.
UCLA is the highest-ranked Pac-12 team with Stanford, Washington, Arizona State and Oregon State falling in line at No. 10, 15, 16 and 17 respectively.
