UW-Platteville's men's basketball team is ranked seventh in the country, according to the D3hoops.com preseason poll.
The Pioneers, who return all five starters from last year's 19-7 team, received one first-place vote among the 25 cast by coaches, media members and sports information directors.
While the Pioneers are seventh in the country, they were only third among Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schools in the national poll. UW-Whitewater was fourth, and UW-Stevens Point sixth.
Washington U., which returns four starters from its national championship team, is picked to repeat its title.
The Pioneers will host an O-Zone Appreciation Night on Thursday, Oct. 30, 7-10 p.m. on Bo Ryan Court. The band, cheerleaders and stuntment and Rangerettes will all be there to welcome students and sign them up for the popular student group, the O-Zone.
Sunday, Nov. 2, is Meet the Pioneers Night. The free Orange and Blue scrimmage begins at 3:30 p.m. A 5:30 reception at the Harry and Laura Nohr Gallery in Ullsvik Hall is $10 for adults, $5 for students and free for children 12 and under. Reservations for the dinner are due by Oct. 27 to assistant coach LeVon Crawford by Oct. 27 at 608.342.1277 or crawforl@uwplatt.edu.
| # | Team | W-L | Pts. | Last Week |
| 1 | Washington U. (23) | 25-6 | 621 | 1 |
| 2 | Augustana | 23-6 | 570 | 5 |
| 3 | Wheaton (Ill.) | 22-8 | 492 | 11 |
| 4 | UW-Whitewater (1) | 24-5 | 488 | 8 |
| 5 | St. Thomas | 23-5 | 417 | — |
| 6 | UW-Stevens Point | 23-7 | 401 | 10 |
| 7 | UW-Platteville (1) | 19-7 | 375 | — |
| 8 | Buena Vista | 23-7 | 363 | 14 |
| 9 | Brandeis | 23-6 | 338 | 4 |
| 10 | Mary Hardin-Baylor | 26-4 | 299 | 17 |
| 11 | Gettysburg | 24-5 | 291 | — |
| 12 | Ursinus | 29-4 | 276 | 7 |
| 13 | Centre | 26-3 | 269 | 9 |
| 14 | Randolph-Macon | 20-6 | 215 | — |
| 15 | Amherst | 27-4 | 208 | 2 |
| 16 | Rhode Island College | 23-7 | 200 | — |
| 17 | Elmhurst | 18-8 | 187 | — |
| 18 | Illinois Wesleyan | 16-11 | 183 | — |
| 19 | Lawrence | 22-3 | 181 | 18 |
| 20 | Hope | 28-4 | 165 | 3 |
| 21 | Wooster | 23-5 | 162 | 19 |
| 22 | Chicago | 18-8 | 160 | 25 |
| 23 | Widener | 23-6 | 154 | — |
| 24 | Virginia Wesleyan | 23-7 | 151 | 22 |
| 25 | Elms | 23-7 | 94 | — |
Others receiving votes: Maryville (Tenn.) 84, Millsaps 83, Capital 76, St. Mary's (Md.) 71, Loras 70, Puget Sound 69, Middlebury 56, Coast Guard 41, Whitworth 40, Calvin 36, Mass-Dartmouth 33, Richard Stockton 32, Guilford 27, Bethel 26, Averett 23, Bowdoin 18, Cortland State 14, Defiance 12, Transylvania 10, Wittenberg 9, Albion 8, Plattsburgh State 8, William Paterson 8, Scranton 6, Carleton 3, Brockport State 1, Franklin 1, Geneseo State 1.